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Dr. Ricardo Pérez de la Fuente

Ricardo Pérez de la Fuente
Situación actual:
Becario post-doctoral en el Museo de Zoología Comparada
Universidad de Harvard (Cambridge, Massachussets, EEUU)

Formación académica:
- PhD in Earth Sciences (2008-12), University of Barcelona – “Paleobiología de los artrópodos del ámbar cretácico de El Soplao (Cantabria, España)”.
- MSc in Paleontology (2007-08), University of Barcelona / Autonomous University of Barcelona – “Paleobiología de los insectos del Mioceno de los depósitos lacustres de La Cerdanya (España)”.
- BSc in Biology with a concentration in Organisms and Systems (2003-07), University of Barcelona.

Teléfono: +34 617 496 1221
Email: perezdelafuente@fas.harvard.edu
Despacho: 403

Dirección postal:
Oxford University Museum of Natural History,
Parks Road,
Oxford, OX1 3PW
London

Intereses científicos:
Mis estudios como paleoentomólogo, aunque necesariamente fundamentados en la taxonomía, no sólo consisten en la descripción de paleodiversidad, sino que también buscan extraer datos paleoecológicos, paleoetológicos y tafonómicos de los artrópodos fósiles terrestres, principalmente insectos y arañas. Mis investigaciones se centran en el Cretácico Inferior, una de las épocas más importantes para la diversificación de los artrópodos terrestres al tener lugar la radiación de las angiospermas. No obstante, he estudiado tanto fósiles de adpresión (esto es, impresiones y compresiones) como inclusiones en ámbar de depósitos que abarcan unos 160 millones de años, desde el Jurásico Medio hasta el Mioceno Superior.

Proyecto de Máster y Tesis Doctoral:
Mi proyecto de Máster analizó la paleodiversidad de insectos en los sedimentos lacustres del Mioceno Superior de La Cerdanya. En él también se realizaron experimentos actuotafonómicos con ortópteros y larvas de coleóptero simulando condiciones previas al enterramiento en sedimentos lacustres. Mediante la medición de parámetros relacionados con la muerte, el hundimiento, la desarticulación y la descomposición en estos dos tipos de insecto, se pudieron caracterizar algunos de los factores tafonómicos que determinan los procesos de fosilización y los sesgos en el registro fósil de insectos en sedimentos lacustres. Por otra parte, mi Tesis Doctoral tuvo como objetivo la caracterización del paleoambiente del yacimiento de ámbar del Cretácico Inferior de El Soplao (Cantabria) usando varias líneas de evidencia. Estas incluyen datos paleoautoecológicos, paleobiogeográficos y paleoetológicos de los artrópodos del ámbar en combinación con datos geológicos y tafonómicos, así como datos paleobiológicos del material que se encuentra en el sedimento asociado al ámbar. El ámbar de El Soplao, descubierto en 2007, es hoy en día uno de los principales yacimientos de ámbar de España tanto desde el punto de visto cuantitativo como cualitativo, y tiene el potencial de convertirse en una de las mejores fuentes de datos de la vida en la Tierra hace unos 105 millones de años.

Dedicación actual:
Actualmente soy un contratado postdoctoral en el Museo de Zoología Comparada de la Universidad de Harvard. Mi trabajo consiste en liderar el proceso de digitalización de la colección de insectos fósiles de dicho museo, una de las más importantes del mundo con más de 50000 ejemplares fruto de la dedicación del Prof. Frank M. Carpenter (1902-1994). Este trabajo se circunscribe al proyecto financiado por la National Science Foundation (USA) titulado “Colaboración en Insectos Fósiles: estudio de la diversificación y la respuesta al cambio ambiental mediante un enfoque en el tiempo profundo”. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo el facilitar el acceso a las principales colecciones de insectos fósiles de Estados Unidos mediante la creación de un registro online de imágenes digitales y datos de colección asociados. Todos estos datos de fácil acceso tendrán un impacto significativo tanto a nivel educativo como en investigación, y una vez integrados permitirán extraer patrones de amplia escala tanto evolutivos como paleobiogeográficos y paleoecológicos.

