The Wonder of the Fig
(Part-8: Final one)
World's Oldest Fig-Wasp Fossil is 34-million years old
In the late 1920’s, the specimens in the adjacent image (top-left) were
first wrongly identified as belonging to an ‘ant’ at the time of its
discovery. In 2010, a team of scientists led by Dr. Steve Compton at the
University of Leeds, correctly identified as a fig wasp.
What
is really remarkable about the fossils is how similar they are to
modern fig-wasps. Following the dictum of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it”, we can see that the complex relationship that exists today between
the fig and the wasp was roughly the same even 34 million years ago, a
time when apes (hominoids) were yet to split from other old-world
monkeys (cercopithecoids).
Have a look at the image: The
arrows are pointing towards pollen sockets, suggesting clearly that
active pollination was present in its modern form even back then. The
34-million-year-old fig wasp fossil is at top left (magnified x200), a
modern fig wasp is at top right (x400), a 20-million-year-old specimen
preserved in amber is at bottom left (x200), and a confocal microscope
image showing pollen grains is at bottom right (x200) (Credit: National
History Museum).
Throughout the world, more birds and mammals
feed on figs than any other fruit. More than 800 fig tree species
worldwide depend on more than 800 different fig wasps to pollinate them.
Hence, understanding how the fig tree and wasp react to environmental
changes over time is a crucial study, and the team of scientists says
that it is reassuring to know that these plants and their pollinators
have responded successfully to previous episodes of climate change.
We end this series on figs with this final post (of course, more will
be added if/when we learn something new), and this is definitely not
everything about this complex and extraordinary relationship. Many more
incredible aspects have been covered in this documentary, which I simply
cannot recommend enough if you haven't seen yet: http://www.youtube.com/
Thanks for staying with me through the entire series!
Sources:
1) ‘Climbing Mount Improbable’, Richard Dawkins, 1996
2) http://nirmukta.com/2012/08/
3) www.figweb.org
4) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
5) http://www.sciencedaily.com/
6) http://www.livescience.com/
Image credit: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
The Wonder of the Fig
(Part-8: Final one)
World's Oldest Fig-Wasp Fossil is 34-million years old
(Part-8: Final one)
World's Oldest Fig-Wasp Fossil is 34-million years old
In the late 1920’s, the specimens in the adjacent image (top-left) were
first wrongly identified as belonging to an ‘ant’ at the time of its
discovery. In 2010, a team of scientists led by Dr. Steve Compton at the
University of Leeds, correctly identified as a fig wasp.
What is really remarkable about the fossils is how similar they are to modern fig-wasps. Following the dictum of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, we can see that the complex relationship that exists today between the fig and the wasp was roughly the same even 34 million years ago, a time when apes (hominoids) were yet to split from other old-world monkeys (cercopithecoids).
Have a look at the image: The arrows are pointing towards pollen sockets, suggesting clearly that active pollination was present in its modern form even back then. The 34-million-year-old fig wasp fossil is at top left (magnified x200), a modern fig wasp is at top right (x400), a 20-million-year-old specimen preserved in amber is at bottom left (x200), and a confocal microscope image showing pollen grains is at bottom right (x200) (Credit: National History Museum).
Throughout the world, more birds and mammals feed on figs than any other fruit. More than 800 fig tree species worldwide depend on more than 800 different fig wasps to pollinate them. Hence, understanding how the fig tree and wasp react to environmental changes over time is a crucial study, and the team of scientists says that it is reassuring to know that these plants and their pollinators have responded successfully to previous episodes of climate change.
We end this series on figs with this final post (of course, more will be added if/when we learn something new), and this is definitely not everything about this complex and extraordinary relationship. Many more incredible aspects have been covered in this documentary, which I simply cannot recommend enough if you haven't seen yet: http://www.youtube.com/
Thanks for staying with me through the entire series!
Sources:
1) ‘Climbing Mount Improbable’, Richard Dawkins, 1996
2) http://nirmukta.com/2012/08/
3) www.figweb.org
4) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
5) http://www.sciencedaily.com/
6) http://www.livescience.com/
Image credit: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
What is really remarkable about the fossils is how similar they are to modern fig-wasps. Following the dictum of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, we can see that the complex relationship that exists today between the fig and the wasp was roughly the same even 34 million years ago, a time when apes (hominoids) were yet to split from other old-world monkeys (cercopithecoids).
Have a look at the image: The arrows are pointing towards pollen sockets, suggesting clearly that active pollination was present in its modern form even back then. The 34-million-year-old fig wasp fossil is at top left (magnified x200), a modern fig wasp is at top right (x400), a 20-million-year-old specimen preserved in amber is at bottom left (x200), and a confocal microscope image showing pollen grains is at bottom right (x200) (Credit: National History Museum).
Throughout the world, more birds and mammals feed on figs than any other fruit. More than 800 fig tree species worldwide depend on more than 800 different fig wasps to pollinate them. Hence, understanding how the fig tree and wasp react to environmental changes over time is a crucial study, and the team of scientists says that it is reassuring to know that these plants and their pollinators have responded successfully to previous episodes of climate change.
We end this series on figs with this final post (of course, more will be added if/when we learn something new), and this is definitely not everything about this complex and extraordinary relationship. Many more incredible aspects have been covered in this documentary, which I simply cannot recommend enough if you haven't seen yet: http://www.youtube.com/
Thanks for staying with me through the entire series!
Sources:
1) ‘Climbing Mount Improbable’, Richard Dawkins, 1996
2) http://nirmukta.com/2012/08/
3) www.figweb.org
4) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
5) http://www.sciencedaily.com/
6) http://www.livescience.com/
Image credit: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/
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