Exceptionally preserved insect fossils in the Late Jurassic lagoon of Orbagnoux (Rhône Valley, France)

PeerJ. 2014 Sep 2:2:e510. doi: 10.7717/peerj.510. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The Late Kimmeridgian marine limestones of the area around Orbagnoux (Rhône, France) are well known for their fish fauna and terrestrial flora. Here we record the first insects and their activities (mines on leaves and trails in sediments) from these layers, including the oldest record of the gerromorphan bugs, as a new genus and species Gallomesovelia grioti, attributed to the most basal family Mesoveliidae and subfamily Madeoveliinae. These new fossils suggest the presence of a complex terrestrial palaeoecosystem on emerged lands near the lagoon where the limestones were deposited. The exquisite state of preservation of these fossils also suggests that these outcrops can potentially become an important Konservat-Lagerstätte for the Late Jurassic of Western Europe.

Keywords: Attacks on Zamites leaves; Heteroptera; Insecta; Mesoveliidae; Trails in sediment; gen. et sp. nov..

Grants and funding

This paper was funded by the CNRS team UMR 7205. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.