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. 2018 Sep 10;28(17):2806-2812.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.036. Epub 2018 Aug 16.

Beetle Pollination of Cycads in the Mesozoic

Chenyang Cai  1 , Hermes E Escalona  2 , Liqin Li  3 , Ziwei Yin  4 , Diying Huang  3 , Michael S Engel  5
Affiliations
Free article

Beetle Pollination of Cycads in the Mesozoic

Chenyang Cai et al. Curr Biol. .
Free article

Abstract

Cycads, unlike modern wind-pollinated conifers and Ginkgo, are unusual in that they are an ancient group of gymnosperms pollinated by insects [1-3]. Although it is well documented that cycads were diverse and abundant during the mid-Mesozoic, little is known about their biogeography and pollination before the rise of angiosperms. Direct fossil evidence illuminating the evolutionary history of cycads is extremely rare [4, 5]. Here we report a specialized beetle-mediated pollination mode from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar, wherein a new boganiid beetle, Cretoparacucujus cycadophilus, with specialized pollen-feeding adaptations in its mouthparts and legs, was associated with many pollen grains of Cycadopites. Phylogenetic analyses indicate Cretoparacucujus as a sister group to the extant Australian Paracucujus, which pollinate the cycad Macrozamia riedlei. Our discovery, along with the current disjunct distribution of related beetle-herbivore (tribe Paracucujini) and cycad-host (tribe Encephalarteae) pairs in South Africa and Australia, indicate a probable ancient origin of beetle pollination of cycads at least in the Early Jurassic, long before angiosperm dominance and the radiation of flowering-plant pollinators later in the Cretaceous.

Keywords: Burmese amber; coevolution; paleoecology; paleoethology; plant-insect interactions; pollination.

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