Journal article
Land Snail with Periostracal Hairs Preserved in Burmese Amber.
- Neubauer TA Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University, 35392 Giessen, Germany; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address: tneub@zo.jlug.de.
- Xing L State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China; School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: xinglida@gmail.com.
- Jochum A Naturhistorisches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern, 3005 Bern, Switzerland; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
- 2019-10-16
Published in:
- iScience. - 2019
English
Excellently preserved fossils often provide important insights into evolutionary histories and adaptations to environmental change in Earth's biogeologic record. Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, for example, is a proven reservoir for spectacular findings. Here we document the first record of a fossil land snail with periostracal hairs preserved in amber. We interpret the development of hairs as an adaptation to the tropical forest environment, serving as a mechanism to increase adhesion of the snail to plants during foraging while collecting and transporting seeds in the process. The present record coincides with a major global radiation of angiosperms, a main food resource for terrestrial snails. As such, the expansion of flowering plants likely triggered this evolutionary adaptation and, thus, the diversification of land snails in the Cretaceous.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2019.09.034
- PMID 31611056
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/230024
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