Morphological and palaeoecological aspects of fossil insects unveiled by UV-A light
Mathieu Boderau,
Corentin Jouault,
Camille Aracheloff,
Valérie Ngô-Muller,
Michael S. Engel,
Serge Berthier,
Bernd Schöllhorn,
Diying Huang,
André Nel,
Romain Garrouste
Affiliations
Mathieu Boderau
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France
Corentin Jouault
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France; Géosciences Rennes (UMR 6118), Univ. Rennes, CNRS, F-35000 Rennes, France; Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution de Montpellier (UMR 5554), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier, France
Camille Aracheloff
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France
Valérie Ngô-Muller
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France; Paris-Cité University, Life Sciences Department, 5, rue Thomas Mann, F-75013 Paris, France
Michael S. Engel
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru; Departamento de Entomología, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Avenida Antonio Álvarez de Arenales 1256 Jesús María, Lima 14, Peru
Serge Berthier
Institut des Nanosciences de Paris (UMR 7588), CNRS, Sorbonne University, F-75005 Paris, France
Bernd Schöllhorn
Université Paris Cité, Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Moléculaire, F-75013 Paris, France
Diying Huang
Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
André Nel
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France
Romain Garrouste
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (UMR 7205), MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE-PSL, UA, CP50, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France; Corresponding author.
Studying insect fossils, particularly those preserved as compressions in sedimentary matrices, can be difficult due to the taphonomic processes that often result to poor preservation and contrast of structures compared to the embedding matrix. To address this, we propose a user-friendly and simple methodology based on UV-light to study insect fossils and select specimens of interest for more advanced imagery exploration. While UV-light imaging has been previously applied to compressions of arthropod fossils, it typically involved laser light sources. Our approach allows the investigation of fossils using an affordable, compact, and portable UV-light source, along with a simple and replicable low-cost protocol. • The methodology is based on UV-light induced natural fluorescence of sediment and fossil remains. • UV-light is effective on compression fossils to gain natural contrast and enhance observation of body structures like veins or setae on wings. • UV-light is effective to reveal palaeoecological information such as pollen grains preserved on specimens, especially near or on putative pollinator or pollen-eating taxa.
