Abstract This study compares two different preservation pathways of fossils insects in the lacustrine deposits of the Crato Formation, Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of the Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil. Three hundred seventy-seven specimens were examined and separated into ten taxonomic groups. Of this total, one hundred twenty-three are kerogenized insects, and two hundred fifty-four are pyritized insects. We carried out quantitative analyses of their taphonomic characters, such as body articulation, and morphological preservational quality (e.g. discernible eyes). Of all morphological categories, the thorax presented the highest degree of preservation quality, while the antennae had the lowest. Our statistical results show significant differences in the preservation quality of individual morphological categories among the insect taxa. We expected that mineralized insects would have lower preservational quality than the kerogenized ones, but instead found the opposite pattern to be true. Counter to the findings of other studies, we found that pyritized insects had higher preservation quality than kerogenized insects. The expected lower preservation fidelity of pyritized fossils occurs due to longer time exposed to microbial decay before final burial. Few studies have presented a quantitative comparison of preservational/biostratinomic patterns in different insect taxa, especially within the same geological setting. In this context, the Crato Formation presents an intriguing and unique opportunity to understand the taphonomic bias that results from two different preservation pathways of insects.

中文翻译：

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巴西阿拉里佩盆地下白垩统克拉托组昆虫的不同保存途径

摘要 本研究比较了巴西东北部阿拉里佩盆地下白垩统 (Aptian) 克拉托组湖相沉积物中昆虫化石的两种不同保存途径。三百七十七个标本被检查并分成十个分类组。其中，123 种是干酪化昆虫，254 种是黄铁质化昆虫。我们对它们的埋藏学特征进行了定量分析，例如身体关节和形态保存质量（例如可辨别的眼睛）。在所有形态学类别中，胸部的保存质量最高，而触角的保存质量最低。我们的统计结果显示昆虫类群中个体形态类别的保存质量存在显着差异。我们预计矿化昆虫的保存质量会低于干酪化昆虫，但发现相反的模式是正确的。与其他研究结果相反，我们发现黄铁矿化昆虫比干酪化昆虫具有更高的保存质量。由于在最终埋葬前暴露于微生物腐烂的时间较长，因此黄铁矿化化石的预期保存保真度较低。很少有研究对不同昆虫类群中的保存/生物地层模式进行定量比较，尤其是在相同的地质环境中。在这种情况下，克拉托地层提供了一个有趣而独特的机会来了解由两种不同的昆虫保存途径导致的埋藏学偏差。