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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area
Published on: October 25, 2024
Amber from western Amazonia reveals Neotropical diversity during the middle Miocene
Pierre-Olivier Antoine1, Dario De Franceschi, John J Flynn
1Laboratoire des Mécanismes et Transferts en Géologie, Unité Mixte de Recherche-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 5563, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France. poa@lmtg.obs-mip.fr
Abstract:
Tertiary insects and arachnids have been virtually unknown from the vast western Amazonian basin. We report here the discovery of amber from this region containing a diverse fossil arthropod fauna (13 hexapod families and 3 arachnid species) and abundant microfossil inclusions (pollen, spores, algae, and cyanophyceae). This unique fossil assemblage, recovered from middle Miocene deposits of northeastern Peru, greatly increases the known diversity of Cenozoic tropical-equatorial arthropods and microorganisms and provides insights into the biogeography and evolutionary history of modern Neotropical biota. It also strengthens evidence for the presence of more modern, high-diversity tropical rainforest ecosystems during the middle Miocene in western Amazonia.
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