The fossil record of lepidopteran caterpillars in Dominican and Mexican amber

Haug, Joachim T.; Haug, Carolin; Wang, Yinan und Baranov, Viktor A. (2022): The fossil record of lepidopteran caterpillars in Dominican and Mexican amber. In: Lethaia, Bd. 55, Nr. 3: S. 1-4

Abstract

The larvae of moths and butterflies - caterpillars - are important components of the modern-day terrestrial fauna. The evolutionary emergence of caterpillars as the predominant phytophagous animals in multiple terrestrial biomes have resulted in the dramatic shifts in the vegetation and biotic interactions within these biomes. Despite their importance in the modern and presumably also past biosphere, the geological record of lepidopteran caterpillars remains poorly understood. In this contribution, we are reviewing the fossil record of caterpillars in Dominican and Mexican amber, with descriptions of new specimens. With the latter, a total of 19 caterpillar specimens are known. This is more than in Cretaceous ambers where only five caterpillar specimens have been reported, but much less than in Eocene ambers with, estimated, more than 120 specimens. Absolute numbers may yet be misleading, reflecting other factors such as overall productivity of deposits. Nevertheless, relative abundances reveal that the number of caterpillars in comparison to lacewing larvae in amber faunas has risen significantly after the Cretaceous.rectangle Lepidoptera, Dominican amber, Mexican amber, fossil larvae, diversification

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Biologie
• Themengebiete: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
• ISSN: 0024-1164
• Sprache: Englisch