Publicaciones

He publicado artículos tanto de arañas como de insectos fósiles, esto es, cucarachas (“Blattaria”), grillos (Orthoptera), moscas serpiente (Raphidioptera), neurópteros (Neuroptera), avispas (Hymenoptera), y moscas y mosquitos (Diptera). También he participado en trabajos multidisciplinares que caracterizaron un nuevo yacimiento de ámbar en Cantabria (El Soplao) y que desarrollaron una novedosa técnica para el estudio de inclusiones en ámbar mediante luz sincrotrón. Junto con los otros miembros del proyecto Amberia, he descrito más de una treintena de artrópodos fósiles, más de veinte de ellos nuevos para la ciencia. Cabe destacar el descubrimiento de Hallucinochrysa diogenesi, una larva de neuróptero de aspecto muy peculiar preservada junto a una cobertura por ella misma recolectada formada por tricomas vegetales, evidenciando un comportamiento de camuflaje y protección en un fósil de hace más de 100 millones de años, así como una relación muy estrecha entre un insecto y un helecho. Más de 70 periódicos y blogs tanto nacionales como internacionales se hicieron eco de este descubrimiento, que fue portada de la versión electrónica internacional de National Geographic.

Artículos:

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Engel, M. S., Delclòs, X. y Peñalver, E. 2020. Straight-jawed lacewing larvae (Neuroptera) from Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber, with an account on the known amber diversity of neuropterid immatures. Cretaceous Research 106: 104200. DOI:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104200.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R. y Peñalver, E. 2019. A mantidfly in Cretaceous Spanish amber provides insights into the evolution of integumentary specialisations on the raptorial foreleg. Scientific Reports 9: 13248. DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-49398-1.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Gehler, A., Farnum, C. W. y Farrell, B. D. 2019. Digitisation as a tool to promote transparency between collections: the case of the Baltic amber from the Königsberg collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Spanish Journal of Paleontology 34(1): 145–151. Sin DOI.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. y Engel, M. S. 2019. A new dustywing (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) from the Early Cretaceous amber of Spain. Palaeoentomology 2(3): 279‒288. DOI:10.11646/ palaeoentomology.2.3.13.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Engel, M. S., Azar, D. y Peñalver, E. 2019. The hatching mechanism of 130-million-year-old insects: an association of neonates, egg shells and egg bursters in Lebanese amber. Palaeontology 62(4): 547–559. DOI:10.1111/pala.12414.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Hoffeins, C. y Roháček, J. 2018. A new Acartophthalmites Hennig from Eocene Baltic amber (Diptera: Acalyptratae). Zookeys 737: 125–139. DOI:10.3897/zookeys.737.20639.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Azar, D. y Engel, M. S. 2018. A soil-carrying lacewing larva in Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber. Scientific Reports 8: 16663. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-34870-1.

Peñalver, E., Arillo, A., Delclòs, X., Peris, D., Grimaldi, D. A., Anderson, S. R., Nascimbene, P. C. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2017. Ticks parasitised feathered dinosaurs as revealed by Cretaceous amber assemblages. Nature Communications 8: 1924. DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-01550-z.

Peris, D., Labandeira, C. C., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X., Barrón, E. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2017. The case of Darwinylus marcosi (Insecta: Coleoptera: Oedemeridae): A Cretaceous shift from a gymnosperm to an angiosperm pollinator mutualism. Communicative & Integrative Biology 10(4): 897–904. DOI:10.1080/19420889. 2017.1325048.

Peris, D., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X., Barrón, E. y Labandeira, C. C. 2017. False Blister Beetles and the Expansion of Gymnosperm-Insect Pollination Modes before Angiosperm Dominance. Current Biology 27(6): 897–904. DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.009.

Sánchez-García, A., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R. y 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. DOI:10.1080/14772019.2014.944946.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. & Engel, M. 2016. A defensive behavior and plant-insect interaction in Early Cretaceous amber ‒ the case of the immature lacewing Hallucinochrysa diogenesi. Arthropod Structure and Development, 45: 133‒139.

Peñalver, E., Arillo, A, Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Riccio, M.L., Delclòs, X, Barrón, E. & Grimaldi, D.A. 2015. Long-proboscid Flies as Pollinators of Mesozoic Gymnosperms. Current Biology 25(14): 1917‒1923.

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.
Sánchez-García, A., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Delclòs, X. 2014. A rich and diverse tanaidomorphan (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) assemblage associated with Early Cretaceous resin-producing forests in North Iberia: palaeobiological implications. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Peñalver, E. & Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2014. Unearthing the secrets of ancient immature insects. eLife 3: e03443. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.03443

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Saupe, E. E. & Selden, P. A. 2013. New lagonomegopid spiders (Araneae: †Lagonomegopidae) from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 11(5): 531‒553.

Engel, M. S. & Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2012. A New Species of Roach from the Jurassic of India (Blattaria: Mesoblattinidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 85(1): 1‒4.

