Response to “Evidence from amber for the origins of termitophily”

• Published in: Current biology 2017-08, Vol.27 (16), p.R794-R795
• Main Authors: Cai, Chenyang, Huang, Diying, Newton, Alfred F., Eldredge, K. Taro, Engel, Michael S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amber; Animals; Coleoptera - anatomy & histology; Color; Fossils; Phylogeny
• ISSN: 0960-9822; 1879-0445
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.083

In a recent Current Biology paper [1], we reported the oldest, morphologically specialized, and obligate termitophiles, Cretotrichopsenius burmiticus (Figure 1, left), from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, about 99 million years old. Cretotrichopsenius, belonging to the obligately termitophilous rove beetle tribe Trichopseniini, display the protective horseshoe-crab-shaped body typical of many extant termitophiles. However, the termitophilous lifestyle of Cretotrichopsenius is being questioned by Yamamoto et al.[2] based on their representation of the termitophile-related features and premature and presumptive phylogenetic placement of Cretotrichopsenius within Trichopseniini. We stand by our interpretation that Cretotrichopsenius are obligate termitophiles, and Mesosymbion[3], a member of the largely free-living Mesoporini, are not necessarily termitophilous. Cai et al., the authors of the original paper, respond to the commenst of Yamamoto and colleagues.