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Alleged vertebrate eggs from Upper Cretaceous redbeds, Gobi Desert, are fossil insect (Coleoptera) pupal chambers: Fictovichnus new ichnogenus
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
Abstract and Figures
Small egg-like structures from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia were previously interpreted as casts of crocodile, lizard, and turtle eggs, or as inorganic nodules. Identical structures from coeval redbeds at Bayan Mandahu in northern China indicate the structures are not vertebrate eggs, nor of vertebrate origin. Comparisons with Recent and Quaternary beetle (Coleoptera) pupal chambers show close similarities in size, shape, and the presence of a round to irregular exit hole for the adult beetle. Most importantly, the Cretaceous structures are enveloped by a thin clay-rich zone, which is expected if constructed by beetle larvae but inexplicable in any egg or inorganic nodule model. Additional evidence contradicting a vertebrate egg origin for the structures includes (i) the structures are too small to have been laid by turtle or crocodile species occurring in the Bayan Mandahu redbeds; (ii) the structures are isolated, not in clutches or pairs; and (iii) unlike newly hatched soft-shelled lizard eggs, the Cretaceous structures are not collapsed and show a round to irregular exit hole rather than a slit. It is concluded that the egg-like structures are sand casts (steinkerns) of beetle pupal chambers, probably of Scarabaeidae, Tenebrionidae, or Curculionidae. The Cretaceous pupal chambers are assigned to a new ichnogenus, Fictovichnus, and new ichnospecies, Fictovichnus gobiensis and Fictovichnus parvus.
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... The complete pupation chambers produced in this study can be compared to Fictovichnus gobiensis (Johnston et al., 1996) (Figures 5F, 6B,C, and 8D), Rebuffoichnus casamiquelai (Roselli, 1987) ( Figures 5C and 8E,F), and Pallichnus dakotensis (Retallack, 1984) (Figure 4C,G). Fictovichnus gobiensis is described as an ellipsoidal to ovoid chamber with a horizontal to subhorizontal orientation, rounded terminations at either end of the long axis, and a smooth outer surface (Genise, 2017;Johnston et al., 1996). ...
... The complete pupation chambers produced in this study can be compared to Fictovichnus gobiensis (Johnston et al., 1996) (Figures 5F, 6B,C, and 8D), Rebuffoichnus casamiquelai (Roselli, 1987) ( Figures 5C and 8E,F), and Pallichnus dakotensis (Retallack, 1984) (Figure 4C,G). Fictovichnus gobiensis is described as an ellipsoidal to ovoid chamber with a horizontal to subhorizontal orientation, rounded terminations at either end of the long axis, and a smooth outer surface (Genise, 2017;Johnston et al., 1996). Pallichnus dakotensis, in contrast, is a nearly spherical chamber with a thin outer lining of dark clay and organic matter and one end of the chamber is marked by an irregularly circular disruption (Genise, 2017;Retallack, 1984). ...
... Rebuffoichnus casamiquelai is a subcylindrical to oblate chamber with a horizontal to subhorizontal orientation and a smooth inner surface that may be perforated by a round, terminal, or medial hole. Occurrences of these ichnospecies have been previously interpreted as pupation chambers of beetles (Catena et al., 2017;Genise, 2017;Guerrero-Arenas et al., 2018;Johnston et al., 1996;Zapata et al., 2016). There are several other ichnogenera attributed to pupation chambers (see Genise, 2017), however, these possess complex surface features or thick linings not observed in the chambers produced in these experiments and are not comparable. ...
Beetles (Coleoptera) are a critical component of terrestrial ecosystems filling numerous ecological roles. Soil-dwelling beetles play an important role in pedogenesis through the production of biogenic structures throughout their life cycle. Given their life habits, beetle trace fossils should be abundant in the fossil record and a number of ichnotaxa have been attributed to beetles, yet there is still much to learn about their trace-making techniques and the variety of morphologies of traces they can produce throughout their life cycle. The Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles) is a common, globally distributed group that includes many soil-dwelling species from a variety of environments. The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of biogenic structures produced during each life stage of two species of burrowing darkling beetles, Zophobas morio F. and Tenebrio molitor L. Single to multiple specimens of each species were placed in variably sized enclosures filled with massive and layered sediment with and without layers of food. Biogenic structures produced by the two species were similar, but distinct between each life stage and associated with different behaviors. Observed biogenic structures are comparable to Palaeophycus, Planolites, Fictovichnus, Rebuffoichnus, Pallichnus, Taenidium, Skolithos, and Conichnus depending on the life stage. Neoichnological studies such as this can aid in the understanding of biogenic structures in the fossil record. Being able to effectively link continental traces to trace makers will ultimately improve our understanding of the composition of ancient terrestrial ecosystems.
