Cenozoic ecosystem dynamics in Europe deduced from arachnids preserved in amber

• Applicants: Dr. Danilo Harms; Dr. Ulrich Kotthoff
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2020 to 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 441196329

• Final Report Year: 2025

Final Report Abstract

This project aimed at using arachnids preserved in European Eocene/Oligocene ambers (Baltic, Bitterfeld and Rovno; succinites) for ecosystem and climate reconstructions. We planned to document arachnid faunas in these amber types, and tested hypotheses concerning a) diversity and community composition within succinites, b) differences between these amber types, c) ecosystem and climate variability from the Cretaceous until today inferred from arachnids, and d) evolutionary trends and biogeographical scenarios for the amber communities. Our results show: Randomly gathered Bitterfeld amber arachnid collections are most similar to Mediterranean or similar faunas today, while most collections have significant collecting bias. The taxonomic composition of Baltic and Bitterfeld amber is also similar, suggesting a single ecosystem and depositional history, although the data also allude to significant taxonomic difficulties in fossil species assignment. The succinite amber fauna of arachnids represents a rather temperate fauna, but both warm and cool adapted temperate groups are present. We provide published examples of arachnid lineages that are now extinct and others that had significant range shifts. We review the Burmese (middle Cretaceous) amber fauna of the arachnid orders Pseudoscorpiones and Schizomida, suggesting evolutionary stasis for the former order and regressive evolutionary trends for the latter. We also provide evidence for a Gondwana origin of the Burma Terrane. Work on the extinct arachnid order †Chimerarachnida reveals novel insights into mating biology, and work on fossil ticks into a decreasing morphospace from the Cretaceous over the Cenozoic to the Present. Despite challenges caused by the COVID pandemic and the Russian war against Ukraine, this project has already led to 13 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Publications

• Arachnids in European succinite ambers: What’s the big picture? Conference book, 22rd European Congress of Arachnology, Vác, Hungary, 08-13 June 2018.
  Harms D., Kotthoff U., Hammel J. U. & Dunlop J. A.
  
• Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil-based scientific data”: Myanmar amber. PalZ, 94(3), 431-437.
  Haug, Joachim T.; Azar, Dany; Ross, Andrew; Szwedo, Jacek; Wang, Bo; Arillo, Antonio; Baranov, Viktor; Bechteler, Julia; Beutel, Rolf; Blagoderov, Vladimir; Delclòs, Xavier; Dunlop, Jason; Feldberg, Kathrin; Feldmann, Rodney; Foth, Christian; Fraaije, René H. B.; Gehler, Alexander; Harms, Danilo; Hedenäs, Lars ... & Haug, Carolin
  
• Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil-based scientific data”: the importance of private collections. PalZ, 94(3), 413-429.
  Haug, Carolin; Reumer, Jelle W. F.; Haug, Joachim T.; Arillo, Antonio; Audo, Denis; Azar, Dany; Baranov, Viktor; Beutel, Rolf; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Feldmann, Rodney; Foth, Christian; Fraaije, René H. B.; Frenzel, Peter; Gašparič, Rok; Greenwalt, Dale E.; Harms, Danilo; Hyžný, Matúš; Jagt, John W. M.; Jagt-Yazykova, Elena A. ... & Reich, Mike
  
• Museum der Natur Hamburg: Zoologie Sonderausstellung 2021: Eozän - Am Beginn unserer Welt: Mentioning of research projects and presentation of results.
  Kotthoff U., Hartung V., Pawlowski J. & Thaut L.
  
• The first fossils of the most basal pseudoscorpion family (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae): evidence for major biogeographical shifts in the European paleofauna. PalZ, 96(1), 11-27.
  Schwarze, Daniel; Harms, Danilo; Hammel, Jörg U. & Kotthoff, Ulrich
  
• The second chthonioid pseudoscorpion (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: a new genus with unique morphological features and potential Gondwanan affinities. The Journal of Arachnology, 48(3).
  Wriedt, Anna-Louisa; Harvey, Mark S.; Hammel, Jörg U.; Kotthoff, Ulrich & Harms, Danilo
  
• A review of fossil pseudoscorpions. 93rd Annual Meeting of Pal. Gesellschaft. Stuttgart, Germany, 19-23 September 2022.
  Johnson, J., Loria, S.F., Kotthoff, U. & Harms, D.
  
• Assessing arachnid diversity in amber deposits. 93rd Annual Meeting of Pal. Gesellschaft, Stuttgart, Germany, 19-23 September 2022.
  Kotthoff, U., Loria, S.F. & Harms, D.
  
