Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/73633
Citations | ||
Scopus | Web of Science® | Altmetric |
---|---|---|
?
|
?
|
Type: | Journal article |
Title: | New Zealand eocene, oligocene and miocene macrofossil and pollen records and modern plant distributions in the southern hemisphere |
Author: | Lee, D. Conran, J. Lindqvist, J. Bannister, J. Mildenhall, D. |
Citation: | The Botanical Review, 2012; 78(3):235-260 |
Publisher: | New York Botanical Garden |
Issue Date: | 2012 |
ISSN: | 0006-8101 1874-9372 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Daphne E. Lee, John G. Conran, Jon K. Lindqvist, Jennifer M. Bannister and Dallas C. Mildenhall |
Abstract: | The modern New Zealand flora has a relatively low number of families and genera in relation to land area, but well-preserved macrofossils and pollen from three sites in southern New Zealand suggest that the floras in Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene times were much more diverse at the generic level. At Pikopiko, Southland, a late Eocene in situ forest with fern understory was dominated by conifers, Casuarinaceae, Lauraceae, Nothofagus, Proteaceae, and mesothermal angiosperms including palms (aff. Calamus), Sapindaceae: Cupaniae and Picrodendraceae. At Newvale Mine, Southland, a leaf bed within a thick lignite seam represents leaf fossils preserved in a late Oligocene oligotrophic bog. This site demonstrates that Agathis, Dacrycarpus, Dacrydium, Halocarpus, Microcachrys, Podocarpus and Phyllocladus coexisted with diverse angiosperms including Nothofagus, Gymnostoma, Cunoniaceae, Ericaceae, Sapindaceae and several Proteaceae. Pollen data add Meliaceae, Myrtaceae, Onagraceae and Rubiaceae to the flora. At Foulden Maar, Otago, mummified leaves and flowers, including several with in situ pollen, demonstrate the existence of a diverse flora surrounding an Early Miocene lake. This site contains numerous monocot macrofossils including Astelia, Cordyline, Ripogonum and Typha, as well as the oldest fossils known for Orchidaceae and Luzuriagaceae. This flora was dominated by Lauraceae with affinities to Cryptocarya and Litsea, but other families include Araliaceae, Cunoniaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Euphorbiaceae sensu lato, Menispermaceae, Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Onagraceae, Proteaceae and Sterculiaceae. Many ferns, conifers, and Nothofagus are from lineages with Gondwanan ancestors, whereas other taxa show links to Australia (e.g., Gyrostemonaceae), New Caledonia (e.g., Beauprea) and South America (e.g., Luzuriaga, Fuchsia). Many of these taxa are now extinct in New Zealand, and therefore indicate much wider biogeographic ranges for many families and genera in the past. |
Rights: | © The New York Botanical Garden 2012 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s12229-012-9102-7 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12229-012-9102-7 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest Earth and Environmental Sciences publications Environment Institute publications |
Files in This Item:
There are no files associated with this item.
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.