- I am interested in the structure, natural history and systematics of fossil and extant organisms.edit
Research Interests: Biology, Hymenoptera, Cretaceous, Genus, Hemiptera, and 3 morePalaeodiversity, Brown Planthopper, and Burmese
Un nematode Mermithidae inclus dans de l'ambre provenant du Liban represente le plus ancien nematode fossile connu. Ce specimen est assigne a l'espece nouvelle H. libani sp. n., appartenant au genre, encore actuel, Heleidomermis... more
Un nematode Mermithidae inclus dans de l'ambre provenant du Liban represente le plus ancien nematode fossile connu. Ce specimen est assigne a l'espece nouvelle H. libani sp. n., appartenant au genre, encore actuel, Heleidomermis Rubtsov. Ce nematode est enroule a l'interieur de l'abdomen de l'insecte hote, une simulie adulte (Diptere: Ceratopogonidae). Cette association represente, en ce qui concerne l'environnement terrestre, le plus ancien exemple connu de parasitisme interne d'un animal envers un autre animal. Cette trouvaille demontre l'anciennete des nematodes Mermithides et fait remonter leur parasitisme envers les Dipteres inferieurs a quelque 120-135 millions d'annees
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Research Interests: Paleontology and Flea
Paleoploiariola, un género fósil monotípico en la subfamilia Emesinae (Heteroptera, Reduviidae), es descrito a base de P. venosa, especie nueva. Este género se caracteriza por la vena apical muy gruesa en la única celda discal de las alas... more
Paleoploiariola, un género fósil monotípico en la subfamilia Emesinae (Heteroptera, Reduviidae), es descrito a base de P. venosa, especie nueva. Este género se caracteriza por la vena apical muy gruesa en la única celda discal de las alas anteriores.
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We report here the isolation of DNA from abdominal tissue of four extinct stingless bees (Proplebeia dominicana) in Dominican amber, PCR amplification of a 546-bp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene from Bacillus spp., and their corresponding... more
We report here the isolation of DNA from abdominal tissue of four extinct stingless bees (Proplebeia dominicana) in Dominican amber, PCR amplification of a 546-bp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene from Bacillus spp., and their corresponding nucleotide sequences. These sequences were used in basic local alignment search tool searches of nonredundant nucleic acid data bases, and the highest scores were obtained with 16S rRNA sequences from Bacillus spp. Phylogenetic inference analysis by the maximum-likelihood method revealed close phylogenetic relationships of the four presumed ancient Bacillus sequences with Bacillus pumilus, B. firmus, B. subtilis, and B. circulans. These four extant Bacillus spp. are commonly isolated from abdominal tissue of stingless bees. The close phylogenetic association of the extracted DNA sequences with these bee colonizers suggests that a similar bee-Bacillus association existed in the extinct species P. dominicana.
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A new genus and species of gecko is described from a posterior lower limb and foot, and a partial tail, preserved in Lower Cretaceous amber from Myanmar that is 97–110My old. It appears to be the oldest unequivocal fossil gecko, predating... more
A new genus and species of gecko is described from a posterior lower limb and foot, and a partial tail, preserved in Lower Cretaceous amber from Myanmar that is 97–110My old. It appears to be the oldest unequivocal fossil gecko, predating fragmentary skeletal remains from the Upper Cretaceous and being 43–56 My older than Yanatarogecko from the Lower Eocene, previously the oldest known gecko preserved in amber. It also provides firm evidence that gekkotans and possibly gekkonids were in Asia at this time. The Myanmar specimen shows, that the distinctive foot proportions and sophisticated adhesive mechanism, involving pads on the toes with transverse lamellae probably bearing numerous hairlike setae found in many modern geckos, had already evolved around 100My ago. The specimen is very small, even compared with juveniles of the smallest living geckos. However, the high numbers of lamellae on its toe pads suggest it is from a juvenile of a species with relatively large adult body size.
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A new genus and species of fossil soldier beetle Markus karenae gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber. Its morphological characteristics place it in the taxonomic position of the subfamily Silinae. It is... more
A new genus and species of fossil soldier beetle Markus karenae gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber. Its morphological characteristics place it in the taxonomic position of the subfamily Silinae. It is characterized by a particular lateral pronotal shape with two difform processes, pronotum slightly longer than wide, with a blunt and evident angle near the basal angles, anterior and posterior margins flat and with shallow punctation, and lateral margin strongly granulose and in relief. Furthermore, each of its legs has a claw with one acute tooth at the base, except for the posterior legs where the tooth appears to be blunt. The new taxon is morphologically compared with the other fossil representatives of Silinae from Baltic amber, and with extant Palearctic genera.
