Modern palms are diverse and widespread in the tropics and subtropics,especially the tropical rainforests.However,most fossil palm records have been reported from regions of relatively higher latitude.In this paper se...Modern palms are diverse and widespread in the tropics and subtropics,especially the tropical rainforests.However,most fossil palm records have been reported from regions of relatively higher latitude.In this paper seven species of coryphoid palm from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island of South China are reported.These are Sabalites asymmetricus sp.nov.,S.robustus sp.nov.,S.tenufolius sp.nov.,S.szei Guo,S.changchagnensis Guo,Livistona sp.,and Amesoneuron sp.According to leaf morphological characteristics,they can be classified as members of the subfamily Coryphoideae.In extant flora of Hainan Island,only three species of Livistona have costapalmate leaves.These palm fossils indicate that,during the Eocene,flora in Hainan Island included a diversity of coryphoid palms,which have some bearings on the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of South China.展开更多
Ten palm leaf impressions are documented from the latest Maastrichtian(late Cretaceous) to early Danian(earliest Paleocene) sediments(K-Pg,c.66-64 Ma) of the Mandla Lobe of the Deccan Intertrappean Beds,Madhya Pradesh...Ten palm leaf impressions are documented from the latest Maastrichtian(late Cretaceous) to early Danian(earliest Paleocene) sediments(K-Pg,c.66-64 Ma) of the Mandla Lobe of the Deccan Intertrappean Beds,Madhya Pradesh,central India.The palmate leaf shape along with a definite wellpreserved costa support their placement in the subfamily Coryphoideae of the family Arecaceae.We place all recovered palm leaf specimens in the fossil genus Sabalites,report seven species of coryphoid palms and describe two new species namely,Sabalities umariaensis sp.nov.and Sabalites ghughuaensis sp.nov.The fossils indicate that coryphoid palms were highly diverse in central India by the latest Cretaceous.These and earlier reported coryphoid palm fossils from the same locality indicate that they experienced a warm and humid tropical environment during the time of deposition.These discoveries confirm the presence of a diversity of Coryphoideae in Gondwana prior to the India-Eurasia collision and provide information about coryphoid biogeographical history over geological time.Based on megafossil remains,we trace coryphoid palm migration pathways from India to mainland Southeast(SE) Asia and other parts of Asia after the docking of the Indian subcontinent with Eurasia early in the Paleogene.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41210001,31070200and40972011)National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2012CB822003)+2 种基金State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy(Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology,CAS)(Grant No.123110)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.12LGJC04)Key Project of Sun Yat-sen University for inviting foreign teachers and the Scientific Research Fund,Hongda Zhang,Sun Yat-sen University
文摘Modern palms are diverse and widespread in the tropics and subtropics,especially the tropical rainforests.However,most fossil palm records have been reported from regions of relatively higher latitude.In this paper seven species of coryphoid palm from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island of South China are reported.These are Sabalites asymmetricus sp.nov.,S.robustus sp.nov.,S.tenufolius sp.nov.,S.szei Guo,S.changchagnensis Guo,Livistona sp.,and Amesoneuron sp.According to leaf morphological characteristics,they can be classified as members of the subfamily Coryphoideae.In extant flora of Hainan Island,only three species of Livistona have costapalmate leaves.These palm fossils indicate that,during the Eocene,flora in Hainan Island included a diversity of coryphoid palms,which have some bearings on the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of South China.
基金Financial support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST),New Delhi (Ref.no.DST/INSPIRE/03/2019/001456)supported by an INSPIRE fellowship awarded to S.K.by The Department of Science and Technology,New Delhi,INSPIRE Code (IF190496) S.K.,T.H.,M.H.
文摘Ten palm leaf impressions are documented from the latest Maastrichtian(late Cretaceous) to early Danian(earliest Paleocene) sediments(K-Pg,c.66-64 Ma) of the Mandla Lobe of the Deccan Intertrappean Beds,Madhya Pradesh,central India.The palmate leaf shape along with a definite wellpreserved costa support their placement in the subfamily Coryphoideae of the family Arecaceae.We place all recovered palm leaf specimens in the fossil genus Sabalites,report seven species of coryphoid palms and describe two new species namely,Sabalities umariaensis sp.nov.and Sabalites ghughuaensis sp.nov.The fossils indicate that coryphoid palms were highly diverse in central India by the latest Cretaceous.These and earlier reported coryphoid palm fossils from the same locality indicate that they experienced a warm and humid tropical environment during the time of deposition.These discoveries confirm the presence of a diversity of Coryphoideae in Gondwana prior to the India-Eurasia collision and provide information about coryphoid biogeographical history over geological time.Based on megafossil remains,we trace coryphoid palm migration pathways from India to mainland Southeast(SE) Asia and other parts of Asia after the docking of the Indian subcontinent with Eurasia early in the Paleogene.
