INVESTIGADORES
IGLESIAS Ari
artículos
Título:
PAPUACEDRUS (CUPRESSACEAE) IN EOCENE PATAGONIA, A NEW FOSSIL LINK TO AUSTRALASIAN RAINFORESTS
Autor/es:
P WILF; S. LITTLE; ARI IGLESIAS; M.C. ZAMALOA; GANDOLFO, M. A.; CÚNEO, N. R.; JOHNSON, K. R.
Revista:
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
Editorial:
Botanical Society of America
Referencias:
Lugar: Stanford; Año: 2009 vol. 96 p. 2031 - 2047
ISSN:
0002-9122
Resumen:
The 51.9 Ma Laguna del Hunco (LH) and 47.5 Ma R í o Pichileuf ú (RP) fl oras from Patagonia, Argentina are unusually rich,angiosperm-dominated assemblages with living relatives in the low-latitude West Pacifi c, neotropics, and temperate southern latitudes.The diverse gymnosperms in these fl oras are important for Gondwanan biogeographic history and paleoclimatic interpretations. Libocedrus prechilensis Berry 1938 (Cupressaceae), previously known only from the holotype (RP), a vegetative branch,is revised here based on new material from both localities, including a seed cone attached to a shoot with cuticle (LH). Charactersof these fossils are diagnostic of monotypic Papuacedrus (highlands of New Guinea and Moluccas). Living P. papuana is mostabundant in cloud forests receiving up to 4 m rainfall annually, whereas Austrocedrus ( Libocedrus ) chilensis , the basis of comparisonwhen the fossil species was named, inhabits dry, cold steppe margins to mediterranean climates in southern South America.We establish Papuacedrus prechilensis comb. nov., which simultaneously invalidates a southern South American connection forthe fossil fl oras and reveals a link to West Pacifi c montane rainforests. Combined evidence indicates a biome similar to extantsubtropical, or tropical montane, rainforests that persisted for at least 4.4 Myr, linking elevated fl oral richness to abundantrainfall.