... Most are similar in shape, ranging from 3-4 cm in length and 4-8 mm in diameter, but the one above the sternum is over 6 cm long ( fig. 2). Although other evidence of contemporaneous fossil arthropods at Ukhaa Tolgod (Loope et al., 1998) and other Djadokhta localities (see Johnston et al., 1996) may be from the taxon responsible for the burrows, it is also possible that burrows associated with IGM 100/979 were formed significantly after deposition of the bed in which it is buried. ...
... Close examination shows that the tracemakers built complex reproductive structures using dung that, depending on completeness, larval ontogeny, and preservation, appear as: (i) elongate ellipsoids with meniscate backfills within an irregular ellipsoid structure or with massive fill (Fig. 7B, C), (ii) weakly organized helical patterns of masses constructed from inside-outward by the addition of pelletized sediment pressed together to form meniscate backfill from the base upward (Fig. 7D), (iii) spheres and hemispheres of material that are partly hollowed out (Fig. 7E), and (iv) the addition of material to an initial cavity from outside-inward in a rosette pattern that is subsequently hollowed out into a hemisphere (Fig. 7F). These architectural morphologies contain single or multiple elements found in ichnofossils attributed to dung beetle reproduction structures, such as Feoichnus, Eatonichnus, Rebuffoichnus, Fictovichnus, and Coprinisphaera (e.g., Roselli 1939Roselli , 1987Halffter and Edmonds 1982;Halffter et al. 1985;Howden and Peck 1987;Johnston et al. 1996;Hasiotis 2003;Laza 2006). These preserved forms likely represent a continuum of reproductive structures in various stages of completion by adults and usage by larvae and pupae, and final preservation in these paleosols. ...
Sanidine 40Ar/39Ar ages of lapilli tuffs and the mammalian fauna of Pipestone Springs strata provide a high-resolu�tion chronostratigraphy for upper Eocene (Priabonian) rock units in southwestern Montana. Two felsic lapilli tuffs
with weighted-mean 40Ar/39Ar single crystal sanidine ages of 37.50±0.02 Ma and 36.00±0.20 Ma both fall within the
Priabonian, late Eocene. These tuffs occur within the basal to upper part of the 55 m of exposed Pipestone Springs strata.
The uppermost 15 m yield a diverse and abundant assemblage of mostly small-bodied middle Chadronian (Priabonian,
late Eocene) mammals. The older lapilli tuff is an ashfall tuff, whereas the younger lapilli tuff exhibits minor aeolian
reworking. The new 40Ar/39Ar age constraints significantly increase the age range of Pipestone Springs strata to include
uppermost Duchesnean–lowermost Chadronian (Priabonian, upper Eocene) deposits in addition to its well-known mid�dle Chadronian vertebrate assemblage. These new 40Ar/39Ar ages combined with its mammalian fauna further support
Pipestone Springs strata as age-correlative to the Flagstaff Rim section in central Wyoming, and provide a basis for better
determining late Eocene mammalian paleogeography and regional paleolandscapes in the United States Rocky Mountain
to Great Plains areas. Loessites intercalated with paleosols dominate Pipestone Springs deposits. The recognition of loes�sites comprising these strata is a new depositional interpretation of Pipestone Springs strata, making these loessites some
of the oldest known aeolian Eocene strata in the Great Plains–Rocky Mountains region. Pipestone Springs paleosols
developed on lapilli tuffs are vertisols. Alfisols and inceptisols, developed from a parent material of volcanic glass mixed
with non-volcanic grains, are the remaining paleosols within the loessite strata. Additionally, a new and important dis�covery in this project is the recognition that all paleosols are extensively bioturbated, containing trace fossils similar to
Rebuffoichnus and newly identified trace fossils resembling Feoichnus, Eatonichnus, Fictovichnus, and Coprinisphaera.
