Not so ancient: the extant crown group of Nothofagus represents a post-Gondwanan radiation

This study uses a molecular-dating approach to test hypotheses about the biogeography of Nothofagus. The molecular modelling suggests that the present-day subgenera and species date from a radiation that most likely commenced between 55 and 40 Myr ago. This rules out the possibility of a reconciled...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Main Authors: Cook, Lyn G, Crisp, Michael D
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2005
Subjects:
Research Article
Antarctic
New Zealand
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1599775
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16271980
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3219
Description
Summary:This study uses a molecular-dating approach to test hypotheses about the biogeography of Nothofagus. The molecular modelling suggests that the present-day subgenera and species date from a radiation that most likely commenced between 55 and 40 Myr ago. This rules out the possibility of a reconciled all-vicariance hypothesis for the biogeography of extant Nothofagus. However, the molecular dates for divergences between Australasian and South American taxa are consistent with the rifting of Australia and South America from Antarctica. The molecular dates further suggest a dispersal of subgenera Lophozonia and Fuscospora between Australia and New Zealand after the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and west wind drift. It appears likely that the New Caledonian lineage of subgenus Brassospora diverged from the New Guinean lineage elsewhere, prior to colonizing New Caledonia.

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