Review of the El Soplao Amber Outcrop,Early Cretaceous of Cantabria,Spain

<正>El Soplao outcrop,an Early Cretaceous amber deposit recently discovered in northern Spain (Cantabria),has been shown to be the largest site of amber with arthropod inclusions that has been found in Spain so far.Relevant data provided herein for biogeochemistry of the amber,palynology,taphonomy and arthropod bioinclusions complement those previously published.This set of data suggests at least two botanical sources for the amber of El Soplao deposit.The first(type A amber)strongly supports a source related to Cheirolepidiaceae,and the second(type B amber)shows non-specific conifer biomarkers.Comparison of molecular composition of type A amber with Frenelopsis leaves(Cheirolepidiaceae)strongly suggests a biochemical affinity and a common botanical origin.A preliminary palynological study indicates a regional high taxonomical diversity,mainly of pteridophyte spores and gymnosperm pollen grains.According to the preliminary palynological data,the region was inhabited by conifer forests adapted to a dry season under a subtropical climate.The abundant charcoalified wood associated with the amber in the same beds is evidence of paleofires that most likely promoted both the resin production and an intensive erosion of the litter,and subsequent great accumulation of amber plus plant cuticles.In addition,for the first time in the fossil record, charcoalified plant fibers as bioinclusions in amber are reported.Other relevant taphonomic data are the exceptional presence of serpulids and bryozoans on the surfaces of some amber pieces indicating both a long exposure on marine or brackish-water and a mixed assemblage of amber.Lastly,new findings of insect bioinclusions,some of them uncommon in the fossil record or showing remarkable adaptations,are reported.In conclusion,a documented scenario for the origin of the El Soplao amber outcrop is provided.     

Biting midges of the extinct genus Protoculicoides Boesel from Lower Cretaceous amber of San Just,Spain and new synonymy in recently described fossil genera (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

We describe two new species of extinct biting midges in the fossil genus Protoculicoides: Protoculicoides hispanicus Szadziewski and Arillo, sp. nov. and Protoculicodes sanjusti Szadziewski and Arillo, sp. nov., from Albian (101–113 Ma) amber of San Just, Spain. Atriculicoides Remm, 1976 is recognized as a new junior synonym of Protoculicoides Boesel, 1937 (NEW SYNONYM). Devalquia Choufani et al., 2013 is regarded here as a new junior synonym of the extant genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (NEW SYNONYM). Metahelea roggeroi Choufani et al., 2013 from Upper Cretaceous French amber, is excluded from the tribe Heteromyiini and placed in the extant genus Stilobezzia Kieffer, 1911, tribe Ceratopogonini: Stilobezzia roggeroi (Choufani et al., 2013), comb. nov. The extinct tribe Atriculicoidini Szadziewski, 1996 is regarded as a new subfamily, Atriculicoidinae, stat. nov., that includes the fossil genus Protoculicoides, with 13 species reported from Albian, Turonian, Cenomanian, Coniacian, Santonian and Campanian ambers (78–113 Ma). Protoculicoides skalskii Szadziewski & Arillo, 1998 from Lower Cretaceous amber of Álava, Spain, Protoculicoides succineus Szadziewski, 1966 from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber and Protoculicoides burmiticus Szadziewski & Poinar, 2005 from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber are transferred to the extinct genus Archiculicoides Szadziewski, 1996, comb. nov. Protoculicoides krzeminskii Choufani et al., 2014 from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber is transferred to the extinct genus Archiaustroconops Szadziewski, 1996, comb. nov. The Cretaceous subfamily Atriculicoidinae forms an unresolved trichotomy with the extant subfamilies Forcipomyiinae and Dasyheleinae, both of which date to the Eocene. The fossil record indicates that wings with macrotrichia in biting midges evolved during the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse climate. We suggest that this was an evolutionary adaptation to new atmospheric conditions with higher levels of CO₂ in order for the antennal Johnston's organs of males to receive the vibrational sex signals produced by females during flight.     

The first record of a bryophyte in Upper Cretaceous amber from Taimyr,northern Siberia: Taimyrobryum martynoviorum gen. et sp. nov. (Bryopsida)

Cretaceous bryophyte fossils are known only from a few localities and only a few are known in ultrastructural fidelity. We describe a fossil moss gametophyte from Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber and place it in the fossil genus Taimyrobryum martynoviorum gen. et sp. nov. (Bryopsida). Its unbranched, somewhat zig-zagged stems with distantly spaced, spreading, narrowly lanceolate leaves and the unbranched costa match the gross morphology of Dicranidae; however, the uniformly prosenchymatous leaf cells contradict an affiliation to this subclass. The Yantardakh in the Taimyr Peninsula is the fourth and northernmost Cretaceous amber locality yielding inclusions of bryophytes.     