... Unfortunately, plants and invertebrates tend not to be preserved in these highly oxidized environments, so their nearly complete absence from the Djadokhta Formation is predictable. Invertebrates are represented by trace fossils, including fossil burrows that are abundant at Bayan Mandahu, Bayan Zag, Tögrögiin Shiree, and other Djadokhta sites, and fossil insect pupal chambers (Lefeld 1971;Tverdokhlebov and Tsybin 1974;Eberth 1993;Jerzykiewicz et al. 1993;Johnston et al. 1996;Fastovsky et al. 1997). The prevalence of invertebrate burrows is a clear indication that the dunes were not composed of dry sands (other than on the surface), but were generally internally moist, otherwise the invertebrates could not have lived there nor been preserved (Ekdale et al. 2006;Good and Ekdale 2014). ...
Three distinct but overlapping dinosaur-dominated faunas characterize the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta, Baruungoyot and Nemegt formations of the Nemegt Basin of Mongolia. Documented faunal differences cannot be explained easily by temporal succession, but can be understood in the light of physical processes controlling life, death, and burial of taxa. The stratigraphy of the Gobi Desert region records tectonically driven geometries, clearly documenting preservational processes different than those acting in most other dinosaur-dominated beds worldwide. Small, asymmetric tectonic grabens were filled with Upper Cretaceous, dinosaur bearing deposits showing asymmetric distributions of facies, here termed Lithobiotopes. The water-lain fluvial and alluvial plain facies of the Nemegt Lithobiotope supported and preserved a fauna dominated by gigantic dinosaurs, but had a preservational bias against smaller animals. The Nemegt passed laterally into interdune facies of the Baruungoyot Lithobiotope, which represented a hostile environment for large species, but preserved smaller animals. This in turn passed laterally into the aeolianite facies of the Djadokhta Lithobiotope, which is characterized by remains of small dinosaurs and a rich fauna of other animals. The Nemegt Gobi Basin can be visualized as an oasis with a central pond supplied with water from ephemeral channels and surrounded by a semi-arid alluvial plain and dune fields.
... Studies of these structures were rare up to the 1980 s and mainly recognised on palaeosols (Genise, 2016). A few discoveries of pupal chambers in sediments (Genise, 2004;Roselli, 1987;Genise and Edwards, 2003;Johnston, Eberth and Anderson, 1996), skeletal remains of dinosaurs (Britt, Scheetz and Dangerfield, 2008;Bader, Hasiotis and Martin, 2009), extinct mammals (Laudet and Antoine, 2004;Fejfar and Kaiser, 2005) and humans (Huchet et al., 2013) have also been recorded and described in past years. In particular, the more frequent identification of pupal chambers on human remains has strengthened their role in archaeology, demonstrating their contribution to the identification of funerary practices, post depositional disturbances or environmental reconstructions (Le Mort and Rabinovich, 2002;Huchet et al., 2013). ...
Cava Muracci (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy) is a complex of seven karst caves located in the Pontine Plain region. One of them, denominate Area 3, displayed a well-preserved Late Pleistocene deposit dating from 35 ka BP and older containing abundant mammal remains and cave hyena coprolites. This work presents the recent discovery from this deposit of fossil bones exposing dermestid pupal chambers and the opportunity these offered to support and improve, with high-resolution inferences, a previous environmental reconstruction based on faunal assemblage and pollen from coprolites. Moreover, ichnological analyses also shed light on some of the post-depositional agents which affected remains within the cave. This paper encourages the valuable support of palaeoichnology, a little exploited and undervalued discipline, to archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies.