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. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109(52): 21414‒21419.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R. Heads, S. W., Hinojosa-Diaz, I. A. & Engel, M. S. 2012. The first record of Protogryllinae from the Jurassic of India (Orthoptera: Protogryllidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 85(1): 53‒58.

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., 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., Perrichot, V., Ortega-Blanco, J., Delclòs, X. & Engel, M. S. 2012. Description of the male of Megalava truncata Perrichot, 2009 (Hymenoptera: Megalyridae) in Early Cretaceous Spanish amber from El Soplao. Zootaxa 3274: 29‒35.

Saupe, E. E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Selden, P. A., Delclòs, X., Tafforeau, P. & Soriano, C. 2012. New Orchestina (Simon 1882) (Oonopidae, Araneae) from Cretaceous ambers of Spain and France: first spiders imaged using phasecontrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography. Palaeontology 55(1): 127‒143.

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.

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. A review of the El Soplao amber outcrop, Early Cretaceous of Cantabria (Spain). Acta Paleontologica Sinica 84(4): 959‒976.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Nel, A., Peñalver, E. & 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.

Soriano, C., Archer, M., Azar, D., Creaser, P., Delclòs, X., Godthelp, H., Hand, S., Jones, A., Nel, A., Néraudeau, D., Ortega-Blanco, J., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Perrichot, V., Saupe, E., Solorzano-Kraemer, M. & Tafforeau, P. 2010. Synchrotron X-ray imaging of inclusions in amber. Comptes Rendus Palevol 9(6‒7): 361‒368.

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.

Libros y capítulos de libros:

Peñalver, E., Barrón, E., Delclòs, X., Álvarez-Fernández, E., Arillo, A., López del Valle, R., Lozano, R., Murillo-Barroso, M., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peris, D., Rodrigo, A., Sánchez-García, A., Sarto i Monteys, V., Viejo, J.L. y Vilaça, R. 2018. Amber in Portugal: state of the art. En: Vaz, N. y Sá, A. (Eds.), Yacimientos paleontológicos excepcionales en la península Ibérica. Cuadernos del Museo Geominero, IGME, 27: 279–287.

Peñalver, E., González-Fernández, B., López del Valle, R., Barrón, E., Lozano, R.P., Rodrigo, A., Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Menéndez-Casares, E. y Sarto i Monteys, V. 2018. Un nuevo yacimiento de ámbar cretácico en Asturias (Noroeste de España): Resultados preliminares de la excavación paleontológica de 2017 en La Rodada (La Manjoya). En: Vaz, N. y Sá, A. (Eds.), Yacimientos paleontológicos excepcionales en la península Ibérica. Cuadernos del Museo Geominero, IGME, 27: 289–299.

López del Valle, R. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2016. El yacimiento paleontológico de Rábago/ El Soplao. Pp. 357–374. En: Actuaciones arqueológicas en Cantabria. Investigación (2004–2011). Sanz Palomera, G. (Ed.). Gobierno de Cantabria.

Peñalver, E.; Najarro, M.; Rosales, I.; López Del Valle, R.; Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Delclòs, X. 2011. Cap. 5.2. El ámbar de Rábago/El Soplao. Pp. 147-151 y p. 182. In: Durán Valsero, J.J. (Coord.), El Soplao. Una ventana a la ciencia subterránea. El Soplao S.L. Ed., Gobierno de Cantabria: 190 pp.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Peñalver, E.; Delclòs, X.; Najarro, M.; Rosales, I.; Barrón, E.; López del Valle, R.; Ortega-Blanco, J.; Arillo, A.; Sánchez-García, A. & Peris, D. 2013. El ámbar del Cretácico Inferior de El Soplao (Rábago, Cantabria). Informes Técnicos, IGME, “Avances en la investigación geológica de la cueva El Soplao y su entorno”, Madrid, nº 7: 103-114.

Delclòs, X.; Arillo, A.; Barrón, E.; Dal Corso, J.; Davieró-Gómez, V.; López del Valle, R.; Nel, A.; Ortega-Blanco, J.; Peñalver, E.; Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Peris, D.; Sánchez-García, A.; Solórzano-Kraemer, M.M.; Roghi, G.; Saupe, E. y Selden, P. 2014. El ámbar del Cretácico Inferior de España. 65-68 pp. In: Royo-Torres, R.; Verdú, F.J. y Alcalá, L. (Coords.), XXX Jornadas de Paleontología de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología. ¡Fundamental!, 24: 1-282. Teruel.

