吉丁科昆虫化石研究概述

吉丁科昆虫是鞘翅目中化石记录相当丰富的类群之一。本文回顾了世界吉丁科昆虫化石的研究进展,整理了已发表的化石物种名录、地层分布及地质年代,并简要推测了其与植物的协同演化关系,提出了现今有待解决的问题以及对未来研究的展望。     

蛾蛉类昆虫化石研究进展

蛾蛉类昆虫是脉翅目中化石记录最完整的的类群之一,现生类群蛾蛉、美蛉和山蛉统称为蛾蛉科,但是现生类群与化石类群分类标准的不一致性,为蛾蛉类昆虫化石研究带来较大的困难。本文统计了世界已发现的蛾蛉类昆虫化石属种名录,介绍了蛾蛉类昆虫化石研究历史、地质年代及地理分布、系统发育研究进程,并提出了现今有待解决的问题以及对未来研究的展望。     

西伯利亚地台早寒武世钙藻的发育特征

西伯利亚地台的新元古代到早寒武世间的钙藻化石特别丰富,为研究钙藻化石的发育历史提供了模式。在几次演化事件背景下记录了演化的两次转折,其中一个是藻类的普遍钙化,还有一个是Botomian晚期到Toyonian早期之间在西伯利亚地台缺失钙藻化石记录,而在其它地区包括西伯利亚地台的边缘(Altay—Sayan地区),钙藻的丰度却达到了最大。     

石松类卷柏科地史时期和现代地理分布格局的形成

卷柏科仅含一属,全球分布,具有宽幅生态适应性,属于维管植物基部类群石松类植物,现生约700种。卷柏科起源于泥盆纪,化石记录遍布自石炭纪至今的各地质时期。目前,现代卷柏属亚属的分类方案基本稳定,但对于化石卷柏的亚属分类、以及地质历史时期的时空分布问题还缺乏相关研究。本文全面总结了卷柏科化石记录的时代和地理分布,并结合分子系统学探讨其地理分布格局的演化,为该科植物的分类与进化研究提供参考。根据现有研究基础,结合最新的卷柏科系统分类研究成果和化石记录,本文对该类群化石的系统分类进行归纳和厘定,并对化石类群的卷柏亚属Selaginella、Hexaphyllum亚属及rhizophoric clade物种的分化和地理分布格局的形成进行了讨论。本文认为,卷柏科起源于古生代的欧美植物区,不晚于二叠纪,其后伴随着泛大陆解体扩散至华夏植物区及冈瓦纳植物区。化石亚属Hexaphyllum是rhizophoric clade的基部类群,在石炭纪末灭绝。化石证据表明,从古生代末期起,rhizophoric clade已成为卷柏科的优势类群,并在中生代形成了全球分布的格局。     

世界中生代竹节虫目昆虫化石研究

昆虫分类学发展早期将竹节虫归于直翅目,现多数学者认其为1个独立的目.有关竹节虫目的化石记录大都来源于中生代.本文详细回顾和综述了世界中生代竹节虫目昆虫化石研究简史,列出已发表的化石种类名录、分布及年代,描述了中生代不同地质时期竹节虫目化石的分类单元以及分布特点,初步分析了目前该类群研究中所存在的一些问题,并对今后的研究工作进行了展望.     

木兰科的化石记录

通过整理和分析木兰科植物的化石记录发现：不论是植物大化石还是花粉,迄今为止在白垩纪以前地层中尚无可靠的记录,自白垩纪以来,木兰科的许多种广泛发生于北半球,如亚洲,欧洲及北美等地,但非洲和大洋洲至今尚未发现木兰科的化石记录。该科最早的化石记录为中国东北延吉地区早白垩世大拉子组的喙柱始木兰Archimagnolia rostrato-stylose Tao et Zhang. 根据现有化石记录,并结合木兰科现代植物的地理分布,推测：1）木兰科的起源时间不迟于早白垩世Aptian-Albian期;2）木兰科起源地点可能是东亚,后来经过欧洲进入北美,再从北美迁移到达南美洲;3）在地质历史时期,木兰属的出现比鹅掌楸属早,从而支持根据形态学与分子系统学研究得出的木兰属较鹅掌楸属原始的结论。     

对华南五种中生代鞘翅目化石的修正研究

对湖南、广西、安徽早中侏罗世五种鞘翅目化石进行修正研究.其中产自湖南浏阳文家市下侏罗统造上组的Artinama qinghuoensis(清和新鞘甲)原被归入棘鞘甲科,通过对化石构造的重新研究,认为它可能是叩甲化石,代表了世界上叩甲化石最早记录之一.广西钟山中侏罗统石梯组的Mercata festira(华商甲)曾被归...     

