Pérez-de la Fuente Ricardo, Delclòs Xavier, Peñalver Enrique, Engel Michael S
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States.
Departament d'Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geociències Marines, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, E-08071, Barcelona, Spain.
Arthropod Struct Dev. 2016 Mar;45(2):133-139. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2015.08.002. Epub 2015 Aug 28.
Amber holds special paleobiological significance due to its ability to preserve direct evidence of biotic interactions and animal behaviors for millions of years. Here we review the finding of Hallucinochrysa diogenesi Pérez-de la Fuente, Delclòs, Peñalver and Engel, 2012, a morphologically atypical larva related to modern green lacewings (Insecta: Neuroptera) that was described in Early Cretaceous amber from the El Soplao outcrop (northern Spain). The fossil larva is preserved with a dense cloud of fern trichomes that corresponds to the trash packet the insect gathered and carried on its back for camouflaging and shielding, similar to that which is done by its extant relatives. This finding supports the prominent role of wildfires in the paleoecosystem and provides direct evidence of both an ancient plant-insect interaction and an early acquisition of a defensive behavior in an insect lineage. Overall, the fossil of H. diogenesi showcases the potential that the amber record offers to reconstruct not only the morphology of fossil arthropods but, more remarkably, their lifestyles and ecological relationships.
琥珀具有特殊的古生物学意义，因为它能够保存数百万年生物相互作用和动物行为的直接证据。在此，我们回顾2012年佩雷斯 - 德拉富恩特、德尔克洛斯、佩尼亚尔韦尔和恩格尔描述的“幻变克里萨”（Hallucinochrysa diogenesi）的发现，这是一种形态上非典型的幼虫，与现代草蛉（昆虫纲：脉翅目）有关，它是在西班牙北部埃尔索普拉奥露头的早白垩世琥珀中被描述的。化石幼虫保存时有一团密集的蕨类植物毛状体，这与该昆虫收集并背在背上用于伪装和防护的垃圾包相对应，类似于其现存亲属的行为。这一发现支持了野火在古生态系统中的重要作用，并为古代植物与昆虫的相互作用以及昆虫谱系中防御行为的早期获得提供了直接证据。总体而言，“幻变克里萨”化石展示了琥珀记录不仅在重建化石节肢动物形态方面，而且更显著地在重建它们的生活方式和生态关系方面所具有的潜力。