Peñalver, E.; Arillo, A.; Barrón, E.; Delclòs, X.; Pérez-de la Fuente, R.; Peris, D. y Sánchez-García, A. 2014. El ámbar de España como fuente de información paleoecológica (Albiense: Cretácico Inferior). 153-155 pp. In: Royo-Torres, R.; Verdú, F.J. y Alcalá, L. (Coords.), XXX Jornadas de Paleontología de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología. ¡Fundamental!, 24: 1-282. Teruel.

Contribuciones a congresos:

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Sánchez-García, A., Peñalver, E., Engel, M. y Delclòs, X. 2019. New lacewings bearing assemblable proboscides from the Cretaceous amber of Spain. The 63rd Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association, 18–20 diciembre 2019, Universitat de València. Libro de resúmenes: 117–118.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Azar, D., Delclòs, X., Engel, M.S. y Peñalver, E. 2019. Neuroptera as an ideal group to study the evolution of larval traits in holometabolan insects. The 8th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, 7–13 abril 2019, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Libro de resúmenes, Paul C. Nascimbene (Ed.): 41–42.

Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Barrón, E., Arillo, A., Azar, D., dal Corso, J., Kania, I., Kvaček, J., Labandeira, C., Nel, A., Menor-Salván, C., Peris, D., Perrichot, V., Sánchez-García, A., Sarto i Monteys, V., Solórzano Kraemer, M. M. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2019. Early Cretaceous Spanish amber reveals an important ancient “hotspot” of biodiversity in an insular context. The 8th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, 7–13 abril 2019, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Libro de resúmenes, Paul C. Nascimbene (Ed.): 108–109.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Azar, D., Delclòs, X., Engel, M.S. y Peñalver, E. 2018. Diversity of neuropteran larvae (Insecta) in Early Cretaceous ambers. The 62nd Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association, 14‒17 diciembre 2018, University of Bristol. Libro de resúmenes: 49–50.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Azar, D. y Engel, M. 2018. Trash-carrying green lacewing larvae from Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber. The 5th International Palaeontological Congress, 9–13 julio 2018, Paris. Libro de resúmenes: 22.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peris, D., Arillo, A., Barrón, E., Delclòs, X., Grimaldi, D.A., Labandeira, C.C., Nel, A., Nel, P. y Peñalver, E. 2017. Gymnosperm–insect pollination relationships in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain. The 61st Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association, 17–19 diciembre 2017, Imperial College, London. Libro de resúmenes: 55.

Arillo, A.; Delclòs, X.; Sánchez-García, A.; Peris, D.; Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Peñalver, E. 2016. Arthropod hematophagy and vertebrate remains in Cretaceous Spanish amber. Abstracts 7th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Edited by Penney, D. & Ross, A.J., Siri Scientific Press, Edinburgh: p. 6.

Barrón, E., Arillo, A., Gallardo, A., Lozano, R., Ontañón, E., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peris, D., Rodrigo, A., Sánchez-García, A., Sarto i Monteys, V., Viejo J.L. & Delclòs, X. 2015. AMBERIA project: Iberian amber. Multidisciplinary study of the Early Cretaceous forest ecosystems [in Spanish]. XXI Bienal de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural, Burgos, Spain. Abstract book: 75-76.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Farrell, B.D. 2014. Digitization of the fossil insect collection from the Museum of Comparative Zoology. The 4th International Paleontological Congress. Mendoza, Argentina. Abstract book: 592.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Arillo, A., Peris, D., Sánchez-García, A. & Delclòs, X. 2014. Paleobiotic interactions from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber. The 4th International Paleontological Congress. Mendoza, Argentina. Abstract book: 393.

Barrón, E.; Arillo, A.; Gallardo, A.; Lozano, R.; Ontañón, R.; Peñalver, E.; Pérez de la Fuente, R.; Peris, D.; Rodrigo, A.; Sánchez-García, A.; Sarto i Monteys, V.; Viejo, J.L. y Delclòs, X. 2015. Proyecto AMBERIA: el ámbar de Iberia. Estudio pluridisciplinar de los ecosistemas boscosos en el Cretácico inferior. Bienal RSEHN, Libro de resúmenes, Burgos: 75-76.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X. & Engel, M.S. 2013. Neuroptera from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber. The 6th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Byblos, Lebanon. Abstract book: 56-57.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X., Speranza, M. & Engel, M.S. 2013. Hallucinochrysa diogenesi, a trash-carrying chrysopoid larva (Neuroptera) from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber. The 6th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Byblos, Lebanon. Abstract book: 54-55.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2011. On the other side of amber [In Spanish]. XII Jornadas del Grupo Ibérico de Aracnología; Plentzia, Bilbao, Spain. Abstract Book: 16. Invited talk.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Saupe, E. E., Selden, P. A., Soriano, C. & Delclòs, X. 2011. New studies on the spiders from the Early Cretaceous of Spain [In Spanish]. XXVII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, Sabadell, Barcelona. Abstract Book, Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Barcelona: 289‒293.

