Current position:
Scientific Researcher, Geological Survey of
Spain (Instituto Geológico y Minero de
España – IGME)
Previous positions/career:
- Researcher Contract “Ramón y Cajal” (since
2007 to 2009), Spanish Ministry and Museo
Geominero (IGME).
- Post Doctoral Fellow (since February 2004
to February 2006) in the American Museum of
Natural History (USA).
- PhD (concluded 2002), University of
Valencia – “Los insectos dípteros del
Mioceno del Este de la Península Ibérica:
Rubielos de Mora, Ribesalbes y Bicorp.
Tafonomía y sistemática”.
Phone: 00 34 91 3495939
Email:
e.penalver@igme.es
Mailing address:
Museo Geominero
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España
c/ Ríos Rosas 23
28003 Madrid, Spain
Scientific research:
My main interests in
paleoentomology are taxonomy, taphonomy and
paleoecology (paleobiology). I study
compression fossils (mainly Miocene in age)
and bioinclusions in amber (mainly
Cretaceous in age) and copal (Quaternary).
Practically all my research is focused in
insects, but a few of my publications are on
arachnids and crustaceans. I am very
interested in search of new paleontological
outcrops in Spain. Key words about my
research are: Miocene, Cretaceous, Albian,
Dominican amber, Spanish amber (El Soplao,
San Just and Álava ambers), New Zealand
copal, Spanish compression fossils (Rubielos
de Mora, Ribesalbes and Bicorp outcrops),
paleolakes, rithmites (oil shales), insects,
Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Diptera,
Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera,
Thysanoptera, Arachnida, ticks, Opiliones,
Crustacea, Tanaidacea, taphonomy, microbial
mats, disarticulation, exceptional
preservation, the amber origin, amphibians,
paleoecology, paleobiology, plant-insect
interactions, early insect pollination,
early camouflage in insects, vertebrate-arthropod
interactions, hematophagy, litter
microhabitat, Tertiary insect swarming, past
reproductive behaviours.
Doctoral Thesis and
post-doctoral research:
My PhD research assessed the
paleodiversity of the order Diptera in the
Miocene lacustrine sediments of Rubielos de
Mora, Ribesalbes and Bicorp (Spain), with
special attention to taphonomy and
paleoecology: In the Taphonomy section
actualistic experiments were accomplished to
know the processes of flotation, collapse,
decomposition and disarticulation of
terrestrial Diptera in lakes, and the
results have been applied to the
interpretation of the fossil record. The
term syncompression was proposed for a more
methodical analysis of the taphonomy and
palaeoecology in the outcrops of
compression. It was deduced that microbial
mats covered the bottom of the palaeolakes
studied, and that these mats played a very
important role in the fossilization of the
insects. In the Systematic section the
different Diptera’s taxa found were studied
and grouped in 18 families and 28 genera.
The Palaeoecology section was focused on
three questions: evidence of trophic
behavior, evidence of Chironomidae and
Acrididae swarms, and the study of egg
depositions on leaves by Odonata. A
reconstruction attempt of the limnic food
web for the three paleolakes was
accomplished.”
My post-doctoral research
was conducted since February 2004 to
February 2006 in the American Museum of
Natural History in New York, under the
direction of Dr. David Grimaldi. I studied
selected Dominican amber pieces housed at
the AMNH collection with uncommon fossil
assemblages of special palaeoecological
interest. Some of the topics studied were
fig pollination by fig wasps, assemblages of
mammalian hair and blood-feeding midges (hematophagy)
and butterflies related to
palaeobiogeographic interesting data and the
age of origin of butterflies.
Current tasks:
Currently I am a Scientific Researcher
in the Museo Geominero (IGME) in Madrid. My
research mainly is focused on insects
preserved in Albian amber of Spain, under
the project CGL2014-52163 of the Spanish
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Currently, I am especially interested in
Cretaceous ticks, the systematics of the
Order Thysanoptera, on taphonomic studies of
the Hymenaea resin in Madagascar, and
diverse aspects of the copal from New
Zealand. |
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SCI articles (last decade): Peñalver, E.; Grimaldi, D.A. & Delclòs,
X. 2006. Early Cretaceous Spider Web with
Its Prey. Science, 312: p. 1761.
