Research paper
Compound biogenic structures resulting from ontogenetic variation: An example from a modern dipteran
FERNANDO MUÑIZ GUINEA
Grupo de Investigación RNM 293 “Geomorfología Ambiental y Recursos Hídricos”, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, Spain. fmguinea@uhu.es
Corresponding author
MARÍA G. MÁNGANO
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada. gabriela.mangano@usask.ca
LUIS A. BUATOIS
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada. luis.buatois@usask.ca
VIRGINIJA PODENIENE
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vilnius University, Ciurlionio 21/27, Vilnius 2009, Lithuania. sigitas.podenas@gf.vu.lt
JOSÉ A. GÁMEZ VINTANED
Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Geosciences & Petroleum Engineering, University Teknologi Petrona (UTP), Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh (Perak), Malaysia. gamez@unizar.es
EDUARDO MAYORAL ALFARO
Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Univ. de Huelva, 21071, Huelva, Spain. mayoral@uhu.es
ABSTRACT
Several families of Diptera are known to be active burrowers. Fly larvae of the genus Symplecta (family Limoniidae) were observed in a sandy substrate of an orange grove in Lepe, SW Spain. Traces produced by Symplecta display: (1), a proximal segment characterized by a winding furrow trail; (2), an intermediate part consisting of burrow segments arranged in zigzag; and (3), a distal part formed by a complex U-shaped burrow. The most complex morphology is present in the intermediate zigzag burrow system, which varies from irregularly sinuous and curved in its most proximal part to spiraled. In the fossil record, the trace would be ascribed to different ichnotaxa depending on the part preserved. In fact, this is a compound trace recording multiple behavioural patterns. The winding furrow shows affinities with Helminthopsis, the zigzag burrows with Treptichnus, and the U-shaped burrow with Arenicolites. Furthermore, the spiral portion shows some similarities with Spirophycus and Spirodesmos. Interestingly, formation of these compound traces is connected with different ontogenetic stages of the producer. The winding and zigzag segments are produced, respectively, by Symplecta larvae and pupae for feeding purposes, whereas the U-shaped burrow is excavated during the end of pupal stage for protection until adulthood. In the fossil record, this incipient compound trace potentially may occur in lake-margin, fluvio-estuarine and overbank deposits, including levee, crevasse splay and pond deposits, forming part of the Scoyenia or the Mermia ichnofacies. Structures similar to those produced by modern diptera are known from freshwater ichnofaunas since the Devonian.
Keywords: Diptera, ontogeny, behaviour, modern compound traces, Spain.
How to cite: Muñiz-Guinea, F., Mángano, M.G., Buatois, L.A., Podeniene, V., Gámez Vintaned, J.A. & Mayoral Alfaro, E. 2014. Compound biogenic structures resulting from ontogenetic variation: An example from a modern dipteran. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 29 (1), 83-94.
Received 26 June 2013, Accepted 08 August 2013, Published 30 June 2014
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.29.1.17491