Saupe, E. E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R. & Selden, P. 2011. New fossil palpimanoids from the Early Cretaceous of Spain, with a combined extant/fossil phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Palpimanoidea. 35th Meeting of the American Arachnological Society, Portland, Oregon, USA. http://aas.biology.pdx.edu/abstracts.php

Soriano, C., Delclòs, X., Ortega-Blanco, J., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Saupe, E. E. & Tafforeau, P. 2011. The Early Cretaceous amber from Spain and its study using synchrotron light [In Spanish]. XXVII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, Sabadell, Barcelona. Abstract Book, Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Barcelona: 371‒375.

Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Soriano, C., Arillo, A., Barrón, E., Daviero-Gomez, V., Gomez, B., López-Del Valle, R., Nel, A., Ortega-Blanco, J., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Roghi, G., Saupe, E., Selden, P.A. & Tafforeau, P. 2010. Early Cretaceous amber-bearing deposits from Spain. The 5th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Beijing, China. Abstract book: 121.

Ortega-Blanco, J., Delclòs, X., Engel, M. S., McKellar, R., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Perrichot, V., Rasnitsyn, A. P. & Soriano, C. 2010. Diversity of hymenopteran families in the Early Cretaceous amber from Spain. The 5th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Beijing, China. Abstract book: 60.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. & Arillo, A. 2010. New biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Early Cretaceous Amber of Spain. The 5th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Beijing, China. Abstract book: 159.

Peñalver, E., Najarro, M., 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. A review of the El Soplao amber outcrop, Early Cretaceous of Cantabria (Spain). The 5th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Beijing, China. Abstract book: 158.

Soriano, C., Delclòs, X., Ortega-Blanco, J., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Saupe, E., Tafforeau, P. 2010. Spanish Amber Project in the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France). The 5th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Beijing, China. Abstract book: 69.

Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Soriano, C., Arillo, A., Nel, A., Selden, P., Roghi, G., Gomez, B., López del Valle, R., Barrón, E., Daviero-Gomez, V., Ortega-Blanco, J. & Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2009. Amber-bearing deposits from the Early Cretaceous of Spain palaeobiology and sedimentary environments. 10th International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Teruel. UAM Editions, abstract book: 193–195.

Ortega-Blanco, J., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. & Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2009. Wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from the Early Cretaceous amber from Spain. 10th International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Teruel. UAM Editions, Abstract book: 55–57.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., López del Valle, R., Ortega-Blanco, J. & Soriano, C. 2009. A first approach to the fossil arthropodofauna of the Early Cretaceous amber from El Soplao (Cantabria, Spain). 10th International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Teruel. UAM Editions, Abstract book: 49–51.

Abstracts:

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Engel, M. S., Delclòs, X. y Peñalver, E. 2020. Straight-jawed lacewing larvae (Neuroptera) from Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber, with an account on the known amber diversity of neuropterid immatures. Cretaceous Research 106: 104200. DOI:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104200.

Three larval neuropterans (Insecta: Neuropterida) with straight mandibulomaxillary stylets are described from Lower Cretaceous (late Albian, ~105 Ma) Spanish amber: a third-instar beaded lacewing (Berothidae) from the Peñacerrada I locality (Burgos, Spain), and two specimens from the San Just locality (Teruel, Spain), i.e., a tentative first-instar beaded lacewing and a remarkable specimen considered a berothid-like mantispoid or dilaroid (instar unknown) displaying a combination of potentially plesiomorphic characters and some unique features. These morphotypes are among the oldest straight-jawed neuropteran larvae described. According to the morphology of the specimens and the taphonomy of the amber pieces where they are embedded, the described forms are regarded as active predators of small soft-bodied arthropods, probably living among bark or other vegetation of the resin-producing forest although they could have frequented the soil. An account of the diversity of larval Neuropterida described and/or figured from amber localities worldwide is provided, including reassessments of some specimens. The gathering diversity of fossil immature neuropterans, like that of their adult counterparts, already leans towards reflecting a greater diversity and disparity of the group in deep time ‒particularly during the Cretaceous‒ than in modern days, and it is worthy of increased research efforts due to the evolutionary and palaeobiological potential that it holds.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R. y Peñalver, E. 2019. A mantidfly in Cretaceous Spanish amber provides insights into the evolution of integumentary specialisations on the raptorial foreleg. Scientific Reports 9: 13248. DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-49398-1.