琥珀的激光拉曼光谱特征研究

采用激光拉曼光谱仪对波罗的海、多米尼加、缅甸三个地区的琥珀样品进行了拉曼光谱测试分析,描述了拉曼光谱的位置、形态、相对强度,分析了振动模式,同时对某些分子基团如ν（C-H）,ν（C-O）做了谱带归属。结果表明,琥珀结构中碳链骨架振动是导致其拉曼光谱形成的主要原因,同一产地不同品种琥珀的拉曼谱峰特征基本一致,不同产地琥珀的拉曼谱峰仅在个别拉曼位移处存在较小差异。另外,对前人提出的用拉曼光谱中ν（C=C）和δ（CH2）的强度比值N（I1645cm-1／I 1450cm-1）来确定天然树脂成熟度的初步设想进行了验证分析。拉曼光谱对于琥珀真伪及其产地的鉴定有一定的辅助作用,但不能作为鉴别产地的唯一指示性依据。     

多米尼加与墨西哥蓝珀光致发光-拉曼光谱及微量元素赋存特征研究

蓝珀主要产于多米尼加共和国、墨西哥与缅甸,其形成机制、组成成分及光谱特征与之特定的产出地理环境有密切的关联.因此,蓝珀的产地研究成为当前珠宝玉石、考古及生物矿物学研究领域的热点课题.前人主要应用红外光谱、X射线荧光光谱、质谱、同位素示踪等技术开展了较系统的蓝珀产地的溯源研究,但限于蓝珀材质的类同,不同产地蓝珀的光谱学等...     

First Psocodean (Psocodea,Empheriidae) from the Cretaceous Amber of New Jersey

<正>Representatives of the extinct psocid family Empheriidae are known from Eocene Baltic amber, Lowermost Eocene French amber(Oise),and Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber(Alava).We report herein the first discovery of an empheriid psocid from the Cretaceous amber of New Jersey as Jerseyempheria grimaldii gen.et sp. nov.The fossil is figured and described.The new species is distinguished from related taxa.A discussion and checklist of Empheriidae are provided.     

The aquatic and semiaquatic biota in Miocene amber from the Campo LA Granja mine (Chiapas,Mexico): Paleoenvironmental implications

Amber from the Campo La Granja mine in Chiapas, Mexico, is distinct from other sources of amber in Chiapas. Campo La Granja amber has distinct layers created by successive flows of resin with thin layers of sand on most surfaces. Aquatic and semi-aquatic arthropods are commonly found. Together these pieces of evidence suggest an estuarine environment similar to modern mangrove communities. The aquatic crustaceans are the most intriguing aspect of the biota. A large number of ostracods have been found in the amber—many with their carapaces open, suggesting that they were alive and submerged in water at the time of entombment. The only known examples of brachyuran crabs preserved in amber are found in the Campo La Granja amber. Amphipods, copepods, isopods, and tanaids are also members of the crustacean fauna preserved in amber.     

A putative twisted-wing parasitoid planidium (Insecta: Strepsiptera) in Taimyr Upper Cretaceous amber

A planidium is newly recorded from Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) amber of the Taimyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Siberia. This peculiar fossil is tentatively attributed to the order Strepsiptera, representing the first record of this lineage from these deposits. Planidia of a similar conicocephalate form are known from the slightly younger amber of western Canada (Campanian) as well as in the earlier (Cenomanian) amber of Myanmar, and comparisons are made with those fossils, as well as with living Strepsiptera and the beetle family Ripiphoridae (Tenebrionoidea). Given recent debate concerning the strepsipteran attribution of these planidia, we provide some discussion about the available and expected character evidence, and tend to believe assignment to Ripiphoridae is untenable. While placement with Strepsiptera remains difficult to state conclusively, the current limited evidence still tends to prefer the strepsipteran hypothesis.     