Dinosaurs have attracted varying degrees of scientific and public interest since their initial description in 1824. Interest has steadily increased, however, since the late 1960s when the Dinosaur Renaissance began, and when the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences started to publish. Since then, there has been a feedback system (international in scope) promoting increased scientific activity and ever-increasing public attention. This has led to ever more dinosaur discoveries internationally; increased numbers of museums and parks displaying dinosaurs; more publications, blogs, and other media on dinosaurs; and (most importantly) increased numbers of people and institutions doing research on dinosaurs. About 30 new species of dinosaurs are now being described every year, adding to the more than 1000 species already known. Furthermore, it is now acknowledged by most biologists and palaeontologists that modern birds are the direct descendants of dinosaurs, and that they are classified as part of the Dinosauria. Recognizing that there are more than 11 000 species of living dinosaurs has given us a better understanding of many aspects of the biology of nonavian dinosaurs. Along with technological improvements, this has revealed new—and often surprising—facts about their anatomy (bones, soft tissues, and even colours), interrelationships, biomechanics, growth and variation, ecology, physiology, behaviour, and extinction. In spite of the intensity of research over the last six decades, there is no indication that the discovery of new species and new facts about their biology is slowing down. It is quite clear that there is still a lot to be learned!
The ichnofacies and palaeosols from the La Pava and Collón Curá formations were studied to shed light on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems from Patagonia (Argentina) during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. At Paso del Sapo, Cerrito Terciario and El Petiso localities (Chubut province), the La Pava Formation included Coprinisphaera ispp., Rosellichnus patagonicus, Rebuffoichnus casamiquelai, Feoichnus challa and burrows of spiders and earthworms, representing a case of the Rosellichnus ichnoassemblage of the Coprinisphaera Ichnofacies. Some of the components of this ichnoassemblage, scarce or absent in Cenozoic formations older than La Pava, are present in extant Patagonian habitats, pointing in the direction of extant invertebrate fauna. At El Petiso locality, the Collón Curá Formation included Celliforma ispp., Rosellichnus patagonicus, Fictovichnus ispp., Teisseirei barattinia and Teisseirei paladinco isp. nov., representing a case of the Celliforma Ichnofacies. The La Pava Formation comprises brownish, argillic, granular and strongly-developed palaeosols (Mollisols and Alfisols) formed in mildly stable to long-lasting landscapes, whereas the Collón Curá Formation comprises calcic, tuffaceous, paler and weakly-developed palaeosols (Andisols, Aridisols) formed in unsteady and ashy environments. The ichnofacies and palaeosols from the La Pava Formation indicate wooded grasslands developed in seasonal, subhumid and temperate-warm conditions, whereas those from the Collón Curá Formation indicate a habitat with reduced plant cover similar to semiarid and temperate-warm dry woodlands or bushlands. This shift towards more arid conditions in Patagonian landscapes would have been coeval with climatic changes corresponding to the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, a lapse of global temperature decrease associated with extensive drying.
A new assemblage of large insect trace fossils is recognized in paleosols of the middle Miocene pyroclastic deposits from extra-Andean north Patagonia. This assemblage includes Racemusichnus jacobacciensis igen. isp. nov., the largest trace fossil in paleosols attributed to solitary insects. R. jacobacciensis is represented by clusters of two to seven thickly walled cylinders horizontally orientated in the paleosol. The cluster arrangement, its orientation, the large size and wall of the cylinders suggest a dung beetle, probably a representative of the Geotrupidae as the possible trace maker. The new ichnoassemblage, also comprising large-sized specimens of Coprinisphaera ispp., Teisseirei barattinia and Feoichnus challa, belongs to the Rosellichnus assemblage-SAPIA of the Coprinisphaera Ichnofacies. Mollic paleosols along with the trace fossils, mammal remains and previous data for this unit suggest an open grassy habitat compatible with high productive grass savannas, under a temperate-warm and seasonal subhumid climate. This assemblage of large-sized trace fossils is attributed to highly productive ecosystems related to the rise of temperature occurred during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum.
A new kind of trace fossil characterized by filled ellipsoidal chambers interconnected by a boxwork of
burrows, shafts and tunnels, in different horizontal planes, is observed in the medium-grained fluvial sandstone of
the Pliocene Lower Tipam Formation in the Amarpur area of Tripura in northeast India. The chambers have variable
dimensions with lengths of 3–16 cm, widths of 3–10 cm and heights of 2–6 cm. Diameters of the connecting
tunnels and shafts are 0.8–0.9 cm on average. The traces are considered to be nest systems of social insects. The
discovery is noteworthy as far as the geology of Tripura state is concerned, as such chambered traces have not
previously been reported from the Indian sub-continent. Morphology of the studied specimens point toward a new
ichnospecies, Vondrichnus amarpurensis isp. nov. of the ichnofamily Krausichnidae.