Multiple predatory insect lineages have developed a raptorial lifestyle by which they strike and hold prey using modified forelegs armed with spine-like structures and other integumentary specialisations. However, how structures enabling the raptorial function evolved in insects remains largely hypothetical or inferred through phylogeny due to the rarity of meaningful fossils. This is particularly true for mantidflies (Neuroptera: Mantispidae), which have a scarce fossil record mostly based on rock compressions, namely isolated wings. Here, Aragomantispa lacerata gen. et sp. nov. is described from ca. 105-million-year-old San Just amber (Spain), representing the oldest and one of the few mantidflies hitherto described from amber. The fossil shows exquisitely preserved forefemoral spinelike structures composed of integumentary processes each bearing a modified seta, and prostrate setae on foretibiae and foretarsi. The fine morphology of these structures was unknown in fossil mantidflies. An assessment of integumentary specialisations from raptorial forelegs across mantispoid lacewings is provided. The present finding reveals how the specialised foreleg armature associated to the raptorial lifestyle in extant mantidflies was present yet not fully established by the Early Cretaceous, at least in some lineages, and provides palaeontological evidence supporting certain evolutionary patterns of acquisition of integumentary specialisations related to the raptorial function in the group.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Gehler, A., Farnum, C. W. y Farrell, B. D. 2019. Digitisation as a tool to promote transparency between collections: the case of the Baltic amber from the Königsberg collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Spanish Journal of Paleontology 34(1): 145–151. Sin DOI.

Un total de 383 muestras de ámbar del Báltico, incluyendo 43 ejemplares tipo, depositadas en el Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), Harvard University, durante cerca de un siglo se reconocieron como pertenecientes a la colección de ámbar clásica de la Albertus-Universität de Königsberg. Este hallazgo fue posibilitado en gran medida por la disponibilidad pública online de imágenes digitales tomadas durante un proyecto que digitalizó los más de 30.000 ejemplares de la colección de insectos fósiles del MCZ. Las muestras de ámbar se transportaron en mano y se reincorporaron a la porción de la colección Königsberg original que se salvó tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, depositada en el Geowissenschaftliches Museum del Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum de la Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen. El presente estudio muestra la importancia de compartir datos de colección a través de registros digitalizados públicos, entendiendo la digitalización como una herramienta no solo enfocada a la educación, divulgación e investigación, sino también clave para redescubrir, rastrear, repatriar y, a la postre, salvaguardar el patrimonio paleontológico mueble a escala global.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. y Engel, M. S. 2019. A new dustywing (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) from the Early Cretaceous amber of Spain. Palaeoentomology 2(3): 279‒288. DOI:10.11646/ palaeoentomology.2.3.13.

A new Cretaceous dustywing, Soplaoconis ortegablancoi gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae), is described from four specimens preserved in Early Cretaceous (Albian, ~105Ma) El Soplao amber (Cantabria, northern Spain). Two additional specimens are assigned to this new taxon. A crossvenational abnormality on an area of diagnostic significance from one of the holotype’s forewings provides a reminder of the importance of not ruling out character plasticity or teratoses when evaluating palaeodiversity. A comment on the possible palaeoecological significance of the co-occurrence as syninclusions of plant trichomes with the holotype of S. ortegablancoi and seven of the eleven described Burmese amber dustywing species is provided.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Engel, M. S., Azar, D. y Peñalver, E. 2019. The hatching mechanism of 130-million-year-old insects: an association of neonates, egg shells and egg bursters in Lebanese amber. Palaeontology 62(4): 547–559. DOI:10.1111/pala.12414.

