2026-07-31 中国科学院（CAS）
Icaroramus perisi and its unique heteroramose antennae (Image by NIGPAS)
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research-news/202607/t20260729_1179346.shtml
- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2075/20260295/482648/A-firefly-relative-that-smelled-and-glowed
匂いを発し、光を放つホタルの近縁種：白亜紀のホタル類における複雑な信号伝達システムの証拠 A firefly relative that smelled and glowed: evidence for complex signalling systems in Cretaceous lampyroids
Yan-Da Li;Robin Kundrata;Diying Huang;Tin Aung Myint;Chenyang Cai
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Published:29 Jul 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0295
Abstract
The evolution of insect sensory and signalling systems has played a key role in arthropod diversification, yet direct fossil evidence illuminating their early history remains rare. Lampyroids, including fireflies and their relatives, are notable for their elaborately modified antennae and bioluminescence. These characteristics make them an exceptional model for understanding the coevolution of sensory and signalling modalities. Here we describe Icaroramus perisi gen. et sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, a lampyroid beetle tentatively placed within Cretophengodidae. Icaroramus is exceptional in possessing both extraordinarily elaborate antennae and a well-developed photic organ. Its 12-segmented quadriheteroramose antennae represent an antennal architecture unknown among extant and fossil beetles. Functionally, these antennae likely combined an expanded olfactory surface area with differentiated sensory fields, enhancing the detection of pheromonal cues. Mate location was therefore probably mediated primarily by pheromones, whereas bioluminescence may have retained its plesiomorphic role in aposematic defence. This discovery expands the known morphological and ecological diversity of Cretaceous lampyroids and provides new insight into the origins of complex signalling strategies in fireflies and their relatives.
