La Maison Universitaire France-Japon, en collaboration avec The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), a le plaisir de vous proposer une conférence du:

Dr Nozomu Oyama
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) – CNRS – Sorbonne Université

Sur le thème :
« The History of Insects: Insights from Japanese Fossil Sites»

INSCRIPTION OBLIGATOIRE: mujapon@unistra.fr
Conférence tout public ,en anglais

Jeudi 13 Février 2025 à 17h30
Maison Universitaire France-Japon
42a, Avenue de la Forêt Noire à Strasbourg

Résumé:
Insects are the largest group among terrestrial taxa and have played crucial roles in ecosystems as producers, consumers, and decomposers. The oldest known insect fossil, dating back approximately 400 million years to the Devonian period, was discovered in Scotland. Since their appearance, insects have achieved remarkable diversity over time. Fossil records are vital for directly understanding their evolutionary history. Globally, numerous paleoentomologists and fossil deposits have contributed to the study of insect history, but many questions remain unresolved. In Japan, while there are many significant fossil insect localities, there are no paleoentomologists specializing in the Mesozoic period (commonly referred to as the “Dinosaur Period,” approximately 230–65 million years ago). For example, the Upper Triassic Momonoki Formation of the Mine Group in Yamaguchi Prefecture is the oldest insect fossil-bearing formation in Japan. Over 4,000 specimens representing seven orders, ten families, thirteen genera, and eighteen species have been discovered there. These specimens are particularly important because they provide insights into ecological changes after the Permian/Triassic boundary, which witnessed the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. In this presentation, I will introduce the evolutionary history of insects in relation to Japan’s fossil insect localities.