A light in the dark: a mid-Cretaceous bioluminescent firefly with specialized antennal sensory organs

Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15310%2F24%3A73628112" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15310/24:73628112 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1671" target="_blank" >https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1671</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1671" target="_blank" >10.1098/rspb.2024.1671</a>

Result language
angličtina
Original language name
A light in the dark: a mid-Cretaceous bioluminescent firefly with specialized antennal sensory organs
Original language description
The beetle superfamily Elateroidea comprises the most biodiverse bioluminescent insects among terrestrial light-producing animals. Recent exceptional fossils from the Mesozoic era and phylogenomic studies have provided valuable insights into the origin and evolution of bioluminescence in elateroids. However, due to the fragmentary nature of the fossil record, the early evolution of bioluminescence in fireflies (Lampyridae), one of the most charismatic lineages of insects, remains elusive. Here, we report the discovery of the second Mesozoic bioluminescent firefly, Flammarionella hehaikuni Cai, Ballantyne & Kundrata gen. et sp. nov., from the Albian/Cenomanian of northern Myanmar (ca 99 Ma). Based on the available set of diagnostic characters, we interpret the specimen as a female of stem-group Luciolinae. The fossil possesses deeply impressed oval pits on the apices of antennomeres 3-11, representing specialized sensory organs likely involved in olfaction. The light organ near the abdominal apex of Flammarionella resembles that found in extant light-producing lucioline fireflies. The growing fossil record of lampyrids provides direct evidence that the stunning light displays of fireflies were already established by the late Mesozoic.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10602 - Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology

Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year
2024
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

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