Biodiversity: Interactions, Preservation, Evolution (BIPE)

This mammal was discovered with its hairs and spines, in a Spanish fossil deposit (Martin, et al., 2015, published in the journal Nature,with the participation of Romain Vullo)

Discovery of horned ants in Cretaceous amber (Perrichot, et al. 2016, published in Current Biology). The extreme morphology suggests an ecology that is already very sophisticated for this ant-unicorn belonging to the most primitive lineage.

Evidence for a feather evolution stage that has been unpublished up to now and which demonstrates the gradual transition from filamentous down to feathers with a longitudinal axis in basal theropod dinosaurs and the most derived lateral barbs in avian dinosaurs(Perrichot et al., 2008, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, series B)

For the first time, evidence of marine plankton trapped in fossil resin, plankton containing unpublished diatoms that restructured the phylogeny of these algae and confirmed the coastal location of amber forests in Western France (Girard et al. 2008 in PNAS and Girard et al., 2009 in Geology).

Discovery of the oldest marsupial mammal in Europe, questioning the Asian or American origin of these mammals (Vullo et al., 2009 published in PNAS) and the oldest mammal hairs preserved in 3D (Vullo et al., 2010 published in Naturwissenchaften), already modern in the Middle Cretaceous.

Previous results are based on the discovery of several fossiliferous amber deposits from the Cretaceous (e.g. Néraudeau et al.,2008 in Cretaceous Research, or Néraudeau et al., 2009 in Geodiversitas).

The team is involved in the management, enhancement and protection of the geological and paleontological heritage, in Brittany and Nouvelle Aquitaine, two of its members (Damien Gendry and Didier Néraudeau) being members of the CRPG (Comité Régional du Patrimoine Géologique) of these two regions.

• Amber geochemistry
• BIPE members