豫西马市坪盆地早白垩世热河昆虫群的发现及其地层学意义*

热河生物群是保存最好的白垩纪陆地生物群, 是世界上最重要的特异埋藏化石宝库之一。热河生物群的三阶段演化学说认为该生物群在第二演化阶段往南至秦岭、大别山一带, 包括河南西部和南部地区。早期研究记录表明河南西部地区产出热河生物群的代表分子三尾拟蜉蝣化石。本文首次报道了河南西部南召县马市坪盆地南召组衍蜓科稚虫化石, 并对其形态特征进行了简要描述, 同时报道了与之伴生的三尾拟蜉蝣稚虫化石。衍蜓科稚虫是热河生物群的代表化石之一, 先前均记录于辽宁西部义县组及相当地层, 属于热河生物群第二演化阶段的特征分子。河南西部新发现的昆虫化石证实了热河生物群在其第二演化阶段已经到达该地区。同时, 本研究确定马市坪盆地南召组可与辽宁西部义县组相对比, 南召组的地质时代属于早白垩世而非晚侏罗世。     

准噶尔盆地侏罗纪介形类新知

准噶尔盆地侏罗纪介形类已由众多中外地层古生物工作者进行过数十年的研究并有系统成果问世。本文仅介绍两个侏罗系化石点,作为前人工作之补充,充实已有化石记录,也提出了进一步划分的建议和依据。     

贵州兴义海相三迭纪鱼化石

1957年夏,贵州博物馆曹泽田等同志在贵州兴义顶效大寨浪幕采集了一批鱼化石和肿肋龙化石。据称,这两类化石产于同一地层,但缺乏含化石层上下层位关系的地层记录。据杨锺健教授(1958)研究肿肋龙化石时的判断,这一含化石层可能是属于“关岭统”的一部分。这里记述的鱼化石计有五块标本,经笔者观察分属于三科三属。     

Of teeth and trees: A fossil tip‐dating approach to infer divergence times of extinct and extant squaliform sharks

Fossil tip‐dating allows for the inclusion of morphological data in divergence time estimates based on both extant and extinct taxa. Neoselachii have a cartilaginous skeleton, which is less prone to fossilization compared to skeletons of Osteichthyans. Therefore, the majority of the neoselachian fossil record is comprised of single teeth, which fossilize more easily. Neoselachian teeth can be found in large numbers as they are continuously replaced. Tooth morphologies are of major importance on multiple taxonomic levels for identification of shark and ray taxa. Here, we review dental morphological characters of squalomorph sharks and test these for their phylogenetic signal. Subsequently, we combine DNA sequence data (concatenated exon sequences) with dental morphological characters from 85 fossil and extant taxa to simultaneously infer the phylogeny and re‐estimate divergence times using information of 61 fossil tip‐dates as well as eight node age calibrations of squalomorph sharks. Our findings show that the phylogenetic placement of fossil taxa is mostly in accordance with their previous taxonomic allocation. An exception is the phylogenetic placement of the extinct genus ?Protospinax , which remains unclear. We conclude that the high number of fossil taxa as well as the comprehensive DNA sequence data for extant taxa may compensate for the limited number of morphological characters identifiable on teeth, serving as a backbone for reliably estimating the phylogeny of both extinct and extant taxa. In general, tip‐dating mostly estimates older node ages compared to previous studies based on calibrated molecular clocks.     

