Extinct and extant termites reveal the fidelity of behavior fossilization in amber

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mizumoto, Nobuaki; Hellemans, Simon; Engel, Michael S.; Bourguignon, Thomas; Bucek, Ales
• 署名单位: Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University; Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University; Auburn University System; Auburn University; American Museum of Natural History (AMNH); Czech Academy of Sciences; Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10940
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308922121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-19
• 关键词: subterranean termite; collective behavior

摘要

Fossils encompassing multiple individuals provide rare direct evidence of behavioral interactions among extinct organisms. However, the fossilization process can alter the spatial relationship between individuals and hinder behavioral reconstruction. Here, we report a Baltic amber inclusion preserving a female-male pair of the extinct termite species Electrotermes affinis. The head - to- abdomen contact in the fossilized pair resembles the tandem courtship behavior of extant termites, although their parallel body alignment differs from the linear alignment typical of tandem runs. To solve this inconsistency, we simulated the first stage of amber formation, the immobilization of captured organisms, by exposing living termite tandems to sticky surfaces. We found that the posture of the fossilized pair matches trapped tandems and differs from untrapped tandems. Thus, the fossilized pair likely is a tandem running pair, representing the direct evidence of the mating behavior of extinct termites. Furthermore, by comparing the postures of partners on a sticky surface and in the amber inclusion, we estimated that the male likely performed the leader role in the fossilized tandem. Our results demonstrate that past behavioral interactions can be reconstructed despite the spatial distortion of body poses during fossilization. Our taphonomic approach demonstrates how certain behaviors can be inferred from fossil occurrences.