Long-term Sabbatical
Beetles are the most species-rich group today, with approximately 350,000 described species. How beetles have become so diverse has been the topic of much investigation. While many have used molecular phylogenetic approaches to study the evolution of the Coleoptera, little work has been done using the fossil record. The first goal of this project is to generate a database of all fossil beetle occurrences from the extensive, international paleontologic and entomologic literature. These data will be made available through the publicly accessible Paleobiology Database (http://paleodb.org) and will serve as a valuable resource for both neontologists and paleontologist who study the evolution of beetles. By synthesizing the fossil beetle literature, it then becomes possible to study the nature of the beetle fossil record itself and to test hypotheses about what has led to the great diversity of modern beetles. In addition to making records of fossil beetle occurrences and their associated meta-data publicly accessible, this project also will include the generation of synthetic manuscripts which focus on an examination of the nature of preservation in the fossil record of beetles and on large-scale patterns of diversification and extinction of Coleoptera through geologic time.
Evolution of the Coleoptera: A Paleontological Perspective
| PI(s): | Dena Smith (University of Colorado) |
| Start Date: | 1-Jul-2011 |
| End Date: | 30-Jun-2012 |
| Keywords: | macroevolution, paleontology, biodiversity, database, meta-analysis |
Beetles are the most species-rich group today, with approximately 350,000 described species. How beetles have become so diverse has been the topic of much investigation. While many have used molecular phylogenetic approaches to study the evolution of the Coleoptera, little work has been done using the fossil record. The first goal of this project is to generate a database of all fossil beetle occurrences from the extensive, international paleontologic and entomologic literature. These data will be made available through the publicly accessible Paleobiology Database (http://paleodb.org) and will serve as a valuable resource for both neontologists and paleontologist who study the evolution of beetles. By synthesizing the fossil beetle literature, it then becomes possible to study the nature of the beetle fossil record itself and to test hypotheses about what has led to the great diversity of modern beetles. In addition to making records of fossil beetle occurrences and their associated meta-data publicly accessible, this project also will include the generation of synthetic manuscripts which focus on an examination of the nature of preservation in the fossil record of beetles and on large-scale patterns of diversification and extinction of Coleoptera through geologic time.Related products
Publications- Exceptional preservation of insects in Lacustrine environments Smith, D.M. (2012). Exceptional preservation of insects in Lacustrine environments. PALAIOS, 27(41035) 346-353. doi: 10.2110/palo.2011.p11-107r
- Exceptionally Preserved Fossil Insect Ears from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado Roy E. Plotnick and Dena M. Smith. 2012, Exceptionally Preserved Fossil Insect Ears from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado, Journal of Paleontology, volume 86, issue 1, pp. 19-24
- 2012. 50-million-year-old crickets with ears. Futurity.
- 2012. Hear that? Insects can, and it's the sound of a hunting bat. MSNBC.
- 2012. 50-Million-year-old cricket and katydid fossils hint at the origins of insect hearing. Science 360, NSF's Daily News Feed.
- 2012. Ancient crickets hint at the origins of insect hearing. Eurekalert.
