A gigantic marine ostracod (Crustacea: Myodocopa) trapped in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
- Author(s)
- Lida Xing, Benjamin Sames, Ryan C. McKellar, Dangpeng Xi, Ming Bai, Xiaoqiao Wan
- 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.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Geology
- External organisation(s)
- China University of Geosciences, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Volume
- 8
- No. of pages
- 9
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19877-y
- Publication date
- 01-2018
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106054 Zoology, 105118 Palaeontology
- Keywords
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 14 - Life Below Water
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/beb79aea-8cda-42c5-9417-54a8d6dfb030