Telling time from fossils: a phylogeny-based approach to chronological ordering of paleobiotas

The potential for using fossils for temporal ordering of sedimentary rocks is as old as historical geology itself. In spite of this, however, most current biostratigraphic and biochronologic techniques do not make use of phylogenetic information, but rely instead on some measure of species' presence or absence or their turnover in the fossil record. A common phylogenetic approach to biochronology has been to use “stage of evolution” arguments, whereas more rigorous, cladogram‐based methods have been proposed but have seen little use. Cladistic biochronologic analysis (CBA) is developed here as a new method for determining biochronologic order between paleobiotas based on the phylogenetic relationships of their constituent taxa. CBA is adapted from Brooks' parsimony analysis, and analyzes syntaxon information from clades that transcend a number of paleobiotas to determine relative temporal order among these paleobiotas. Because CBA is based on phylogenetic information, it is suited to problems where a good fossil record is available, but where stratigraphic or chronologic relationships are poorly constrained, such as the terrestrial vertebrate record. A practical example, based on the Cenozoic fossil record of North America, pits CBA against a test case in which the correct temporal order of biotas is known beforehand. The method successfully recovers correct temporal order between paleobiotas with reasonable levels of support, and is also shown to outperform a previously proposed cladistic biochronologic method. In a second example, CBA is used to achieve the first empirical temporal ordination for several Late Cretaceous localities in the Gobi Desert that produce fossils crucial to the understanding of modern amniote clades, but which have poorly resolved temporal relationships. CBA is sensitive to large amounts of extinction and poor sampling of the fossil record, but problems such as gaps in the fossil record (Lazarus taxa) can be dealt with efficiently through a number of a priori and a posteriori scoring techniques. CBA offers a novel approach for biochronologic analysis that is independent of, but complementary to and readily combinable with other chronologic/stratigraphic methods. © The Willi Hennig Society 2007.     

Molecular clocks and the incompleteness of the fossil record

Molecular clocks can be evaluated by comparing absolute rates of evolution and by performing relative-rate tests. Typically, calculations of absolute rates are based on earliest observed occurrences in the fossil record. Relative-rate tests, on the other hand, merely require an unambiguous outgroup. A major disadvantage of relative-rate tests is their insensitivity to concomitant and equal rate changes in all lineages. Apparent differences in absolute rates, in turn, may be artifacts that are attributable to an incomplete fossil record.Recently developed methods in quantitative biostratigraphy recognize the incompleteness of the fossil record and allow us to place confidence intervals on the endpoints of taxon ranges. These methods are applicable to taxa whose fossil records are of markedly different quality. When we extend these methods and integrate molecular and paleontologic data, we can test the null hypothesis that seemingly disparate rates of molecular evolution are in fact equal under the simplifying assumption that fossils are randomly and independently distributed over their temporal ranges and that fossils can be accurately placed in a phylogenetic context. We can also estimate the range of ticking rates, if any, that are compatible with known fossil data. Ultimately, more accurate rate estimates for widely divergent taxa should allow for more meaningful comparisons of evolutionary rates.DNA hybridization data for monotremes and marsupials suggest a 17-fold difference for 14 different rate calculations with a mean value of approximately 1% divergence per million years. Variation among marsupials is sevenfold. However, when we apply appropriate statistical tests and make additional allowances for fossils of uncertain taxonomic assignment, etc., all 14 rates are compatible with a molecular clock ticking at approximately 0.4% divergence per million years. In addition, this analysis brings relative- and absolute-rate tests into accord.     

Uncertainty in the age of fossils and the stratigraphic fit to phylogenies

The ages of first appearance of fossil taxa in the stratigraphic record are inherently associated to an interval of error or uncertainty, rather than being precise point estimates. Contrasting this temporal information with topologies of phylogenetic relationships is relevant to many aspects of evolutionary studies. Several indices have been proposed to compare the ages of first appearance of fossil taxa and phylogenies. For computing most of these indices, the ages of first appearance of fossil taxa are currently used as point estimates, ignoring their associated errors or uncertainties. The effect of age uncertainty on measures of stratigraphic fit to phylogenies is explored here for two indices based on the extension of ghost lineages (MSM* and GER). A solution based on randomization of the ages of terminal taxa is implemented, resulting in a range of possible values for measures of stratigraphic fit to phylogenies, rather than in a precise but arbitrary stratigraphic fit value. Sample cases show that ignoring the age uncertainty of fossil taxa can produce misleading results when comparing the stratigraphic fit of competing phylogenetic hypotheses. Empirical test cases of alternative phylogenies of two dinosaur groups are analyzed through the randomization procedure proposed here.     

