Titel
A gigantic marine ostracod (Crustacea: Myodocopa) trapped in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
Autor*in
Lida Xing
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences
Ryan C. McKellar
Royal Saskatchewan Museum
... show all
Abstract
The mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (~99 Ma, Myanmar), widely known for exquisite preservation of theropods, also yields microfossils, which can provide important contextual information on paleoenvironment and amber formation. We report the first Cretaceous ostracod in amber—the gigantic (12.9 mm) right valve of an exclusively marine group (Myodocopa: Myodocopida) preserved in Burmese amber. Ostracods are usually small (0.5–2 mm), with well-calcified carapaces that provide an excellent fossil record extending to at least the Ordovician (~485 million years ago), but they are rarely encountered in amber. The new specimen effectively doubles the age of the ostracod amber record, offering the first representative of the Myodocopa, a weakly calcified group with a poor fossil record. Its carapace morphology is atypical and likely plesiomorphic. The preserved valve appears to be either a moulted exuvium or a dead and disarticulated specimen, and subsequent resin flows contain forest floor inclusions with terrestrial arthropods, i.e., fragmentary remains of spiders, and insect frass. These features resolve an enigmatic taphonomic pathway, and support a marginal marine setting for resin production.
Stichwort
PalaeoecologyPalaeontology
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:1075128
Erschienen in
Titel
Scientific Reports
Band
8
Publication
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Fördergeber
Austrian Science Fund (FWF) — P 27687
Erscheinungsdatum
2018
Zugänglichkeit
Rechte
Rechteangabe
© The Author(s) 2018
Universität Wien | Universitätsring 1 | 1010 Wien | T
+43-1-4277-0