The case of Rebuffoichnus in Lanzarote: ichnological and neoichnological approaches to the study of insect trace fossils from the Pleistocene

The purpose of this work is to clarify the origin of the insect trace fossils found in the Quaternary deposits of Lanzarote, providing new data and refining our knowledge of this ichnospecies (Rebuffoichnus ispp.). The research focuses on four aspects. Firstly, new localities from Lanzarote bearing specimens of Rebuffoichnus ispp. are here described along with the stratigraphy of the deposits; secondly, neoichnological studies have been conducted through micromorphology and tomography to compare Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) pupation chambers and Canarian Rebuffoichnus. A third goal was to study the larval behavior of modern species of Noctuidae in order to decipher the behavioral and paleoenvironmental significance of the Canarian Rebuffoichnus ispp.; the fourth point regarded preliminary studies on Canarian Sphingidae (Lepidoptera). In the future it will be necessary to conduct further investigations to validate their role as paleoclimatic proxies, contributing to our knowledge of Lanzarote's past climatic conditions. Within the framework of this research, particular attention must be given to Argentina, which was selected as the site for conducting neoichnological studies and for advancing the understanding of insect trace fossils, in collaboration with the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” in Buenos Aires