Engel, M.S. & Peñalver, E. 2006. A
Miocene Halictine Bee from Rubielos de Mora
Basin, Spain (Hymenoptera: Halictidae).
American Museum Novitates, 3503: 10 pp.
I.S.S.N. 0003-0082
Peñalver, E. & Grimaldi, D. 2006.
Assemblages of mammalian hair and blood-feeding
midges (Insecta: Diptera: Psychodidae:
Phlebotominae) in Miocene amber.
Transactions of the Royal Society of
Edinburgh, Earth Sciences, 96: 177-195.
McNamara, M.; Orr, P.J.; Kearns, S.L.,
Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2006.
High-fidelity organic preservation of bone
marrow in ca.10 Ma amphibians. Geology, 34
(8): 641-644.
Peñalver, E. & Grimaldi, D. 2006. New
data on Miocene amber butterflies in
Dominican amber (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae and
Nymphalidae) with the description of a new
nymphalid. American Museum Novitates, 3519:
17 pp.
Peñalver, E.; Engel, M. & Grimaldi, D.A.
2006. Fig Wasps in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera:
Agaonidae). American Museum Novitates, 3541:
16 pp.
Peñalver, E. & Engel, M. 2006. Two Wasp
Families Rare in the Fossil Record (Hymenoptera):
Perilampidae and Megaspilidae from the
Miocene of Spain. American Museum Novitates,
3540: 12 pp.
Delclòs, X.; Arillo, A.; Peñalver, E.;
Barrón, E.; Soriano, C.; López del Valle,
R.; Bernárdez, E.; Corral, C. & Ortuño, V.M.
2007. Fossiliferous amber deposits from the
Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain. Comptes Rendus
Palevol, 6: 135-149.
Peñalver, E.; Álvarez-Fernández, E.;
Arias, P.; Delclòs, X. & Ontañón, R. 2007.
Local amber in a Palaeolithic Context in
Cantabrian Spain: the case of La Garma A.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 34:
843-849.
Peñalver, E.; Delclòs, X. & Soriano, C.
2007. A new rich amber outcrop with
palaeobiological inclusions in the Lower
Cretaceous of Spain. Cretaceous Research,
28: 791-802.
Corchón, M.S., Mateos, A.,
Álvarez-Fernández, E., Peñalver, E.,
Delclòs, X. & Van der Made, J. 2008.
Ressources complémentaires et mobilité dans
le Magdalénien cantabrique. Nouvelles
données sur les mammifères marins, les
crustacés, les mollusques et les roches
organogènes de la Grotte de Las Caldas
(Asturies, Espagne). L´Anthropologie, 112:
284-327.
Arillo, A.; Peñalver, E. & Delclòs, X.
2008. Microphorites (Diptera:
Dolichopodidae) from the Lower Cretaceous
amber of San Just (Spain), and the
co-occurrence of two ceratopogonid species
in Spanish amber deposits. Zootaxa, 1920:
29-40.
McNamara, M.E.; Orr, P.J.; Kearns, S.T.;
Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2009.
Soft-tissue preservation in Miocene frogs
from Libros, Spain: insights into the
genesis of decay microenvironments. Palaios,
24: 104-117.
Arillo, A.; Peñalver, E. & García-Gimeno,
V. 2009. First fossil Litoleptis (Diptera:
Spaniidae) from the Lower Cretaceous amber
of San Just (Teruel Province, Spain).
Zootaxa, 2026: 33-39.
Najarro, M.; Peñalver, E.; Rosales, I.;
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Daviero-Gomez, V.;
Gomez, B. & Delclòs, X. 2009. Unusual
concentration of Early Albian
arthropod-bearing amber in the
Basque-Cantabrian Basin (El Soplao,
Cantabria, Northern Spain):
Palaeoenvironmental and palaeobiological
implications. Geologica Acta, 7 (3):
363-387.
McNamara, M.; Orr, P.J.; Kearns, S.T.;
Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2009.
