Fossil evidence of lichen grazing from Palaeogene amber
- Author(s)
- Leyla Jean Seyfullah
- Abstract
Lichens are important in many modern terrestrial ecosystems, but their fossil record has been very sparse. This has limited the chances for finding any evidence of their interactions with animals in past ecosystems. Recently, the fossil record of lichens has improved significantly with the discovery of numerous new inclusions from European Palaeogene ambers. Here, we report the first fossil evidence of animal–lichen interactions from one new fossil from Bitterfeld amber of central Germany. A foliose fossil lichen, possibly belonging to the Physciaceae, exhibits three feeding marks and co-preserved invertebrate faecal pellets. To gain insights into this Palaeogene lichen-invertebrate interaction, we compared the fossil grazing damage and faecal pellets to those obtained from several extant lichen feeders, including mites, collembolans, psocopterans, coleopteran larvae and gastropods. The results of the grazing experiments suggest that gastropods and mites most likely caused the feeding marks preserved in the fossil lichen.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Palaeontology
- Journal
- Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
- Volume
- 302
- No. of pages
- 10
- ISSN
- 0034-6667
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2022.104664
- Publication date
- 07-2022
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105117 Palaeobotany, 106029 Plant morphology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Palaeontology
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/fossil-evidence-of-lichen-grazing-from-palaeogene-amber(01b589d3-8918-4467-b46f-bd048e610a37).html