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The earliest known brood care in insects
Yanzhe Fu1, Chenyang Cai1, Pingping Chen2
1State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Centre for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 20, 2022
Summary
Fossil insects reveal the earliest direct evidence of insect brood care, showcasing unique asymmetric egg-carrying behavior in Karataviella popovi during the Jurassic period.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Entomology
Background:
- Brood care, enhancing offspring survival, has evolved independently across diverse animal lineages, including insects.
- Fossil evidence directly documenting insect brood care is exceptionally rare.
- Understanding insect sociality relies on insights into the evolution of parental care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the earliest direct fossil evidence of brood care in insects.
- To describe a novel asymmetric egg-carrying behavior in an extinct insect species.
- To investigate the evolutionary history and diversity of insect brooding strategies.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of exceptional fossil specimens of Karataviella popovi from the Middle-Late Jurassic Daohugou biota.
- Detailed morphological examination of adult females with associated egg clutches.
- Comparative analysis with extant and extinct insect reproductive behaviors.
Main Results:
- Discovery of adult female Karataviella popovi fossils with eggs attached to their left mesotibia, representing asymmetric egg-carrying.
- This finding provides the earliest direct evidence of insect brood care, dating back approximately 163.5 million years.
- The specialized feeding apparatus of K. popovi may have been pre-adapted for consuming fairy shrimp eggs.
Conclusions:
- Insect maternal investment and brooding strategies existed at least as early as the Middle-Late Jurassic.
- The discovery highlights the diverse brooding strategies present in Mesozoic insects.
- This finding significantly pushes back the timeline for direct evidence of insect brood care, impacting our understanding of insect evolution and sociality.