Exceptionally preserved tadpoles from the
Miocene of Libros, Spain: ecomorphological
reconstruction and the impact of ontogeny
upon taphonomy. Lethaia, 43: 290-306. DOI
10.1111/j.1502-3931.2009.00192.x
McNamara, M.; Orr, P.J.; Kearns, S.T.;
Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2009.
Organic preservation of fossil musculature
with ultracellular detail. Proceedings of
the Royal Society, Series B, 277: 423-427.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Nel, N.;
Peñalver, E. & Xavier Delclòs, X. 2010. A
new Early Cretaceous snakefly
(Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from El
Soplao amber (Spain). Annales de la Société
entomologique de France, 46 (1-2): 108-115.
Peñalver, E. & Nel, P. 2010.
Hispanothrips from Early Cretaceous Spanish
amber, a new genus of the resurrected family
Stenurothripidae (Insecta: Thysanoptera).
Annales de la Société entomologique de
France, 46 (1-2): 138-147.
Nel, P.; Peñalver, E., Azar, D.,
Hodebert, G. & Nel, A. 2010. Modern thrips
families Thripidae and Phlaeothripidae in
the Early Cretaceous amber (Insecta:
Thysanoptera). Annales de la Société
entomologique de France, 46 (1-2): 154-163.
Peñalver, E. & Grimaldi, D. 2010. Latest
occurrences of the Mesozoic family Elcanidae
(Insecta: Orthoptera), in Cretaceous amber
from Myanmar and Spain. Annales de la
Société entomologique de France, 46 (1-2):
88-99.
Peñalver, E.; Ortega, J.; Nel, A. &
Delclòs, X. 2010. Mesozoic Evaniidae
(Insecta: Hymenoptera) in Spanish Amber:
Reanalysis of the Phylogeny of the
Evanioidea. Acta Geologica Sinica (English
Edition), 84 (4): 809-827.
Najarro, M.; Peñalver, E.; Pérez-de la
Fuente, R.; Ortega-Blanco, J.; Menor-Salván,
C.; Barrón, E.; Soriano, C.; Rosales, I.;
López del Valle, R.; Velasco, F.; Tornos,
F.; Daviero-Gomez, V.; Gomez, B. & Delclòs,
X. 2010. Review of the El Soplao amber
outcrop, Early Cretaceous of Cantabria,
Spain. Acta Geologica Sinica (English
Edition), 84 (4): 959-976.
Peñalver, E. & Gaudant, J. 2010. Limnic
food web and salinity of the Upper Miocene
Bicorb palaeolake (eastern Spain).
Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol.,
297: 683-696.
Ortega, J.; Delclòs, X.; Peñalver, E. &
Engel, M.S. 2011. Serphitid wasps in Early
Cretaceous amber from Spain (Hymenoptera:
Serphitidae). Cretaceous Research, 32:
143-154.
Ortega, J.; Peñalver, E.; Delclòs, X. &
Engel, M.S. 2011. False fairy wasps in Early
Cretaceous amber from Spain (Hymenoptera:
Mymarommatoidea). Palaeontology, 54 (3):
511-523.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X,
Peñalver, E. & Arillo, A. 2011. Biting
midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the
Early Cretaceous El Soplao amber (N Spain).
Cretaceous Research, 32: 750-761.
McNamara, M.; Orr, P.J.; Manzocchi, T.;
Kearns, S.T.; Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. &
Peñalver, E. 2011. Biological controls upon
the physical taphonomy of exceptionally
preserved salamanders from the Miocene of
Rubielos de Mora, Spain. Lethaia: 17 pp.
DOI: 10.1111 ⁄j.1502-3931.2011.00274.x
McNamara, M.; Orr, P.J.; Alcalá, L.;
Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2012. What
controls the taphonomy of exceptionally
preserved taxa- environment or biology? A
case study using frogs from the Miocene
Libros Konservat-Lagerstätte (Teruel,
Spain). PALAIOS, 27: 63-77.
