ISSN 0031-0301, Paleontological Journal, 2019, Vol. 53, No. 10, pp. 984–993. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2019. A Summary of Recent Results in the Study of Taimyr Amber E. E. Perkovskya, b, * and D. V. Vasilenkob, c, ** aSchmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, 01-030 Ukraine bBorissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117647 Russia cCherepovets State University, Cherepovets, 162600 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] **e-mail: [email protected] Received February 11, 2019; revised February 14, 2019; accepted February 14, 2019 Abstract—Two families, two tribes, 30 genera and 57 insect species are described as new from Taimyr amber, as well as the first new plant genus and species to be described from this amber during the 21st century. Based on the study of the Taimyr amber, two Cretaceous zoogeographic realms (“Baeomorpha” and “Isoptera”) are recognized. Keywords: Taimyr amber, review, new taxa DOI: 10.1134/S0031030119100149 INTRODUCTION Unfortunately, the technique for working with fos- sil resin (retinite) was not yet developed in the 1970s, Taimyr amber is known from a large number of and the most valuable representatives of many groups, localities (Rasnitsyn et al., 2016; Fig. 1) ranging in age including holotypes, are now significantly or irrevers- from Albian to Santonian (Perkovsky and Wegierek, ibly damaged (Makarkin and Perkovsky, 2017; Fig. 2). 2018; Gumovsky et al., 2018). New collections were made by the expedition of the The Taimyr amber forest represents a unique world Paleontological Institute as early as 2012, mainly in of its own, and the history of its study resembles a play, Yantardakh (Santonian), where D.S. Kopylov, with two acts separated by a rather long intermission E.A. Sidorchuk, and D.D. Vorontsov collected more (although not as long as in the Burmese amber studies, than 60 kilograms of retinite. where it lasted nearly a century). Among the new finds are the first Cretaceous As early as the 18th century, the Russian research- (later six aberrant genera and one genus with spotted ers S.P. Krasheninnikov, P.S. Pallas, and Kh.P. Laptev wings were also found in mid-Cretaceous Kachin began studying the fossil resins of Siberia, but only (Burmese) amber: Makarkin, pers. com.) and the A.F. Middendorf (1882) summarized the information northernmost representatives of spongillaflies (Neu- known at that time. However, it was only in 1970 that roptera: Sisyridae), which have an obligate associa- the expedition of the Paleontological Institute to tion with freshwater sponges and bryozoans Taimyr (for more details, see http://palaeoentomo- (Perkovsky and Makarkin, 2015; Makarkin and log.ru/Publ/amberproject.html) brought the first Perkovsky, 2016); freshwater sponges have not yet inclusions in the multi-kilogram collections of Taimyr been found in the Mesozoic of Eurasia. These Sisyri- amber presently kept at the Paleontological Institute dae are not fundamentally different from extant taxa, of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PIN), the tech- unlike most Kachin representatives (Makarkin, 2016; nical and scientific processing of which continues to Khramov et al., 2019). A new dustywing found in this day. This first expedition showed the potential of Cenomanian Nizhnyaya Agapa is assigned to a genus future collecting trips, which were held in 1971, 1973, previously known from Barremian Lebanese amber 1976 and 1977 at different Taimyr localities and in (Makarkin and Perkovsky, 2019). Previously the Yakutia (see Zherikhin, 1978, for a summary of the same genus of Lygistorrhinidae (Protognoriste) was results of those trips). These expeditions to Taimyr described from Nizhnyaya Agapa and Kachin amber resulted in the washing of many tons of tar sands, and (Blagoderov and Grimaldi, 2004); a member of Psy- more than 200 kg of resin were obtained (Sukatsheva chodidae found in Zhdanikha is also assigned to a et al., 2016). Lebanese genus (Azar et al., 2007). Another Leba- 984 A SUMMARY OF RECENT RESULTS IN THE STUDY OF TAIMYR AMBER 985 Taimyra Lake Sta rit sa C Portnyagino Lake S r u e k e Baikuraturka Lake k KARA SEA h a Sopochnoe y a 18 Lake C Ayaturky Lake myra R. 17 r e e k V. Ta i Syrataturku Lake 15 Pysina R. Khatanga Bay areya R. Ust-Tareya T 16 Syndassko 14 Pura R. Syruto Lake Logota Lake Pysina R. Kokora Lake . Popigai R Khelaliturku na Novorybnaya Lake ki Syruta Nyagame Igol Khatanga R Lake Lake Novaya R. Labaz Lake 12 13 Khargy Lake 2nd Purinskoe R. Pysina Tonskoe Lake Khatanga Lake 8 10 1st Purinskoe 7 Kheta R. 9 11 Lake A 6 gapa R. 4 KhetaKheta R. 5 Agapa 3 Katyryk Meimecha R. Ust-Avam Rossokha Dudypta R. Volochanka 2 Kotui R. Kheta R. Kresty Kheta R. Pysina R. Polovinnoe Lake Korennoe Lake 1 Pyasinnoe Lake 30 km 2000 km Fig. 1. Map of Taimyr amber localities: (1) Nizhnyaya Agapa, (2) Romanikha, (3) Yantardakh, (4) Isaevsky, (5) Bulun, (6) Sokolovsky, (7) Tumulda, (8) Ugolyak, (9) Kresty, (10) Gubina Gora, (11) Zhdanikha, (12) Novaya, (13) Moroskop, (14) Nikon-Yuryakh, (15) Bediey, (16) Khatangskaya Guba, (17) Logata, (18) Baikura; 