An ant-associated mesostigmatid mite in Baltic amber
Jason A Dunlop1, Jenő Kontschán2, David E Walter3
1Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, Berlin 10115, Germany jason.dunlop@mfn-berlin.de.
Biology Letters
|September 12, 2014
Summary
Fossil mites are rare, but this study found an Eocene Laelapidae mite attached to an ant in Baltic amber. This provides the oldest evidence of mites associating with social insects.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Arthropod Paleobiology
- Mite Evolution
Background:
- Fossil mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) are exceptionally rare in the fossil record.
- Only nine families and four named species of fossil mesostigmatid mites have been described to date.
- The family Laelapidae represents a derived, extant group within Mesostigmata.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a new fossil record of the mite genus Myrmozercon from Eocene Baltic amber.
- To investigate the oldest known ecological association between mesostigmatid mites and social insects.
- To document the first fossil example of the family Laelapidae.
Main Methods:
- Paleontological analysis of fossil specimens preserved in Baltic amber.
- Identification of mite and ant species based on morphological characteristics.
- Microscopic examination to determine the mode of preservation and association.
Main Results:
- A fossil specimen of Myrmozercon sp. was identified in Eocene Baltic amber (ca 44-49 million years old).
- This represents the first and only known fossil of the Laelapidae family.
- The mite was found attached to the head of a dolichoderine ant, Ctenobethylus goepperti.
Conclusions:
- This discovery provides the oldest unequivocal evidence of an ecological association between mesostigmatid mites and ants (Hymenoptera).
- The fossil mite, Myrmozercon sp., exhibits habitual myrmecophily, consistent with modern congeners.
- This finding significantly enhances our understanding of mite-insect interactions in ancient ecosystems.