Hatching is a pivotal moment in the life of most animals. Diverse chemical, behavioural and mechanical methods have evolved in metazoans to break the egg membranes. Among them, many arthropod and vertebrate embryos hatch using ephemeral, frequently convergent structures known as egg bursters. However, the evolutionary processes by which hatching mechanisms and related embryonic structures became established in deep time are poorly understood due to a nearly complete absence from the fossil record. Herein we describe an exceptional c. 130-million-year-old association in Lebanese amber composed of multiple neonate green lacewing larvae, Tragichrysa ovoruptora gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera, Chrysopoidea), and conspecific egg remains. Egg bursters with a serrated blade bearing a short process are attached to three longitudinally split egg shells. Embryos of extant green lacewing relatives (Chrysopidae) utilize this egg burster morphotype to open a vertical slit on the egg, after which the burster is moulted and left joined to the empty egg shell. Additionally, the new larval species has extremely elongate dorsal tubercles, an adaptation to carry exogenous debris for protection and camouflage also known from other Cretaceous chrysopoids but absent in modern relatives. The present discovery demonstrates that the hatching mechanism of modern green lacewings was established in the chrysopoid lineage by the Early Cretaceous and proves through direct fossil evidence how some morphological traits related to hatching and linked behaviours, at least in insect embryos, have been subject to a high degree of evolutionary conservatism.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Hoffeins, C. y Roháček, J. 2018. A new Acartophthalmites Hennig from Eocene Baltic amber (Diptera: Acalyptratae). Zookeys 737: 125–139. DOI:10.3897/zookeys.737.20639.

A new fossil fly species, Acartophthalmites willii sp. n. (Diptera: Acalyptratae: Opomyzoidea) from Baltic amber (Eocene, 56−33.9 Ma), is described based on a male originally assigned by Hennig (1969) to A. tertiaria Hennig, 1965, who erroneously also referred to it in the same work as “A. electrica Hennig” (unavailable name). The new species, representing the third named species of the extinct genus with un¬clear familial relationships Acartophthalmites Hennig, 1965, is herein described and illustrated in detail, and its systematic implications and relationships are discussed. From the morphological standpoint, the new species represents an intermediate form between the two formerly described species within the genus, therefore expanding the character combination diversity in this lineage of acalyptrate flies. The genus Acartophthalmites is considered to be most closely related to Clusiidae and, therefore, it is herein tenta¬tively classified within the superfamily Opomyzoidea. The current work takes part of an effort to review the Acartophthalmites diversity in order to gain knowledge on the morphological data from the specimens described within the genus and ultimately enable a reliable analysis of its phylogenetic relationships with other acalyptrates.

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Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Azar, D. y Engel, M. S. 2018. A soil-carrying lacewing larva in Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber. Scientific Reports 8: 16663. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-34870-1.

Diverse organisms protect and camouflage themselves using varied materials from their environment. This adaptation and associated behaviours (debris-carrying) are well known in modern green lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), mostly due to the widespread use of these immature insects in pest control. However, the evolutionary history of this successful strategy and related morphological adaptations in the lineage are still far from being understood. Here we describe a novel green lacewing larva, Tyruschrysa melqart gen. et sp. nov., from Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber, carrying a preserved debris packet composed by soil particles entangled among specialised setae of extremely elongate tubular tubercles. The new morphotype has features related to the debris-carrying habit that are unknown from extant or extinct green lacewings, namely a high number of tubular tubercle pairs on the abdomen and tubular tubercle setae with mushroom-shaped endings that acted as anchoring points for debris. The current finding expands the diversity of exogenous materials used by green lacewing larvae in deep time, and represents the earliest direct evidence of debris-carrying in the lineage described to date. The debris-carrying larval habit likely played a significant role during the initial phases of diversification of green lacewings.

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Peñalver, E., Arillo, A., Delclòs, X., Peris, D., Grimaldi, D. A., Anderson, S. R., Nascimbene, P. C. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2017. Ticks parasitised feathered dinosaurs as revealed by Cretaceous amber assemblages. Nature Communications 8: 1924. DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-01550-z.

Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and indirect evidence in 99 million-year-old Cretaceous amber showing that hard ticks and ticks of the extinct new family Deinocrotonidae fed on blood from feathered dinosaurs, non-avialan or avialan excluding crown-group birds. A †Cornupalpatum burmanicum hard tick is entangled in a pennaceous feather. Two deinocrotonids described as †Deinocroton draculi gen. et sp. nov. have specialised setae from dermestid beetle larvae (hastisetae) attached to their bodies, likely indicating cohabitation in a feathered dinosaur nest. A third conspecific specimen is blood-engorged, its anatomical features suggesting that deinocrotonids fed rapidly to engorgement and had multiple gonotrophic cycles. These findings provide insight into early tick evolution and ecology, and shed light on poorly known arthropod–vertebrate interactions and potential disease transmission during the Mesozoic.

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Peris, D., Labandeira, C. C., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X., Barrón, E. y Pérez-de la Fuente, R. 2017. The case of Darwinylus marcosi (Insecta: Coleoptera: Oedemeridae): A Cretaceous shift from a gymnosperm to an angiosperm pollinator mutualism. Communicative & Integrative Biology 10(4): 897–904. DOI:10.1080/19420889. 2017.1325048.

