Fossil in-situ pollen

Flower Power: Can in-situ pollen link fossil plants to floral visitors?

FWF-Project P 34303-B
2022–
Project leader: Dr. phil. habil. Grímsson Friðgeir
Employees: Mag. Dr. Johannes Bouchal
Christian Geier, BSc MSc
Mag. Dr. Silvia Ulrich

Media contributions

Press release University of Vienna:
Bumble bees pollinated linden flowers already 24 million years ago – 22. September 2025

Project publications

2023

Geier C, Bouchal JM, Ulrich S, Wappler T, Grimsson F. Fossil Onagraceae flower and insects with in situ or adhered pollen from the Eocene of Eckfeld, Germany. In Abstract EGU23. 2023. EGU23-6116 doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-6116

Bouchal JM, Geier C , Ulrich S, Wilde V, Lenz OK, Zetter R et al. Revisiting the Messel palynoflora using a combined LM and SEM approach. In Abstracts of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. Vol. 2023. 2023. (Abstracts of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly). doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-6499

Geier C, Bouchal JM, Nel A, Ngo-Muller V, Schönenberger J, Uhl D et al. The history of European Paleogene flower-insect interactions unraveled using fossil flowers and insects and their associated pollen grains. In 24th Annual Meeting of the Society of Biological Systematics: Programme and Abstracts. 2023. p. 21-22

Geier C, Bouchal JM, Nel A, Ngo-Muller V, Oberleitner S, Uhl D et al. Tilioideae-Anthophila interactions in the Cenozoic of Europe. In Life and Planet 2023: Full Programme with Abstracts. 2023. p. 63-64

2022

Gao J, Engel MS, Grimsson F, Gu L, Ren D, Gao TP. The first xiphydriid wood wasp in Cretaceous amber (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriidae) and a potential association with Cycadales. Fossil record. 2022 Jan 4;24(2):445-453. doi: 10.5194/fr-24-445-2022

Bao T, Grimsson F, Beutel RG, Wedmann S, Seyfullah L, Bao L et al. Was the kateretid beetle Pelretes really a Cretaceous angiosperm pollinator? Nature Plants. 2022 Jan;8(1):38–40. Epub 2021 Dec 23. doi: 10.1038/s41477-021-01044-3

Geier C, Bouchal JM, Wappler T, Grimsson F. Linking fossil angiosperm flowers and insects using in-situ and adhered pollen. In McLoughlin S, editor, 11th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference: Abstracts, Program, and Proceedings. Lund. 2022. O.052

Wuttke M, Poschmann MJ, Bouchal JM, Geier C , Ulrich S , Grimsson F et al. Pollen-feeding in a late Oligocene giant pelobatid tadpole from Lake Enspel (Westerwald Mountains, Germany). In Datz-Symposium & 30th International Workshop on Plant Taphonony: Program, Abstracts, Information. Dresden. 2022. p. 31

2021

Grimsson F , Ulrich S , Zetter R, Hörnschemeyer T, Engel MS, Wedmann S. How to extract and analyze pollen from internal organs and exoskeletons of fossil insects? STAR Protocols. 2021;2(4):1-19. 100923. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100923