High niche diversity in Mesozoic pollinating lacewings

Nature Communications
Qing LiuBo Wang

Abstract

Niche diversity of pollinating insects plays a vital role in maintaining extant terrestrial ecosystems. A key dimension of pollination niches refers to the insect proboscis length that commonly matches the floral tube length. Here we describe new kalligrammatid lacewings (an iconic Mesozoic pollinating insect lineage) from late Cretaceous Burmese amber and Mesozoic sediments in China. Kalligrammatids display complex configurations of elongate mouthpart elements consisting of well-developed maxillae, labium and their palps. The mouthpart lengths vary among species, from 0.6 to 18.0 mm, suggesting corresponding variability in the floral tube lengths of Mesozoic plants. With the diversification of pollinating habits, the kalligrammatids presented highly divergent traits related to chemical communication and defence mechanisms. Together with other Mesozoic long-proboscid insects, these fossils not only reveal the high niche diversity of Mesozoic pollinating insects but also highlight the diversity of Mesozoic pollinator-dependent plants prior to the rise of angiosperms.

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Citations

Jun 4, 2020·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Xiumei LuXingyue Liu
Mar 18, 2020·Science Advances·Xiangdong ZhaoMichael S Engel
Nov 13, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Tong BaoDavid Dilcher
Mar 20, 2020·IScience·David PerisBo Wang

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