Land Snail with Periostracal Hairs Preserved in Burmese Amber

Summary

Excellently preserved fossils often provide important insights into evolutionary histories and adaptations to environmental change in Earth's biogeologic record. Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, for example, is a proven reservoir for spectacular findings. Here we document the first record of a fossil land snail with periostracal hairs preserved in amber. We interpret the development of hairs as an adaptation to the tropical forest environment, serving as a mechanism to increase adhesion of the snail to plants during foraging while collecting and transporting seeds in the process. The present record coincides with a major global radiation of angiosperms, a main food resource for terrestrial snails. As such, the expansion of flowering plants likely triggered this evolutionary adaptation and, thus, the diversification of land snails in the Cretaceous.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

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  We document the oldest fossil record of a hairy land snail

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  The hairs are interpreted as adaptation to a tropical forest environment

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  Hairs are suggested to increase adhesion to plants during foraging

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  The adaptation was potentially caused by the coeval radiation of flowering plants

Abstract

Molluscum; Paleontology; Paleobiology