• Assessing Arachnid Diversity in Eurasia during the Eocene. 7th Conference of the Asian Society of Arachnology, Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh, Vietnam, 17-22 October 2022.
  Loria S. F., Kotthoff U. & Harms D.
  
• Assessing past arthropod diversity - a case study for Eocene ecosystems. EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. Vienna, 23-27 May 2022, Austria
  Loria S. F., Harms D. & Kotthoff U.
  
• Diversity of schizomids (Arachnida: Schizomida) revealed by new fossil genera and species from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber with implications for a Gondwanan origin of the Burma Terrane. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 196(2), 792-844.
  De Francesco Magnussen, Ilian; Müller, Sandro P.; Hammel, Jörg U.; Kotthoff, Ulrich & Harms, Danilo
  
• First record of the spider family Hersiliidae (Araneae) from the Mesozoic of Europe (Bakony Mts, Hungary). Cretaceous Research, 131, 105097.
  Szabó, Márton; Hammel, Jörg U.; Harms, Danilo; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Bodor, Emese; Novák, János; Kovács, Kristóf & Ősi, Attila
  
• The first fossil of the pseudoscorpion family Ideoroncidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones): A new taxon from the mid-Cretaceous of northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research, 130, 105030.
  Geißler, Carolin; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Hammel, Jörg U.; Harvey, Mark S. & Harms, Danilo
  
• A new pseudoscorpion genus (Garypinoidea: Garypinidae) from the Eocene supports extinction and range contraction in the European paleobiota. PeerJ, 11, e15989.
  Stanczak, Nova; Harvey, Mark S.; Harms, Danilo; Hammel, Jörg U.; Kotthoff, Ulrich & Loria, Stephanie F.
  
• Assessing Arachnid Diversity in Eurasia during the Eocene. 22nd International Congress of Arachnology, Montevideo, Uruguay. 5-11 March 2023.
  Loria S.F., Kotthoff U. & Harms D.
  
• Bernstein: Lupe in Ökosysteme der Vergangenheit. Vortrag anlässlich “Aktionswochen Geologie” im Museum der Natur, 02. Februar 2023
  Kotthoff U.
  
• First record of the pseudoscorpion tribe Tyrannochthoniini Chamberlin, 1962 from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of northern Myanmar (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae: Chthoniinae). Cretaceous Research, 144, 105459.
  Johnson, Jithin; Loria, Stephanie F.; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Hammel, Jörg U.; Joseph, Mathew M. & Harms, Danilo
  
• Museum der Natur Hamburg: Geologie-Palaeontologie Dauerausstellung ab 2025: New display cases in relation to amber and this and ongoing research projects.
  Kotthoff U., Pawlowski J. & Thaut L.
  
• Spinnentiere in Bernstein: Indikatoren für vergangene Ökosysteme und Plattentektonik. Vortrag für den Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein Hamburg, 07. März 2023.
  Harms D.
  
• A new Mesozoic record of the pseudoscorpion family Garypinidae from Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Ajkaite amber, Ajka area, Hungary. Cretaceous Research, 153, 105709.
  Novák, János; Harvey, Mark S.; Szabó, Márton; Hammel, Jörg U.; Harms, Danilo; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Hörweg, Christoph; Brazidec, Manuel & Ősi, Attila
  
• Assessing arachnid diversity in Eurasia during the Eocene. Libro de Resúmenes, VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Aracnología, Bogota, Colombia, 16-21 June.
  Loria S. F.
  
• First fossil species of family Hyidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) confirms 99 million years of ecological stasis in a Gondwanan lineage. PeerJ, 12, e17515.
  Röschmann, Liza M.; Harvey, Mark S.; Hou, Yanmeng; Harms, Danilo; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Hammel, Jörg U.; Ren, Dong & Loria, Stephanie F.
  
• Tectonically driven climate change and the spread of temperate biomes: Insights from dragon pseudoscorpions (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae), a globally distributed arachnid lineage. Journal of Biogeography, 51(6), 1032-1048.
  Harms, Danilo; Harvey, Mark S.; Roberts, J. Dale & Loria, Stephanie F.
  
• New species of Lechytia Balzan, 1892 (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) from Burmese amber highlights 99 million years of morphological stasis. Cretaceous Research, 172, 106120.
  Hagen, Maya; Kotthoff, Ulrich; Harms, Danilo & Loria, Stephanie F.