Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber

Alexandra Viertler; Karin Urfer; Georg Schulz; Seraina Klopfstein; Tamara Spasojevic

doi:10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2

Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber

Swiss J Palaeontol. 2023;142(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2. Epub 2023 Nov 3.

Authors

Alexandra Viertler^{1

2}, Karin Urfer³, Georg Schulz^{4

5}, Seraina Klopfstein^{1

2}, Tamara Spasojevic^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Natural History Museum Basel, Augustinergasse 2, 4051 Basel, Switzerland.
² Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
³ Natural History Museum St. Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 263, 9016 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
⁴ Core Facility Micro- and Nanotomography, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Hegenheimermattweg 167 B/C, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland.
⁵ Biomaterials Science Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Hegenheimermattweg 167 B/C, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland.

Abstract

The correct interpretation of fossils and their reliable taxonomic placements are fundamental for understanding the evolutionary history of biodiversity. Amber inclusions often preserve more morphological information than compression fossils, but are often partially hidden or distorted, which can impede taxonomic identification. Here, we studied four new fossil species of Darwin wasps from Baltic and Dominican amber, using micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans and 3D reconstructions to accurately interpret and increase the availability of morphological information. We then infer their taxonomic placement in a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis by combining morphological and molecular data of extant and fossil Darwin wasps and evaluate the impact and usefulness of the additional information from micro-CT scanning. The results show that although we gained significant morphological information from micro-CT scanning, especially concerning measurements and hidden dorsal and ventral structures, this did not impact subfamily-level placement for any of the four fossils. However, micro-CT scanning improved the precision of fossil placements at the genus level, which might be key in future dating and diversification analyses. Finally, we describe the four new fossil species as Rhyssa gulliveri sp. nov. in Rhyssinae, Triclistus levii sp. nov. in Metopiinae, Firkantus freddykruegeri gen. et. sp. nov. in Pimplinae and Magnocula sarcophaga gen. et sp. nov. in Phygadeuontinae. The first two species are the first known representatives of the subfamilies Rhyssinae and Metopiinae in amber.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2.

Keywords: Baltic Amber; Bayesian phylogenetic inference; Dominican Amber; Fossils; Parasitoids; RoguePlots.