Albert Cardona on Nostr: X-ray microscopy of fossil parasitoid wasps to study the evolution of echolocation ...
X-ray microscopy of fossil parasitoid wasps to study the evolution of echolocation for finding hosts:
"†Kryptovelona carstengroehni gen. et sp. nov. and †Orussus juttagroehnae sp. nov. are the first female members of the parasitoid wasp family Orussidae recorded from Baltic amber. We describe them, including relevant parts of the internal anatomy examined with synchrotron scanning. The fossils display a number of modifications in the antennae and foreleg correlated with the specialized host-detection mechanism, and in the ovipositor apparatus, as well as in the thorax and abdomen for accommodating the internalized ovipositor."
"By comparing the new Baltic amber taxa with †Cretorussus, it is possible to trace the progressive refinement of the echolocation mechanism through reductions in the number of antennomeres and foreleg tarsomeres."
Vilhelmsen et al. 2024
https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae021
#wasplove #fossil #FossilFriday #Hymenoptera #parasitoids
"†Kryptovelona carstengroehni gen. et sp. nov. and †Orussus juttagroehnae sp. nov. are the first female members of the parasitoid wasp family Orussidae recorded from Baltic amber. We describe them, including relevant parts of the internal anatomy examined with synchrotron scanning. The fossils display a number of modifications in the antennae and foreleg correlated with the specialized host-detection mechanism, and in the ovipositor apparatus, as well as in the thorax and abdomen for accommodating the internalized ovipositor."
"By comparing the new Baltic amber taxa with †Cretorussus, it is possible to trace the progressive refinement of the echolocation mechanism through reductions in the number of antennomeres and foreleg tarsomeres."
Vilhelmsen et al. 2024
https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae021
#wasplove #fossil #FossilFriday #Hymenoptera #parasitoids