Article contents
Fossil flower of Staphylea L. from the Miocene amber of Mexico: New evidence of the Boreotropical Flora in low-latitude North America
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2018
Abstract
A new flower preserved in amber in sediments of Simojovel de Allende, México, is identified as an extinct member of Staphyleaceae, a family of angiosperms consisting of only three genera (Staphylea, Turpinia and Euscaphis), which has a large and abundant fossil record and is today distributed over the Northern Hemisphere. Staphylea ochoterenae sp. nov. is the first record of a flower for this group, which is small, pedicelled, pentamer, bisexual, with sepals and petals with similar size, dorsifixed anthers and superior ovary. Furthermore, the presence of stamens with pubescent filaments allows close comparison with extant flowers of Staphylea bulmada and S. forresti, species currently growing in Asia. However, their different number of style (one vs. three) and the apparent lack of a floral disc distinguish them from S. ochoterenae. The presence of Staphyleaceae in southern Mexico ca. 23 to 15My ago is evidence of the long history of integration of vegetation in low-latitude North America, in which some lineages, such as Staphylea, could move southwards from high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, as part of the Boreotropical Flora. In Mexico it grew in association with tropical elements, as suggested by the fossil record of the area.
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 108 , Issue 4: Agora Paleobotanica , December 2017 , pp. 471 - 478
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2018
References
7. References
- 7
- Cited by