Peñalver, E.; Labandeira, C.C.; Barrón,
E.; Delclòs, X.; Nel, P.; Nel, A.;
Tafforeau, P. & Soriano, C. 2012. Thrips
Pollination of Mesozoic Gymnosperms. PNAS,
109 (22): 8623-8628.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Peñalver, E.;
Delclòs, X. & Engel, M.S. 2012. Snakefly
diversity in Early Cretaceous amber from
Spain (Neuropterida: Raphidioptera).
ZooKeys, 204: 1-40.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Peñalver, E. &
Ortega-Blanco, J. 2012. A new species of the
diverse Cretaceous genus Cretevania
Rasnitsyn, 1975 (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae)
from Spanish amber. Zootaxa, 3514: 70-78.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Delclòs, X.;
Peñalver, E.; Speranza, M.; Wierzchos, J.;
Ascaso, C.; Engel, M.S. 2012. Early
evolution and ecology of camouflage in
insects. PNAS, 190 (52): 21414-21419.
Peñalver, E.; Fontal-Cazalla, F.M. &
Pujade-Villar, J. 2013. Palaeogronotoma nov.
gen. from the Miocene of Spain, the first
Tertiary fossil record of the subfamily
Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera: Figitidae).
Geodiversitas, 35 (3): 643-653.
Peñalver, E. & Pérez-de la Fuente, R.
2014. Unearthing the secrets of ancient
immature insects. eLife: 3 pp. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.03443
Sánchez-García, A.; Peñalver, E.;
Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Delclòs, X. 2015. A
rich and diverse tanaidomorphan (Crustacea:
Tanaidacea) assemblage associated with Early
Cretaceous resin-producing forests in North
Iberia: palaeobiological implications.
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 13 (8):
645-676.
Arillo, A.; Peñalver, E.; Pérez-de la
Fuente, R.; Delclòs, X.; Criscione, J.;
Barden, P. M.; Riccio, M. L. & Grimaldi, D.
A. 2015. Long-proboscid brachyceran flies in
Cretaceous amber (Diptera: Stratiomyomorpha:
Zhangsolvidae). Systematic Entomology, 40:
242-267.
Peris, D.; Solórzano Kraemer, M.M.;
Peñalver, E. & Delclòs, X. 2015. New
ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae:
Platypodinae) from Miocene Mexican and
Dominican ambers and their
paleobiogeographical implications. Organisms
Diversity and Evolution, 15: 527-542. DOI:
10.1007/s13127-015-0213-y
Gaudant, J.; Barrón, E.; Anadón, P.;
Reichenbacher, B. & Peñalver, E. 2015.
Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the Miocene
Arcas del Villar gypsum sequence (Spain),
based on palynomorphs and cyprinidontiform
fishes. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und
Paläontologie Abhandlungen, 277 (1):
105-124.
Peñalver, E.; Arillo, A.; Riccio, M.L.;
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Delclòs, X.; Barrón,
E. & Grimaldi, D.A. 2015. Long-proboscid
Flies as Pollinators of Cretaceous
Gymnosperms. Current Biology, 25 (14):
1917-1923.
Speranza, M.; Ascaso, C.; Delclòs, X. &
Peñalver, E. 2015. Cretaceous mycelia
preserving fungal polysaccharides:
Taphonomic and paleoecological potential of
microorganisms preserved in fossil resins.
Geologica Acta, 13 (4): 409-431.
Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Delclòs, X.;
Peñalver, E.; Engel, M.S. 2016. A defensive
behavior and plant-insect interaction in
Cretaceous amber ‒ the case of
Hallucinochrysa diogenesi. Arthropod
Structure and Development, 45: 133-139.
Delclòs, X.; Peñalver, E.; Arillo, A.;
Engel, M.S.; Nel, A.; Azar, D. & Ross, A.
2016. New mantises (Insecta: Mantodea) in
Cretaceous ambers from Lebanon, Spain and
Myanmar. Cretaceous Research, 60: 91-108.
McNamara, M.E.; Orr, P.J.; Kearns, S.;
Alcalá, L.; Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2016.
Reconstructing carotenoid-based and
structural coloration in fossil skin.
Current Biology, 26: 1075-1082. |
