4.4 Article

PHYTOGEOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE HUMIRIACEAE (PART 2)

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
Volume 175, Issue 7, Pages 828-840

Publisher

UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/676818

Keywords

endocarps; fossils; Malpighiales; Neotropics; paleobiogeography; Panama; Peru; Puerto Rico; wood

Categories

Funding

  1. NSF [0966884, DEB-0733725, EAR-0957679]
  2. OISE
  3. EAR
  4. DRL
  5. Evolving Earth Foundation
  6. Geological Society of America Foundation
  7. Asociacion Colombiana de Geologos y Geofisicos del Petroleo-ARES
  8. Smithsonian Institution
  9. Gary S. Morgan Student Research Award
  10. Lewis and Clark Foundation-American Philosophical Society
  11. Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
  12. M. Tupper, and R. Perez SA
  13. [NSF-DEB-1210404]
  14. Office Of Internatl Science &Engineering
  15. Office Of The Director [0966884] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Premise of research. Humiriaceae occupy predominantly Neotropical lowland rainforests, with only a single Old World species in western Africa. Molecular divergence time estimates suggest that the family might have originated during the middle Cretaceous; however, fossil occurrences are lacking prior to the Paleocene. Here we provide new fossil evidence that expands our understanding of the paleobiogeographic history and evolution of this family. Methodology. Fossil endocarps and wood were compared with extant relatives of the family. Transverse and longitudinal sections of fossil and modern fruits were studied anatomically and morphologically. Pivotal results. Fruits of the new species, Duckesia berryi sp. n., from the Oligocene of Pacific coastal Peru (ca. 30-28.5 Ma), provide the earliest fossil evidence of Duckesia-the genus is now confined to Amazonia. We also document the earliest fossil fruit record for Sacoglottis tertiaria, from the early Oligocene (ca. 33.9-28.4 Ma) of Puerto Rico, and a new occurrence of Vantanea cipaconensis fruits, from the late Miocene of Panama (ca. 9-8.5 Ma). The new fossil wood, Humiriaceoxylon ocuensis gen. et. sp. n., from the late Eocene (ca. 37.2-33.9 Ma) of Ocu, Panama, confirms that this family was represented by large trees anatomically consistent with the extant genera. Conclusions. Humiriaceae originated in the Neotropics, with the oldest-known occurrences being fruits of Lacunofructus cuatrecasana and wood of H. ocuensis from the late Eocene of Panama. The family was generically diverse and widely distributed geographically across northern South America and Central America by the early Miocene. The new fossils also provide further evidence of regional extinctions within the Neotropics; extirpation of particular genera from Central America, the Caribbean, and coastal Peru indicate that Neogene orogenic and climatic events had an important effect on the modern-day distribution of the family.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.4
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available