Amber microfossils: On the validity of species concept |
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Authors: | Vincent Girard Sina M. Adl |
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Affiliation: | 1. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Department Paläontologie und Historische Geologie, Bernstein Arbeitsgruppe, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany;2. Department of Biology, Life Science Centre, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, N.S., B3H 4J1 Canada |
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Abstract: | Do terrestrial micro-organisms evolve morphologically? A recent concept suggests that morphological stasis over dozens of millions of years has persisted in microbial lineages. However, it is based on a weak fossil record. Indeed, it is already difficult to define a species with extant microbes, and this task is even harder when dealing with fossil micro-organisms. Based on research on fossils in amber, we highlighted the different problems that are raised when describing a new fossil species of micro-organisms and we discuss the concept of morphological stasis. |
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