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Zoology, Paleontology, Biology, Medicine, and 8 moreAmber, Baltic States, Fossils, Animals, Coleoptera, Genus, Baltic amber, and Taxon
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Research Interests: Zoology, Taxonomy, Biology, Morphology, Morphometry, and 3 moreOrthoptera, Description, and Taxonomie
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Research Interests: Engineering, Paleontology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and 15 moreMorphology, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Sharks, Fossils, Animals, Paleozoic, PLoS one, Basin, Parasitologia, Feces, Leopard, Cestoda, ovum, and Parasitas
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Our study of the Hat Creek amber (Poinaret al.1999) was undertaken to determine the range of the biota in the resin, to identify the plant that produced the resin, and to assess the future implications of these significant deposits. The... more
Our study of the Hat Creek amber (Poinaret al.1999) was undertaken to determine the range of the biota in the resin, to identify the plant that produced the resin, and to assess the future implications of these significant deposits. The study was in no way “compromised” by providing an alternative interpretation of the systematic position of the genusSphecomyrmaWilson and Brown.
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Résumé/Abstract Parasitylenchus nearcticus sp. n.(Tylenchida: Allantonematidae) est décrit comme parasite de Drosophila recens (Diptera: Drosophilidae) récolté dans les Adirondacks Mountains, État de New York, États-Unis d'Amérique.... more
Résumé/Abstract Parasitylenchus nearcticus sp. n.(Tylenchida: Allantonematidae) est décrit comme parasite de Drosophila recens (Diptera: Drosophilidae) récolté dans les Adirondacks Mountains, État de New York, États-Unis d'Amérique. Cette nouvelle espèce est comparée à la seule espèce connue-en Grande-Bretagne-du genre Parasitylenchus, et une clé des Allantonematidae parasites de Drosophilidae est présentée. Les femelles des deux générations parasites montrent un dimorphisme dans la forme du stylet et des ...
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A new genus and species of mites, Protoresinacarus brevipedis gen. n., sp. n. (Acari: Heterostigmata: Pyemotoidea), is described from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. This represents the first fossil record of a member of the family... more
A new genus and species of mites, Protoresinacarus brevipedis gen. n., sp. n. (Acari: Heterostigmata: Pyemotoidea), is described from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. This represents the first fossil record of a member of the family Resinacaridae. It is represented by 21 phoretic females adjacent to an adult mantidfly (Neuroptera: Mantispidae). This is the first record of phoresy of pyemotid mites
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Fifteen species of insect herbivores were discovered on ferns growing along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. These included insects from the orders: Diptera in the families Anthomyiidae, Cecidiomyiidae and Syrphidae:... more
Fifteen species of insect herbivores were discovered on ferns growing along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. These included insects from the orders: Diptera in the families Anthomyiidae, Cecidiomyiidae and Syrphidae: Lepidoptera in the families Erebidae, Tortricidae and Noctuidae: Hymenoptera in the family Tenthredinidae: Hemiptera in the family Aphididae and Coleoptera in the family Curculionidae. The present study illustrates these associations that provides new world and North American host records of fern herbivores. The fossil record of these families is used to determine if the most ancient of these insects (dating from the Mesozoic) are now mostly restricted to ferns and the most recent ones (dating from the Cenozoic) are mostly polyphagous, feeding on ferns as well as various angiosperms. Results indicate that the insect clades belonging to the most ancient families, such as Aneugmenuss and Strongylogaster in the Tenthredinidae and Dasineura and Mycodiplosis i...
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A new species of spiroplasmid, Spiroplasma burmanica sp. nov. (Mollicutes: Entomoplasmatales: Spiroplasmataceae) is described from the body cavity of a fossil plant louse (Psylloidea: Sternorrhyncha) in Burmese amber. The new species is... more
A new species of spiroplasmid, Spiroplasma burmanica sp. nov. (Mollicutes: Entomoplasmatales: Spiroplasmataceae) is described from the body cavity of a fossil plant louse (Psylloidea: Sternorrhyncha) in Burmese amber. The new species is pleomorphic with body shapes varying from oval to helical. The majority of the helical cells occur in the head, thorax (including leg cavities) and abdomen of the fossil psyllid. The association between S. burmanica and the psyllid is considered to be a case of symbiosis, similar to extant relationships. This discovery of the first fossil spiroplasmid shows that psyllids carried these microorganisms some 100 million years ago.