Abundant gymnosperm pollen grains associated with the oedemerid beetle Darwinylus marcosi Peris, 2016 were found in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain. This discovery provides confirmatory evidence for a pollination mutualism during the mid Mesozoic for the family Oedemeridae (Coleoptera), which today is known to pollinate only angiosperms. As a result, this new record documents a lateral host-plant transfer from an earlier gymnosperm to a later angiosperm, indicating that pollination of the latter is a derived condition within Oedemeridae. This new fossil record exemplifies one of the 4 ecological-evolutionary pollinator cohorts now known to have existed during the global shift from a gymnosperm to an angiosperm dominated global flora. Currently, all direct evidence for pollination during the 35 million-year interval of the mid Cretaceous gymnosperm-to-angiosperm transition entails recognition of gymnosperm pollen grains on insect mouthparts and other body contact surfaces, while analogous records involving angiosperms are lacking. The gathering evidence indicates that angiosperm pollination was preceded by at least 4 gymnosperm pollination modes that served as a functional and ecological prelude to the rise and expansion of angiosperms.

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Peris, D., Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Peñalver, E., Delclòs, X., Barrón, E. y Labandeira, C. C. 2017. False Blister Beetles and the Expansion of Gymnosperm-Insect Pollination Modes before Angiosperm Dominance. Current Biology 27(6): 897–904. DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.009.

During the mid-Cretaceous, angiosperms diversified from several nondiverse lineages to their current global domination [1], replacing earlier gymnosperm lineages [2].Several hypotheses explain this extensive radiation [3], one of which involves proliferation of insect pollinator associations in the transition from gymnosperm to angiosperm dominance. However, most evidence supports gymnosperm–insect pollinator associations, buttressed by direct evidence of pollen on insect bodies, currently established for four groups: Thysanoptera (thrips), Neuroptera (lacewings), Diptera (flies), and now Coleoptera (beetles). Each group represents a distinctive pollination mode linked to a unique mouthpart type and feeding guild [4–9]. Extensive indirect evidence, based on specialized head and mouthpart morphology, is present for one of these pollinator types, the long-proboscid pollination mode [10], representing minimally ten family-level lineages of Neuroptera, Mecoptera (scorpionflies), and Diptera [8, 10, 11]. A recurring feature uniting these pollinator modes is host associations with ginkgoalean, cycad, conifer, and bennettitalean gymnosperms. Pollinator lineages bearing these pollination modes were categorized into four evolutionary cohorts during the 35-million-year-long angiosperm radiation, each defined by its host-plant associations (gymnosperm or angiosperm) and evolutionary pattern (extinction, continuation, or origination) during this interval [12]. Here, we provide the first direct evidence for one cohort, exemplified by the beetle Darwinylus marcosi, family Oedemeridae (false blister beetles), that had an earlier gymnosperm (most likely cycad) host association, later transitioning onto angiosperms [13]. This association constitutes one of four patterns explaining the plateau of family-level plant lineages generally and pollinating insects specifically during the mid-Cretaceous angiosperm radiation [12].

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Sánchez-García, A., Peñalver, E., Pérez-de la Fuente, R. y 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. DOI:10.1080/14772019.2014.944946.

The extinct tanaidomorphan diversity from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber, currently comprising 26 specimens, is reassessed. The fossil family Alavatanaidae Vonk & Schram, 2007, described from Spanish amber, is revised on account of new preparation of type specimens and the discovery of new material. The described tanaidomorphan taxa are classified within the superfamily Paratanaoidea. An emended diagnosis for Alavatanaidae is provided, as well as for the genera Alavatanais Vonk & Schram, 2007 and Proleptochelia Vonk & Schram, 2007, and their respective species Alavatanais carabe Vonk & Schram, 2007 and Proleptochelia tenuissima Vonk & Schram, 2007. Three new species, two of them classified in a new genus each, are described: Alavatanais margulisae Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs sp. nov., Eurotanais terminator Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs gen. et sp. nov. and Electrotanais monolithus Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs gen. et sp. nov. Proleptochelia euskadiensis Vonk & Schram, 2007 is considered a junior synonym of A. carabe, and the genus Proleptochelia, together with its type and only species P. tenuissima, is left without familial placement within Paratanaoidea. Within this superfamily, Alavatanaidae is closely related to Leptocheliidae. Also, morphological variability due to sexual dimorphism in the studied paratanaoids has been determined. Multiple lines of taphonomic and palaeobiological evidence indicate that the Spanish amber tanaids were most likely inhabitants of wet or moist forest floors.

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