A new tribe of Galerucinae leaf beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber

The new tribe Taimyralticini trib. nov., new genus Taimyraltica gen. nov. and new species Taimyraltica calcarata sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) are described from Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Taimyr amber of northern Siberia (Yantardakh locality). The new genus shares characters with genera of the tribe Alticini (small size, transverse antebasal groove on pronotum, regular punctate-striate elytra) and the Galerucini (narrow, non-swollen metafemora). A possible apomorphy of the new genus and tribe is a large and acute metatibial spur, erect and oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis of tibia. This character state is unknown in recent and fossil genera of Galerucinae. Early evolution and divergence of leaf beetles are discussed, and a Jurassic and Early Cretaceous subfamily radiation is proposed. Fossil galerucines are reviewed. The oldest Phyllotreta is recorded from the lower Miocene of Izarra (Spain). Our findings show an extreme rarity of Phytophaga in Taimyr amber from Yantardakh. Absence of Phytophaga was recorded earlier at Obeschayuschiy (Santonian-Campanian of the Magadan Region) and compared with their much larger share in Khetana (north of Khabarovsk Krai); we find nearly the same differences between Taimyr amber from Yantardakh and Canadian amber. In Obeschayuschiy this appears due to the Mesophytic character of the flora. It is assumed that the Santonian amber gymnosperm forest of the Khatanga Basin had the same character.     

琥珀优化工艺实验研究

选用俄罗斯加里宁格勒琥珀原料为优化工艺实验研究对象,以市场上常见的琥珀品种为实验目标,通过控制实验过程中的温度、压力及环境气氛,获得了金珀、血珀、金花珀、红花珀及老蜜蜡等实验产品,并探讨了琥珀优化的工艺流程、工艺条件及影响因素。研究结果说明,琥珀优化的工艺流程分为准备阶段、装炉阶段、优化阶段和开炉阶段。通过净化工艺可获得金珀产品,通过烤色工艺可获得血珀产品,通过爆花工艺可获得花珀,在常压、长时间低温加热的缓慢氧化条件下可获得老蜜蜡。总结了影响琥珀优化工艺的因素,包括其原料的颜色、透明度、块度、温压条件、环境气氛等。     

First record of the family Scolebythidae (Hymenoptera) in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar

Two new genera and species belonging to the family Scolebythidae are described from mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar, Cursoribythus silvestris and Siccibythus musculosus. These taxa are introduced into the current phylogenetic tree of the family, in order to analyze their relationships and observe their impacts on our understanding of the family. The implication of the findings (this is the first record of the family in the Cretaceous amber deposits of Myanmar) are discussed.     

Frullania pinnata spec. nov. (Frullaniaceae,Porellales), a new leafy liverwort in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from Myanmar

An inclusion in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar is described as a new fossil species in the extant liverwort genus Frullania. The name Frullania pinnata is proposed for the taxon that is characterized by entire underleaves paired with a conspicuous pinnate branching pattern, two distinctive and stable morphological features. Entire underleaves are known in several extant Frullania species but had not previously been documented in Frullania in amber. The combination of morphological characters in this new fossil species is unknown in any crown group lineage of Frullania, and may very well represent a stem lineage element of the genus. This discovery is important because it expands our understanding of the diversity of Frullaniaceae in the Burmese amber forest as well as important ramifications for the phylogenetic reconstruction of extant Frullania lineages.     

New mantises (Insecta: Mantodea) in Cretaceous ambers from Lebanon,Spain, and Myanmar

Diverse new material of mantises found in the Cretaceous amber-bearing deposits from Lebanon (Barremian), Spain (Albian), and Myanmar (Albian–Cenomanian) are described and figured. The Lebanese and Spanish forms are nymphs; while the one from Myanmar is an adult specimen. The Lebanese nymph corresponds to a new specimen of Burmantis lebanensis Grimaldi, 2003 while the adult Burmese (Myanmar) specimen belongs to the new species Burmantis zherikhini. The Spanish specimen represents a new genus and species and is established as Aragonimantis aenigma, but is considered family incertae sedis. The Spanish specimen is the first record of Mesozoic mantises from western-European amber deposits. A revised phylogenetic hypothesis for Cretaceous mantises is proposed.     

Territoriality of signs: amber in the State’s semiotics in Latvia

Amber-signs in the Latvian nation-state’s semiotics, constructed during the interwar period, are only bits and pieces of a complex system such as the State. However, the resonance that amber semiotics effectuated, despite its actual rarity, was and still is remarkably influential. Amber was extensively deployed as a signifier to the territory and its people, places and things; it signified patria, belonging and the homeland. Such State semiotics, according to Deleuze–Guattarian concepts, is distinguished as a signifying regime of signs characterized by its universal deception and regulated by State-controlled interpretations, facialized centres, and a high degree of deterritorializations. We examine the thresholds of territoriality-deterritorialization relations and expressions of amber signs during the Latvian nation-state’s and the Soviet Union’s semiotic regimes, conceptualized as indexes, symbols and icons. By tracing and mapping of these territorialisation movements we enrich our understanding of how effective the created semiotics are, and in what variety of forms and territorialities, including linguistic, craftsmanship, and varied place makings, they are expressed in a particular regime. Such territorial perspective thus shifts the focus from what and why these signs mean (e.g., national identity, homeland) to where, when and how (e.g., dynamics of various State’s territorialities) they become operational. Among other national products that emit signs, amber proved to be most effective in the functioning of State’s signifying semiotics in Latvia, representing thoroughly the strangleholds and the continuity of such deceptive semiotics.     