1—Late Senomanian; 2–5, 7, 8—Late Santonian; 9, 11, 13–15—Albian–Late Senomanian; 17, 18—Albian–Early Senomanian; 6, 10, 12, 16—Unspecified age. (a) (b) Fig. 2. Types from Yantardakh damaged by placing them in castor oil: (a) Nganasania khetica Zherikhin, 1977, holotype PIN, no. 3311/45; (b) Shaposhnikovia electri Kononova, 1976, holotype PIN, no. 3311/259. PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL Vol. 53 No. 10 2019 986 PERKOVSKY, VASILENKO nese connection of Taimyr fauna appears Yantardakh nas of New Zealand and the Valdivian forests of Chile, bethylid genus in the subfamily Holopsenellinae containing many Late Cretaceous faunal elements, can Engel, Ortega et Azevedo, 2016 (only Taimyr and be attributed, in our opinion, to the low numbers and Lebanese genera were known: Azevedo et al., 2018, diversity of ants (Gumovsky et al., 2018). p. 262); third genus was described this year from Bur- A record of the oldest amber Chrysomelidae and mese amber. in particular of the oldest member of Galerucinae The first fossil record of an extant beetle genus (new tribe Taimyralticini from Yantardakh) (Nadein Eutheia of the subfamily Scydmaeninae known to feed and Perkovsky, 2018) led to the analysis of the distri- on oribatid mites (Jałoszyński and Perkovsky, 2016) bution of Phytophaga (Chrysomeloidea and Curcu- comes from Yantardakh; previously Cretaceous mem- lionoidea) in the Late Cretaceous that revealed Cur- bers of Eutheiini were only known from the Albian Span- culionoidea not found in Taimyr and Chrysome- ish amber. A new species of the genus Iberomaimetsha loidea extremely rare (a single specimen found). The (Hymenoptera: Maimetshidae) was described from amber faunas of the Baeomorpha realm were com- Yantardakh (Perrichot and Perkovsky, 2016); this pared for the first time with the only known Creta- genus was previously known only from two species ceous Lagerstätte not containing Phytophaga, i.e., from the Albian Spanish amber. Cretaceous Crypto- Santonian-Campanian Obeschayuschiy (Magadan phagini (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae) also were Region). As recently established by paleobotanists, described only from Yantardakh and Spanish amber e.g., Herman (2013), Mesophytic floras with ancient (Lyubarsky and Perkovsky, 2015, 2017a, 2017b; Peris gymnosperms and ferns existed in northern Eurasia et al., 2017). until the end of the Cretaceous, and did not mix with The earliest paedogenetic gall midge from the the Cenophytic floras (with angiosperms and derived monotypic tribe Krassiloviolini (Fedotova and gymnosperms), and the distribution of Cenophytic Perkovsky, 2017), with 5-segmented tarsomeres that floras in the north of the Baeomorpha realm was often are absent in other paedogenetic gall midges, was restricted to river valleys, whereas Mesophytic floras described from Yantardakh: paedogenesis is here occupied the remaining territory. In the Late Creta- directly confirmed by the presence of two big eggs with ceous, Phytophaga were associated only with Ceno- larvae inside found next to the gall midge. phytic associations (present-day chrysomelids feed- With the description of Taimyrobryum martynov- ing on gymnosperms or ferns are exclusively rare) iorum (Ignatov et al., 2016) (first genus and species which explains their extreme rarity in the Taimyr of Taimyr amber plants), Yantardakh became the amber that formed on flat interfluves above narrow fourth locality in the world to yield Cretaceous river valleys with Cenophytic assemblages (Nadein Bryopsida. and Perkovsky, 2018). In our opinion, it was the pres- ervation of Mesophytic communities in the Baeo- The analysis of the composition of the Cretaceous morpha realm that led to a disparity between their faunas resulted in a revision of the Cretaceous faunal evolutionary and geological age (Rasnitsyn et al., elements in the northern hemisphere. Two zoogeo- 2016). graphic realms: “Baeomorpha” and “Isoptera” were recognized (Gumovsky et al., 2018). The Baeomor- The earliest known Old World amber black flies pha Realm, with a temperate or warm temperate cli- (Diptera: Simuliidae, Simuliini) were described from mate, apart from the presence of numerous parasitic the Santonian Taimyr amber (Perkovsky and Sukhom- wasps of the genus Baeomorpha (Rotoitidae), is char- lin, 2016; Perkovsky et al., 2018). The study of unex- acterized by very abundant aphid fossils (eight fami- pectedly abundant Ugolyak black flies showed that the lies from four superfamilies are known from this ornithuromorph birds, on which they most likely fed, realm only), few termites and no webspinners. The colonized northern Siberia as early as in the Mesozoic. Isoptera Realm, which had a warmer climate, con- In the Cretaceous of the northern hemisphere, almost tained no or very few Rotoitidae, no or few aphids everywhere that black flies are found, there are also (often with strongly reduced hind wings), whereas bird feathers (Perkovsky et al., 2018); the same applies termites and webspinners (Martynova et al., 2019) to the southern hemisphere (Australian Koonwarra).