Insect and Vertebrate Faunas of a Unique Late Triassic Freshwater Ecosystem in Eastern North America

北美东部晚三叠世淡水生态系统中的昆虫和脊椎动物群Fraser和大卫A.三叠纪末期（2.3亿-2亿年）是现代陆地生态系统演化的关键时期。有一个良好的全球记录的四足动物，包括第一个哺乳动物，鳄鱼，海龟，lissampibians（青蛙和蝾螈），sphenodontians，并通过扩展，他们的姐妹分类群，蜥蜴。相比之下，现代动物中最重要的一组昆虫的记录要差得多。全世界只有少数富含昆虫的三叠纪序列是已知的，这些地区的大多数化石都是不完整的标本，如孤立的翅膀和鞘翅。在北美东部的纽瓦克超群中，有一个单一的地点被发现含有许多完整的晚三叠世昆虫。Solite采石场位于弗吉尼亚州-北卡罗莱纳州线，它产生了最古老的全球记录的水虫，蓟马和石蛾。迄今为止发现的其他化石包括一种独特的滑翔爬行动物和许多小型水生爬行动物的标本，这些标本经常保留其柔软部分的解剖细节。这些尚未得到充分描述。只有相对较小的一部分含矿序列已被挖掘，PI将在最具生产力的采石场单位进行大规模挖掘。下一阶段的工作将是对所有发现进行详细研究，并将其与两个最具共同点的主要组合进行比较：吉尔吉斯斯坦的Madygen组和南非的莫尔特诺组。Solite昆虫的精美保存将允许对广泛的俄罗斯和南非昆虫收藏进行全面的重新评估，从而更好地了解昆虫进化的模式和克里思以及在这个关键时期的辐射。很长一段时间Solite采石场被认为基本上是不产昆虫的。当然，在正常的光照条件下，显微镜下的昆虫化石很容易被忽视。搜索图像对于PI的成功至关重要，并且使用相同的方法，他们已经确定了附近也包含昆虫遗骸的其他地点。与各种植物和脊椎动物遗骸一起，它们将重建晚三叠世边缘淡水生态系统的详细图像。

INSECT AND VERTEBRATE FAUNAS OF A UNIQUE LATE TRIASSIC FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICANicholas C. Fraser and David A. GrimaldiEAR-0106309The end of the Triassic period (230 -200 mya) was a pivotal time in the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. There is a good global record for tetrapods, including the first mammals, crocodiles, turtles, lissamphibians (frogs and salamanders), sphenodontians, and, by extension, their sister taxon, the lizards. By contrast the record for the most significant group of modern day animals, the insects, is considerably poorer. Only a handful of rich insect-producing Triassic sequences are known worldwide, and the majority of fossils from these localities comprise incomplete specimens such as isolated wings and elytra. A single site in the Newark Supergroup of eastern North America has been found to contain numerous complete Late Triassic insects. The Solite Quarry is situated on the Virginia-North Carolina state line, and it has produced the oldest global records for water bugs, thrips and caddisflies. Other fossils found to date include a unique gliding reptile and numerous specimens of a small aquatic reptile that frequently preserve details of their soft part anatomy. These have yet to be fully described. Only a relatively small portion of the fossiliferous sequences has been excavated and PIs will open large-scale excavations in the most productive quarry units. The next phase of the work will be to conduct detailed studies of all the finds and to compare them with the two major assemblages that share the most in common: the Madygen Formation of Kirghizistan and the Molteno Formation of South Africa. The exquisite preservation of the Solite insects will permit a complete re-evaluation of the extensive Russian and South African insect collections and thereby allow for a better understanding of the mode and tempo of insect evolution and radiation at this critical time.For a long time the Solite quarry was regarded as being largely unfossiliferous. Certainly the microscopic insect fossils can be readily overlooked under normal lighting conditions. The search image is critical to the PIs success, and using the same methods they have identified other localities nearby that also contain insect remains. Together with the diverse plant and vertebrate remains, they shall reconstruct a detailed picture of marginal freshwater ecosystems in the Late Triassic.