{"title":"New larval records of the extinct hard tick Compluriscutula vetulum (Arachnida: Ixodida) from Burmese amber, with notes on its morphology","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.palwor.2023.10.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The hard tick <em>Compluriscutula vetulum</em> <span><span>Poinar and Buckley, 2008</span></span><span> (Ixodida: Ixodidae) from the mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar was first described in a new, extinct genus based on a larva. Here, several more larvae are documented providing additional morphological data based on optical studies using a Keyence VHX-6000 Digital Microscope supplemented by computed microtomography (µ-CT). We confirm the presence of 14 festoons (not 13) on the posterior margin of the body, a character unique for the genus. We further describe an unusual pattern of hypostome dentition in the mouthparts<span>, with an unequal and uneven 2/2 arrangement. Moreover, on the internal side of the palps, to the second and third segments five tooth-like elements are present, similar to the hypostome dentition. Fossil ticks are generally very rare, thus the discovery of numerous new specimens of </span></span><em>C. vetulum</em><span> suggests that it may have been relatively common in the Burmese amber forest. Larval instars predominate in the fossil record and we might speculate that they preferred arboricolous hosts.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":48708,"journal":{"name":"Palaeoworld","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Palaeoworld","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X23000963","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The hard tick Compluriscutula vetulumPoinar and Buckley, 2008 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) from the mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar was first described in a new, extinct genus based on a larva. Here, several more larvae are documented providing additional morphological data based on optical studies using a Keyence VHX-6000 Digital Microscope supplemented by computed microtomography (µ-CT). We confirm the presence of 14 festoons (not 13) on the posterior margin of the body, a character unique for the genus. We further describe an unusual pattern of hypostome dentition in the mouthparts, with an unequal and uneven 2/2 arrangement. Moreover, on the internal side of the palps, to the second and third segments five tooth-like elements are present, similar to the hypostome dentition. Fossil ticks are generally very rare, thus the discovery of numerous new specimens of C. vetulum suggests that it may have been relatively common in the Burmese amber forest. Larval instars predominate in the fossil record and we might speculate that they preferred arboricolous hosts.
期刊介绍:
Palaeoworld is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal dedicated to the study of past life and its environment. We encourage submission of original manuscripts on all aspects of palaeontology and stratigraphy, comparisons of regional and global data in time and space, and results generated by interdisciplinary investigations in related fields. Some issues will be devoted entirely to a special theme whereas others will be composed of contributed articles. Palaeoworld is dedicated to serving a broad spectrum of geoscientists and palaeobiologists as well as serving as a resource for students in fields as diverse as palaeobiology, evolutionary biology, taxonomy and phylogeny, geobiology, historical geology, and palaeoenvironment.
Palaeoworld publishes original articles in the following areas:
•Phylogeny and taxonomic studies of all fossil groups
•Biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy
•Palaeoecology, palaeoenvironment and global changes throughout Earth history
•Tempo and mode of biological evolution
•Biological events in Earth history (e.g., extinctions, radiations)
•Ecosystem evolution
•Geobiology and molecular palaeobiology
•Palaeontological and stratigraphic methods
•Interdisciplinary studies focusing on fossils and strata