压制琥珀的新认识

随着琥珀市场需求的增加及琥珀优化处理技术的改进与创新,压制琥珀呈现外观逼真、结构复杂、方法多样的新态势。利用宝石显微镜、偏光显微镜、红外光谱仪对压制金珀、压制血珀、＂爆花＂压制琥珀、烤色压制琥珀、压固蓝珀、压固胶结蓝珀、压制蜜蜡等样品的宝石学参数、显微结构、红外吸收光谱进行了研究与分析,结果显示,碎粒-碎粉结构、红色斑点结构、不含＂血丝＂状构造的粒状＂镶嵌＂结构、碎块胶结结构等是压制琥珀的结构鉴定特征;颗粒间分布的＂太阳光芒＂、紊乱流纹、叶脉状流纹、丝瓜瓤状流纹等是压制琥珀的内含物鉴定特征;若蓝珀中的红外光谱I=2 932cm-1/I=1 723cm-1处的吸收强度比值接近1∶1,暗示着该蓝珀可能经过了优化处理。     

Jurassic Amber in Lebanon

<正>Reports of amber predating the Lower Cretaceous are unusual and scarce;they mostly refer to amber pieces of millimetric dimension.In the present study,we report the discovery of 10 new outcrops of Jurassic amber in Lebanon.Some of these had large centimetric-sized pieces of amber.The new localities are described,amber is characterized,and its infrared spectra given.Although the new Jurassic amber yielded to date no more than fungal inclusions,this material is significant and promising.The discovery of several Jurassic outcrops provides crucial information on the prevailing paleoenvironment of that time.     

A golden age for ectoparasitoids of Embiodea: Cretaceous Sclerogibbidae (Hymenoptera,Chrysidoidea) from Kachin (Myanmar), Charentes (France) and Choshi (Japan) ambers

Sclerogibbid wasps are obligate parasitoids of webspinners (Embiodea). Both groups have a particularly scarce geological record and are known since the Cretaceous: there are only four species of webspinners known from Burmese amber, and only two sclerogibbids were described from Barremian Lebanese and Cenomanian Burmese ambers. Here we report transferred genus from Aptian Choshi (Japan) amber and new sclerogibbids from Cenomanian Burmese and Charentese (France) ambers. The taxa described from Burmese amber are: Burmasclerogibba aptera gen. et sp. nov., Cretosclerogibba gen. nov. (with C. antennalis sp. nov., C. contractocollis sp. nov., C. neli sp. nov. and C. rasnitsyni sp. nov.) and Edrossia vetusta gen. et sp. nov. The first European fossil sclerogibbid Gallosclerogibba alnensis gen. et sp. nov. is described from Charentese amber. The holotype of Chosia yamadai Fujiyama, from Choshi amber, is re-described; it appears to be the oldest Laurasian sclerogibbid. The significant abundance and variety of Burmese sclerogibbid wasps (60% of fossil species known worldwide), as proxy of their hosts, were probably caused by the protection granted to them by the silk webs and possibly by the limited predation from ornithuromorph birds or crown-group ants. While all three extant sclerogibbid genera have apterous females, genera with winged females (Cretosclerogibba and Edrossia) dominated in Burmese amber. Small silk galleries from hosts may have favored the preservation of wings in females of Cretaceous sclerogibbids. Most new species described in the present paper, in addition to C. yamadai, are characterized by a very slender neck and a very long frontal process concealing the antennal toruli. These characters disappeared in extant species. We suggest that this loss was caused by a change in the fauna of predators, penalizing species with long neck and rostrum.     

