Amber, or fossilized tree resin, has been collected in
the Baltic region for at least 13 millennia, and used as a precious and semi-precious
substance. Now, it is renowned scientifically from various deposits around the
world for its preservation of myriad forms of ancient life, finer than in any
other kind of fossil. The largest and most popular deposits are the Eocene Baltic
amber and Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic, but amber from the Cretaceous
Period (140-65 million years ago [mya]) is of the greatest scientific
interest.
Besides the extinction of ammonites, dinosaurs, and other life at the end of
the Cretaceous, an explosive radiation of the angiosperms occurred in the middle
of this Period, which transformed terrestrial ecosystems.
This volume is largely devoted to an extraordinary deposit of amber, from the
Turonian (ca. 90 mya) of New Jersey, USA. The deposit is not only the most diverse
known thus far from the Cretaceous, but it was formed during the angiosperm
radiations. Research is also presented on amber from the Lower Cretaceous of
Lebanon (120 mya), among the oldest amber in the world that contains insects.
29 Specialists have contributed 23 papers on methods for preparation and imaging
of amber fossils, paleoecology of the New Jersey amber deposits, and systematics
of over 100 genera and species in 11 orders of animals. Among the discoveries
are the oldest fossil in the phylum Tardigrada, the most diverse Cretaceous
record of scale insects (Coccinea) in the world, a remarkable diversity of neuropterans,
and several groups of biting midges whose diversity relates to the evolution
of vertebrate blood feeding. These discoveries are presented in nearly 200 pages
of illustrations and photographs, 17 of them in color.
Dr. David Grimaldi is curator of fossil insects and former Chairman of the Dept. of Entomology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He has published over 100 scientific articles and monographs on the systematics, paleontology, and evolution of insects, including the book, Amber: Window to the Past (New York: Abrams, 1996).
Preface
Overview
David Grimaldi, Alexander Shedrinsky and Thomas P. Wampler.* A remarkable deposit
of fossiliferous amber from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of New Jersey
Methods
David Grimaldi, Tam Nguyen and Richard Ketcham.
Ultra-High-Resolution X-Ray
Computed Tomography (UHR CT) and the study of fossils in amber
Paul Nascimbene and Henry Silverstein. The
preparation of fragile Cretaceous ambers
for conservation and study of organismal inclusions
Systematics
Roberto Bertolani and David Grimaldi*. A
new Eutardigrade (Tardigrada: Milnesiidae) in
amber from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of New Jersey
Nina D. Sinitshenkova*. New Jersey amber
mayflies: the first North American Mesozoic
members of the order (Insecta: Ephemeroptera)
William L. Peters and Janice G. Peters*.
Discovery of a new genus of Leptophlebiidae:
Leptophlebiinae (Ephemeroptera) in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey
Kumar Krishna and David Grimaldi*. A new
subfamily, genus, and species of termite
(Isoptera) from New Jersey Cretaceous amber
Piotr Wegierek*. A new genus and species
of aphid (Hemiptera: Aphidinea) from New
Jersey amber
Jan Koteja*. Scale insects (Homoptera, Coccinea)
from Upper Cretaceous New Jersey
amber
Viktor B. Golub and Yuri A. Popov*. A remarkable
fossil lace bug from Upper Cretaceous
New Jersey amber (Heteroptera: Tingoidea, Vianaididae), with some phylogenetic
commentary
Vadim G. Gratshev and Vladimir V. Zherikhin*.
The weevils from the Late Cretaceous
New Jersey amber (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)
Vladimir I. Gusarov*. Mesotachyporus puer,
a new genus and species of Cretaceous
Tachyporinae (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) from New Jersey amber
David Grimaldi*. A diverse fauna of Neuropterodea
in amber from the Cretaceous of
New Jersey
Hasan Basibuyuk, Donald L.J. Quicke and
Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn*. A new genus of the
Orussidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Late Cretaceous New Jersey amber
Hasan Basibuyuk, Michael G. Fitton, Alexandr
P. Rasnitsyn and Donald L.J. Quicke*.
Two new genera of the Evaniidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Late Cretaceous
New
Jersey amber
Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn*. An extremely primitive
aculeate wasp in the Cretaceous amber
from New Jersey (Vespida: ?Sierolomorphidae)
James M. Carpenter*. A vespid wasp from New Jersey Cretaceous amber
Alexander V. Antropov*. A new digger wasp
(Hymenoptera, Sphecidae, Pemphredoninae)
from New Jersey amber
Wilfried Wichard and Annette-Caroline Billing*.
Recent knowledge of caddis flies
(Trichoptera) from Cretaceous amber of New Jersey
Art Borkent. Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae:
Diptera) from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese
amber with a discussion of the diversity and patterns found in other ambers
Art Borkent*. Further biting midges (Diptera:
Ceratopogonidae) from Upper Cretaceous
New Jersey amber
Douglas C. Currie and David Grimaldi*. A
new black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) genus
from mid Cretaceous (Turonian) amber of New Jersey
Taxonomic Index
edited by David Grimaldi
2000, 504 pp., 197 b/w figures, 13 tables, 17 coloured plates
Hardbound (A4)
ISBN 90-5782-060-9
€ 146