国产诱惑福利

Almost all known have been in the Northern Hemisphere, and it鈥檚 long been 鈥渁n enigma鈥� that scientists have found few in southern regions that once comprised the supercontinent Gondwana, said David Grimaldi, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the discovery.

This marks the first time researchers have identified ancient beetles, flies, ants and wasps in fossilized tree resin in South America, said Ricardo P茅rez-de la Fuente, a paleoentomologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, who also was not involved in the new study.

鈥淎mber pieces are little windows into the past,鈥� P茅rez-de la Fuente said, adding that the discovery will help researchers understand the evolving interactions between flowering plants and insects that lived during the era of the dinosaurs.

The researchers uncovered hundreds of fragments of amber, some containing ancient insects, pollen and tree leaves, at a sandstone quarry that鈥檚 on the edge of what is today the Amazon basin.

But today鈥檚 rainforest is much different from what dinosaurs roamed through, Herrera said. Based on an analysis of fossils in the amber, the ancient rainforest contained species of ferns and conifers, including the unusual Monkey Puzzle Tree, that no longer grow in Amazonia.

鈥淚t was a different kind of forest,鈥� said Herrera.

The amber deposits were previously known to geologists and miners who worked at the Genoveva quarry. Study co-author Carlos Jaramillo at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute first heard of them about a decade ago and set out to find the exact location, aided by geology field notes.

鈥淚 went there and realized this place is amazing,鈥� Jaramillo said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much amber in the mines,鈥� and it鈥檚 more visible in the open quarry than it would be if hidden under dense layers of vegetation.

Researchers will continue to analyze the amber trove to learn more about Cretaceous-era biodiversity -- including the insects that contributed to evolution by feeding on flowering plants. 鈥淎mber tends to preserve things that are tiny,鈥� said Grimaldi.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the time when the relationship between flowering plants and insects got started,鈥� said P茅rez-de la Fuente. 鈥淎nd that turned out to be one of the most successful partnerships in nature.鈥�

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