Fossil nothofagaceous leaves from the Eocene of western Antarctica and their bearing on the origin, dispersal and systematics of Nothofagus

Fossil leaves resembling Nothofagaceae have been investigated from the Eocene of western Antarctica and a new form genus Nothofagofolia is proposed for these kinds of fossils. Some new specimens belonging to this form genus are described. They were collected from the Fossil Hill locality of Fildes P...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences
Main Authors: Li HaoMin, Zhou ZheKun
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: SCIENCE CHINA PRESS 2007
Subjects:
Antarctica
Nothofagus
leaf morphology
leaf impression fossils
Gondwanaland
Nothofagofolia gen. et sp nov
Eocene
ANGIOSPERM PHYLOGENY
LEAF ARCHITECTURE
FAGACEAE
CLASSIFICATION
BIOGEOGRAPHY
EVOLUTION
MORPHOLOGY
SEQUENCES
AUSTRALIA
FEATURES
Geology
Geosciences
Multidisciplinary
Fildes
Fildes peninsula
Fossil Hill
King George Island
South Shetland Islands
Antarc*
Online Access:http://ir.nigpas.ac.cn/handle/332004/19291
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-007-0102-0
Description
Summary:Fossil leaves resembling Nothofagaceae have been investigated from the Eocene of western Antarctica and a new form genus Nothofagofolia is proposed for these kinds of fossils. Some new specimens belonging to this form genus are described. They were collected from the Fossil Hill locality of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, western Antarctica. Two new species, two new combinations and an unnamed species are reported. A number of published Nothofagus leaf fossils from the same locality are discussed and revised. As a result of these studies of Nothofagus leaf morphology, we conclude that (1) Nothofagus probably originated in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the middle-late Late Cretaceous and diversified, dispersed gradually to the lower latitudes of the same hemisphere; (2) leaf morphological characters are significant for the systematics of the family Nothofagaceae, especially at the intrageneric level; and (3) extant species of Nothofagus known from southern temperate areas have more primitive leaf morphological characters and lower leaf ranks than those from tropical mountains as well as those of the Fagaceae and Betulaceae.

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