Virtual dissection using phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography: reducing the gap between fossils and extant species

Fossils provide excellent opportunities for bringing to light evolutionary trends, and testing phylogenetic hypotheses. However, the difficulty in accessing internal structures limits the provision of accurate descriptions, and thus limits the comparison of fossil specimens with extant fauna. The virtual dissection of amber fossils by propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC-SR mu CT) allows incomparable possibilities for the visualization of genital structures, which are of prime importance in assessing the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships in many groups of insects. The method is illustrated on one new species of Coleoptera Leiodidae Anemadini in Baltic amber: Nemadus microtomographicus sp.n.