Foliar fossils of Proteaceae are reviewed, and useful specimens for interpreting evolution, and past and present distributions and environments are discussed. There are no definite Cretaceous occurrences. However, there is evidence of extant lineages dating from the Paleocene onwards, including tribe Persoonieae of subfamily Persoonioideae and each of the four tribes of subfamily Grevilleoideae. High diversity and abundance characterizes the Australian fossil record, including sclerophyllous and xeromorphic forms, but there is little evidence of the prominent extant subfamily Proteoideae. New Zealand had a much higher diversity of Proteaceae than at present, including Oligo-Miocene species of open vegetation. The South American leaf fossil record is not extensive. However, the fossil records of Embothrieae and Orites are consistent with the distributions of their extant relatives in South America and Australia being the result of vicariance. Overall, there is a need for more research on placing Proteaceae leaf fossils in a phylogenetic context.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Proteaceae, cuticle, diversity, leaf fossils, phylogeny
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Geology
Research Field:	Palaeontology (incl. Palynology)
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences
Author:	Carpenter, RJ (Dr Raymond Carpenter)
ID Code:	95261
Year Published:	2012
Web of Science® Times Cited:	17
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2014-09-29
Last Modified:	2014-10-13
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