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Research Interests: Biology and Ascomycota
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Research Interests: Speciation, Taxonomy, Nematology, Biology, Morphology, and 9 moreEvolution, Morphometry, Adaptive Radiation, Transmission, Parasite, PEST, Taxonomie, Keys, and Diagnose
Ants can serve as developmental, definitive, intermediate, or carrier hosts of a variety of nematodes. Parasitic ant nematodes include members of the families Mermithidae, Tetradonematidae, Allantonematidae, Seuratidae, Physalopteridae,... more
Ants can serve as developmental, definitive, intermediate, or carrier hosts of a variety of nematodes. Parasitic ant nematodes include members of the families Mermithidae, Tetradonematidae, Allantonematidae, Seuratidae, Physalopteridae, Steinernematidae, and Heterorhabditidae. Those nematodes that are phoretically associated with ants, internally or externally, are represented by the Rhabditidae, Diplogastridae, and Panagrolaimidae. Fossils of mermithids, tetradonematids, allantonematids, and diplogastrids associated with ants show the evolutionary history of these relationships, some of which date back to the Eocene (40 mya).
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The history of entomopathogenic nematology is briefly reviewed. Topic selections include early descriptions of members of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, how only morphology was originally used to distinguish between the species;... more
The history of entomopathogenic nematology is briefly reviewed. Topic selections include early descriptions of members of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, how only morphology was originally used to distinguish between the species; descriptions of the symbiotic bacteria and elucidating their role in the nematode- insect complex, including antibiotic properties, phase variants, and impeding host defense responses. Other topics include early solutions regarding production, storage, field applications and the first commercial sales of entomopathogenic nematodes in North America. Later studies centered on how the nematodes locate insect hosts, their effects on non-target organisms and susceptibility of the infective juveniles to soil microbes. While the goals of early workers was to increase the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes for pest control, the increasing use of Heterorhabditis and Photorhabdus as genetic models in molecular biology is noted.
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Paleoophiocordyceps coccophagus, a fungal parasite of a scale insect from the Early Cretaceous (Upper Albian), is reported and described here. This fossil not only provides the oldest fossil evidence of animal parasitism by fungi but also... more
Paleoophiocordyceps coccophagus, a fungal parasite of a scale insect from the Early Cretaceous (Upper Albian), is reported and described here. This fossil not only provides the oldest fossil evidence of animal parasitism by fungi but also contains morphological features similar to asexual states of Hirsutella and Hymenostilbe of the extant genus Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota). Because species of Hypocreales collectively exhibit a broad range of nutritional modes and symbioses involving plants, animals and other fungi, we conducted ancestral host reconstruction coupled with phylogenetic dating analyses calibrated with P.coccophagus. These results support a plant-based ancestral nutritional mode for Hypocreales, which then diversified ecologically through a dynamic process of intra- and interkingdom host shifts involving fungal, higher plant and animal hosts. This is especially evident in the families Cordycipitaceae, Cl...
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A new nematode, Tripius gyraloura n. sp., is described from the arundo gall midge, Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). This gall midge is being considered as a biological control agent for use in North America against the... more
A new nematode, Tripius gyraloura n. sp., is described from the arundo gall midge, Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). This gall midge is being considered as a biological control agent for use in North America against the introduced giant reed Arundo donax (L.) (Poaceae: Cyperales). Thus the present study was initiated to investigate a nematode parasite that was unknown at the time studies with L. donacis were initiated. The new species has a rapid development in the fly host and the mature parasitic female nematodes evert their uterine cells in the hosts' hemolymph. Because large numbers of nematodes sterilise the host, eradication of the parasite from laboratory colonies of the midge may be necessary before populations of the fly are released.
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The bee fossil record is fragmentary, making it difficult to accurately estimate the antiquity of bee-mediated pollination. Here, we describe a bee fossil [Melittosphex burmensis (new species), Melittosphecidae (new family)] from Early... more
The bee fossil record is fragmentary, making it difficult to accurately estimate the antiquity of bee-mediated pollination. Here, we describe a bee fossil [Melittosphex burmensis (new species), Melittosphecidae (new family)] from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber (~100 million years before the present). The fossil provides insights into the morphology of the earliest bees and provides a new minimum date for the antiquity of bees and bee-mediated pollination.