Fossil calibration of molecular clocks and the divergence times of geminate species pairs separated by the isthmus of panama

Calibration of nucleotide sequence divergence rates provides an important method by which to test many hypotheses of evolution. In the absence of an adequate fossil record, geological events, rather than the first appearances of sister taxa in the geological record, are often used to calibrate molecular clocks. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama, which isolated the tropical western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, is one such event that is frequently used to infer rates of nucleotide sequence divergence. Isthmian calibrations assume that morphologically similar "geminate" species living now on either side of the isthmus were isolated geographically by the latest stages of seaway closure 3.1-3.5 MYA. Here, I have applied calibration dates from the fossil record to cytochrome c oxidase-1 (CO1) and nuclear histone-3 (H3) divergences among six pairs of geminates in the Arcidae to test this hypothesis. Analysis of CO1 first and third positions yield geminate divergences that predate final seaway closure, and on the basis of CO1 first positions, times for all six geminates are significantly greater than 3.5 Myr. H3 sequences produce much more recent geminate divergences, some that are younger than 3.1 Myr. But H3-derived estimates for all arcid geminates are not significantly different from both 0 and 15 Myr. According to CO1, one of the two most divergent pairs, Arca mutabilis and A. imbricata, split more than 30 MYA. This date is compatible with the fossil record, which indicates that these species were morphologically distinct at least 16-21 MYA. Across all CO1 nucleotide sites, divergence rates for arcids are slower than the rates reported for other taxa on the basis of isthmian calibrations, with the exception of rates determined from the least divergent species pair in larger surveys of multiple transisthmian pairs. Rate differences between arcids and some taxa may be real, but these data suggest that divergence rates can be greatly overestimated when dates corresponding to final closure of the Central American Seaway are used to calibrate the molecular clocks of marine organisms.     

‘Fish’ (Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii) diversification patterns through deep time

Actinopterygii (ray‐finned fishes) and Elasmobranchii (sharks, skates and rays) represent more than half of today's vertebrate taxic diversity (approximately 33000 species) and form the largest component of vertebrate diversity in extant aquatic ecosystems. Yet, patterns of ‘fish’ evolutionary history remain insufficiently understood and previous studies generally treated each group independently mainly because of their contrasting fossil record composition and corresponding sampling strategies. Because direct reading of palaeodiversity curves is affected by several biases affecting the fossil record, analytical approaches are needed to correct for these biases. In this review, we propose a comprehensive analysis based on comparison of large data sets related to competing phylogenies (including all Recent and fossil taxa) and the fossil record for both groups during the Mesozoic–Cainozoic interval. This approach provides information on the ‘fish’ fossil record quality and on the corrected ‘fish’ deep‐time phylogenetic palaeodiversity signals, with special emphasis on diversification events. Because taxonomic information is preserved after analytical treatment, identified palaeodiversity events are considered both quantitatively and qualitatively and put within corresponding palaeoenvironmental and biological settings. Results indicate a better fossil record quality for elasmobranchs due to their microfossil‐like fossil distribution and their very low diversity in freshwater systems, whereas freshwater actinopterygians are diverse in this realm with lower preservation potential. Several important diversification events are identified at familial and generic levels for elasmobranchs, and marine and freshwater actinopterygians, namely in the Early–Middle Jurassic (elasmobranchs), Late Jurassic (actinopterygians), Early Cretaceous (elasmobranchs, freshwater actinopterygians), Cenomanian (all groups) and the Paleocene–Eocene interval (all groups), the latter two representing the two most exceptional radiations among vertebrates. For each of these events along with the Cretaceous‐Paleogene extinction, we provide an in‐depth review of the taxa involved and factors that may have influenced the diversity patterns observed. Among these, palaeotemperatures, sea‐levels, ocean circulation and productivity as well as continent fragmentation and environment heterogeneity (reef environments) are parameters that largely impacted on ‘fish’ evolutionary history, along with other biotic constraints.     

