Biological inclusions in amber from the Paleogene Chickaloon Formation of Alaska

Title Variants

Alternative: Paleogene biological inclusions in amber

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, number 3908

By

Grimaldi, David A. , author

Sunderlin, David , author
Aaroe, Georgene A. , author
Dempsky, Michelle R. , author
Parker, Nancy E. , author
Tillery, George Q. , author
White, Jaclyn G. , author
Barden, Phillip M. , author
Nascimbene, Paul C. , author
Williams, Christopher J. (Christopher James), 1970- , author

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History [2018]

Notes

Caption title.

"September 28, 2018."

The Chickaloon Formation in south-central Alaska contains rich coal deposits dated very close to the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, immediately beneath which occur dispersed nodules of amber along with abundant remains of Metasequoia, dicots, and monocots. The nodules are small (less than 10 mm in length), nearly 10,000 of which were screened, yielding several inclusions of fungi and plant fragments, but mostly terrestrial arthropods: 29 specimens in 10 orders and 13 families. The fungi include resinicolous hyphae and a dark, multiseptate hyphomycete. Plants include wood/bark fragments and fibers, and the microphylls of a bryophyte (probably a moss, Musci). Among the arthropods are arachnids: mites (Acari: Oribatida), Pseudoscorpionida, and the bodies and a silken cocoon of spiders (Araneae). Insecta include Blattodea, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera (Heteroptera and Aphidoidea), Coleoptera (Dermestidae: Megatominae), Trichoptera, Diptera (Chironomidae: Tanypodinae), and Hymenoptera (Formicidae: Formicinae). Nymphal aphids predominate (65% of the arthropod individuals), which were probably feeding on the source tree, likely Metasequoia. There is a bias in preservation toward small arthropods (mean body length 0.75 mm) that are surface-dwelling (nonwinged) stages and taxa. Chickaloon amber contains the most northerly fossil records of pseudoscorpions, thrips, Dermestidae, and Cenozoic ants and mites, so the deposit is contributing unique data on high-latitude paleodiversity of the Paleogene hothouse earth.

Subjects

Alaska , Amber fossils , Cenozoic , Chickaloon Formation , Chickaloon Formation (Alaska) , Paleobiogeography , Paleoentomology , Paleogene , Paleontology , Sutton Region

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3908 2018

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/3908.1
OCLC: 1054904414