Physicochemical structural characterization of ambers from deposits in Poland

The physical and chemical properties of 8 samples of amber from different localities in Poland (Baltic Coast, Bełchatów Tertiary brown coal, and Jaroszów clay mine) were investigated by N₂ sorption at 77 K, positron annihilation spectroscopy for chemical analysis (PASCA) and by organic geochemical methods (FT-IR,¹H and¹³C NMR, GC, and GC-MS). The porosity of the ambers as determined by PASCA consists of narrow micropores with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 0.9 nm and a volume 0.025 cm³ g⁻¹. In the external eroded part of the amber samples (rind) the concentration of pores where positronium atoms can form is lower and consists of approximately12 the concentration as in their interior. Values of pore parameters determined from sorption of N₂ are comparable with those found by the PASCA method. The average diameter of pores ranges from 2 to 12 nm, while their volume varies from 0.018 to 0.048 cm³ g⁻¹.. The chemical character of the ambers is similar based on FT-IR spectroscopy. However, noticeable differences in concentrations of ester and hydroxyl groups are observed in both exterior and interior regions, where the abundances of the ester groups are lower in the exterior rind. The proportion of organic material extractable with chloroform-methanol (1:1, v/v) ranges from 15 to 50% and correlates inversely to the average reflectances (R_r) of polished amber surfaces which range from 1.7 to 0.1 %. These variations are attributed to differing concentrations of oxygenated groups in the respective amber samples. The FT-IR spectra of the non-polar fractions (NP) from the extracts resemble the spectra of the source ambers. However, the intensities of the absorbance for the hdroxyl group are much lower, while absorbances for exomethylene groups are not present. The¹H and¹³C NMR data of NP fractions showed a complex diversity of components in mixtures with different relative concentrations but predominantly aliphatic in character for the respective samples.GC and GC-MS analyses of these fractions revealed that they are comprised of a mixture of compounds typical for Baltic amber but with variable relative concentrations. Two groups of compounds are found to be common to all NP fractions. The first is a minor concentration of homologousn-alkanes with a characteristic Gaussian distribution in the range from C₂₂ to C₃₂ and maximizing at C₂₆–C₂₇. In addition C₂₂ is characteristically slightly higher in concentration compared to C₂₃. The second group of compounds is comprised of succinates with methyl, fenchyl, bomyl and isobornyl alcohols. The composition of these diesters revealed the same equilibrium ratio between compounds with fenchyl, bornyl and isobornyl alcohols in all NP fractions. We suggest an early enzymatically controlled (bacterial) process in the formation of succinates during resin diagenesis from the biotic precursors, yielding the same characteristic ratio of the respective succinates in these ambers. These results show that all the ambers analyzed here fall into a common class of fossil resin, succinite (class Ia) independent of the sample location in Poland.     

New species of fossil oribatid mites (Acariformes,Oribatida), from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Spain

Mites are relatively common and diverse in fossiliferous ambers, but remain essentially unstudied. Here, we report on five new oribatid fossil species from Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber, including representatives of three superfamilies, and five families of the Oribatida. Hypovertex hispanicus sp. nov. and Tenuelamellarea estefaniae sp. nov. are described from amber pieces discovered in the San Just outcrop (Teruel Province). This is the first time fossil oribatid mites have been discovered in the El Soplao outcrop (Cantabria Province) and, here, we describe the following new species: Afronothrus ornosae sp. nov., Nothrus vazquezae sp. nov., and Platyliodes sellnicki sp. nov. The taxa are discussed in relation to other fossil lineages of Oribatida as well as in relation to their modern counterparts. Some of the inclusions were imaged using confocal laser scanning microscopy, demonstrating the potential of this technique for studying fossil mites in amber. A table, including all the known Mesozoic oribatid mites preserved in amber, is included.     

New ripiphorid beetles in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae): First Pelecotominae and possible Mesozoic aggregative behaviour in male Ripidiinae

New fossil material of ripiphorid beetles (Tenebrionoidea: Ripiphoridae) is described and figured in lowermost Cenomanian amber from the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar. Flabellotoma heidiae gen. et sp. nov. is the Mesozoic representative of the putatively primitive subfamily Pelecotominae, represented by an almost completely preserved male. The new genus is compared with all extant members of the subfamily and is most notably distinguishable by an autapomorphic combination of a reduced tibial spur formula and unique ventral abdominal sclerite, and presumably in antennal structure as well. In addition, a syninclusion of eight males of Ripidiinae is discussed. The males are similar to Paleoripiphorus deploegi Perrichot, Nel, et Néraudeau in roughly coeval amber from western France. The syninclusion is interpreted as a result of aggregative behaviour during the flight activity of males, thereby representing the earliest documented evidence of such ethology. Brief remarks are made regarding the similarities among Cretaceous amber beetle faunas, and Mesozoic taxa previously attributed to Ripiphoridae are newly reconsidered.