The first Cenozoic Equisetum from New Zealand

Equisetum is described for the first time from Cenozoic deposits of New Zealand. The fossils derive from two early to earliest middle Miocene assemblages in South Island, New Zealand. The fossils are ascribed tentatively to subgenus Equisetum based on their possession of whorled branch scars, but th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geobios
Main Authors: Pole, Mike, McLoughlin, Stephen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Enheten för paleobiologi 2017
Subjects:
Sphenophyta
Equisetales
Australasia
Extinction
Miocene
Paleoclimate
Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap
Antarctic
New Zealand
Antarc*
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-2559
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2017.04.001
Description
Summary:Equisetum is described for the first time from Cenozoic deposits of New Zealand. The fossils derive from two early to earliest middle Miocene assemblages in South Island, New Zealand. The fossils are ascribed tentatively to subgenus Equisetum based on their possession of whorled branch scars, but they cannot be assigned with confidence to a formal species. The decline of equisetaleans, otherwise unknown from the Cenozoic of the New Zealand-Australian-Antarctic domain, was possibly a consequence of severe environmental changes – particularly, abrupt shifts in the temperature and soil moisture regime – experienced by this region in the Neogene, coupled with competition from opportunistic angiosperms. Additional funding from US National Science Foundation (project #1636625)

Similar Items