Paleobiogeography of Psenidae (Hymenoptera, Apoidea): investigating the relationship between Gondwana and the Eurasian amber of the Cretaceous

• Grant number: 20/13943-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2021
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Andrade Botelho de Almeida
• Grantee: Brunno Bueno da Rosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/09215-9 - Phylogenomic tip-dating analysis of fossil and recent lineages of psenid wasps (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Psenidae), BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The most widespread paleobiogeographic scenario described for the Cretaceous is a distinction between the Laurasian and Gondwanic areas. Even though some groups present this dichotomous distinction, several taxa assumed to be historically associated with Gondwana also have elements associated with Laurasian territories. Among the major fossil deposits, the Burmese amber from Myanmar is the most important source of fossil amber due to the abundance and diversity of inclusions. Several fauna elements of this deposit have phylogenetic relationships with Gondwanic pairs as described above. Among these groups, the psenid wasps are an expressive group of crabronid wasps phylogenetically related to bees, and are present in this fossil deposit and have Gondwana counterparts. Among these groups, psenid waps are present in this fossil deposit and have Gondwanic counterparts. Psenidae are a family of hymenopterans (Aculeata: Apoidea) composed of 18 genera and approximately 470 species, closely related to bees. Psenidae crown group arose in the Cretaceous, probably during the lower Cretaceous. Some of the groups found in Burmese amber have direct phylogenetic relationships with Odontosphecinae, a living group that has disjoint distribution occurring only in the dry areas of Southern South America and Western Africa. Therefore, this project aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of Psenidae by investigating phylogenetic relationships using total evidence approach, and to elucidate the biogeographic relationships between the Gondwanic lineages of Psenidae and those fossils present in the Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Phylogenomic data of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) will be generated for a large sample of living taxa, as well as morphological data from the same taxa and representatives of extinct lineages. The association of the phylogenetic evidence with modern approaches of analytical biogeography and geological scenarios will result in innovative research in geogenomics at a global scale. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LI, LONGFENG; ROSA, BRUNNO B.; MELO, GABRIEL A. R.; SHIH, CHUNGKUN; REN, DONG. A new wasp genus of Cirrosphecidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 140, p. 5-pg., 2022-08-27. (20/13943-4)

ROSA, BRUNNO B. B.; MELO, GABRIEL A. R.. A new fossil family of aculeate wasp sheds light on early evolution of Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Systematic Entomology, v. 48, n. 3, p. 20-pg., 2023-05-12. (20/13943-4)

ROSA, BRUNNO B.; MELO, GABRIEL A. R.; RIBEIRO, GUILHERME C.. The first crabronid wasps (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) from the Crato Formation (Northeastern Brazil) and implications for the evolution of apoid wasps and bees during the Early Cretaceous. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 137, p. 8-pg., 2022-06-02. (20/13943-4, 18/09666-5, 20/02844-5)