Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber.
Alexandra Viertler, Karin Urfer, Georg Schulz, Seraina Klopfstein, Tamara Spasojevic
{"title":"Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber.","authors":"Alexandra Viertler, Karin Urfer, Georg Schulz, Seraina Klopfstein, Tamara Spasojevic","doi":"10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The correct interpretation of fossils and their reliable taxonomic placements are fundamental for understanding the evolutionary history of biodiversity. Amber inclusions often preserve more morphological information than compression fossils, but are often partially hidden or distorted, which can impede taxonomic identification. Here, we studied four new fossil species of Darwin wasps from Baltic and Dominican amber, using micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans and 3D reconstructions to accurately interpret and increase the availability of morphological information. We then infer their taxonomic placement in a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis by combining morphological and molecular data of extant and fossil Darwin wasps and evaluate the impact and usefulness of the additional information from micro-CT scanning. The results show that although we gained significant morphological information from micro-CT scanning, especially concerning measurements and hidden dorsal and ventral structures, this did not impact subfamily-level placement for any of the four fossils. However, micro-CT scanning improved the precision of fossil placements at the genus level, which might be key in future dating and diversification analyses. Finally, we describe the four new fossil species as <i>Rhyssa gulliveri</i> sp. nov. in Rhyssinae<i>, Triclistus levii</i> sp. nov. in Metopiinae, <i>Firkantus freddykruegeri</i> gen. et. sp. nov. in Pimplinae and <i>Magnocula sarcophaga</i> gen. et sp. nov. in Phygadeuontinae. The first two species are the first known representatives of the subfamilies Rhyssinae and Metopiinae in amber.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2.</p>","PeriodicalId":56059,"journal":{"name":"Swiss Journal of Palaeontology","volume":"142 1","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10624732/pdf/","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Swiss Journal of Palaeontology","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/11/3 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The correct interpretation of fossils and their reliable taxonomic placements are fundamental for understanding the evolutionary history of biodiversity. Amber inclusions often preserve more morphological information than compression fossils, but are often partially hidden or distorted, which can impede taxonomic identification. Here, we studied four new fossil species of Darwin wasps from Baltic and Dominican amber, using micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans and 3D reconstructions to accurately interpret and increase the availability of morphological information. We then infer their taxonomic placement in a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis by combining morphological and molecular data of extant and fossil Darwin wasps and evaluate the impact and usefulness of the additional information from micro-CT scanning. The results show that although we gained significant morphological information from micro-CT scanning, especially concerning measurements and hidden dorsal and ventral structures, this did not impact subfamily-level placement for any of the four fossils. However, micro-CT scanning improved the precision of fossil placements at the genus level, which might be key in future dating and diversification analyses. Finally, we describe the four new fossil species as Rhyssa gulliveri sp. nov. in Rhyssinae, Triclistus levii sp. nov. in Metopiinae, Firkantus freddykruegeri gen. et. sp. nov. in Pimplinae and Magnocula sarcophaga gen. et sp. nov. in Phygadeuontinae. The first two species are the first known representatives of the subfamilies Rhyssinae and Metopiinae in amber.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2.
期刊介绍:
The Swiss Journal of Palaeontology publishes original research and review articles of interest to the international community in the fields of palaeontology, taxonomy and systematics, while recognising at the same time the importance of documenting high-quality palaeontological data in a regional context. Palaeobiology in combination with alpha taxonomy is a core topic of the journal.
Submitted papers should have an appeal as wide as possible, directed towards an international readership. Contributions should not have been simultaneously submitted elsewhere, and the overlap of content between related articles should be minimal. Duplications of text and the use of previously published illustrations without adequate citation are unacceptable. If a manuscript has two or more authors, both or all have to sign to confirm they all were involved in the work and have agreed to its submission. The preferred manuscript language is UK English, but consistently used US English is also acceptable. We encourage the publication of proceedings of international meetings as well as special thematic issues. Short contributions and book reviews are also accepted.
An international editorial team as well as guest editors guarantee that the thematic issues as well as all articles in regular issues are peer-reviewed and meet the highest standards.