CONGRUENCE BETWEEN SUPERPOSITIONAL AND PHYLOGENETIC PATTERNS: COMPARING CLADISTIC PATTERNS WITH FOSSIL RECORDS

Abstract— As the only direct evidence of past organismic history, the fossil record has always figured importantly in the reconstruction of phylogeny. But the incomplete nature of the fossil record has also been cited as a basis for claiming that fossils play only a secondary role in developing phylogenetic hypotheses that encompass extant taxa. The reliability of fossil data in such applications is a function of the degree of fit between superpositional relationships and the sequence of phylogenetic events. Thirty-eight vertebrate cases are examined for the fit between age data based on fossil first occurrences and phylogenetic results based on cladistic analysis. A general correspondence between superpositional and cladistic information is observed, although the degree of fit varies widely among cases. Horses, certain other ungulates, synapsids and basal archosaurs, which show very high correlations, are taxa characterized by an abundance of superpositional and cladistic data. Other groups, such as primates, show very poor correlations because certain major clades have either unreasonably short fossil durations or no fossil record at all. Correlations are also diminished when either fossil records or cladistic sequences are poorly resolved. In most cases, cladistic resolution was observed to exceed superpositional resolution. Correlations can be enhanced by more precise (e.g. radiometric) age dates, but these also place a high expectation on the fit between fossil first occurrence and cladistic results. Stratigraphic occurrence does not always provide a precise reflection of independently derived phylogenies, but the correspondence between age and cladistic information is remarkably high in a notable number of vertebrate examples.     

Major Radiations in the Evolution of Caviid Rodents: Reconciling Fossils,Ghost Lineages,and Relaxed Molecular Clocks

Background

Caviidae is a diverse group of caviomorph rodents that is broadly distributed in South America and is divided into three highly divergent extant lineages: Caviinae (cavies), Dolichotinae (maras), and Hydrochoerinae (capybaras). The fossil record of Caviidae is only abundant and diverse since the late Miocene. Caviids belongs to Cavioidea sensu stricto (Cavioidea s.s.) that also includes a diverse assemblage of extinct taxa recorded from the late Oligocene to the middle Miocene of South America (“eocardiids”).

Results

A phylogenetic analysis combining morphological and molecular data is presented here, evaluating the time of diversification of selected nodes based on the calibration of phylogenetic trees with fossil taxa and the use of relaxed molecular clocks. This analysis reveals three major phases of diversification in the evolutionary history of Cavioidea s.s. The first two phases involve two successive radiations of extinct lineages that occurred during the late Oligocene and the early Miocene. The third phase consists of the diversification of Caviidae. The initial split of caviids is dated as middle Miocene by the fossil record. This date falls within the 95% higher probability distribution estimated by the relaxed Bayesian molecular clock, although the mean age estimate ages are 3.5 to 7 Myr older. The initial split of caviids is followed by an obscure period of poor fossil record (refered here as the Mayoan gap) and then by the appearance of highly differentiated modern lineages of caviids, which evidentially occurred at the late Miocene as indicated by both the fossil record and molecular clock estimates.

Conclusions

The integrated approach used here allowed us identifying the agreements and discrepancies of the fossil record and molecular clock estimates on the timing of the major events in cavioid evolution, revealing evolutionary patterns that would not have been possible to gather using only molecular or paleontological data alone.     

Inferring clocks when lacking rocks: the variable rates of molecular evolution in bacteria

Background  

Because bacteria do not have a robust fossil record, attempts to infer the timing of events in their evolutionary history requires comparisons of molecular sequences. This use of molecular clocks is based on the assumptions that substitution rates for homologous genes or sites are fairly constant through time and across taxa. Violation of these conditions can lead to erroneous inferences and result in estimates that are off by orders of magnitude. In this study, we examine the consistency of substitution rates among a set of conserved genes in diverse bacterial lineages, and address the questions regarding the validity of molecular dating.     

Incorporating phylogenetic uncertainty on phylogeny‐based palaeontological dating and the timing of turtle diversification

Methods improving the performance of molecular dating of divergence time of clades have improved dramatically in recent years. The calibration of molecular dating using the first appearance of a clade in the fossil record is a crucial step towards inferring the minimal diversification time of various groups and the choice of extinct taxa can strongly influence the molecular dates. Here, we evaluate the uncertainty on the phylogenetic position of extinct taxa through non‐parametric bootstrapping. The recognition of phylogenetic uncertainty resulted in the definition of the Bootstrap Uncertainty Range (BUR) for the age of first appearance of a given clade. The BUR is calculated as the interval of geological time in which the diversification of a given clade can be inferred to have occurred, based on the temporal information of the fossil record and the topologies of the bootstrap trees. Divergence times based on BUR analyses were calculated for three clades of turtles: Testudines, Pleurodira and Cryptodira. This resulted in extensive uncertainty ranges of topology‐dependent minimal divergence dates for these clades.