journal.pone.0069281.pdf (1.79 MB)
First evidence for Wollemi Pine-type pollen (Dilwynites: Araucariaceae) in South America
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 03:53 authored by MacPhail, M, Carpenter, RJ, Iglesias, A, Wilf, PWe report the first fossil pollen from South America of the lineage that includes the recently discovered, extremely rare Australian Wollemi Pine, Wollemia nobilis (Araucariaceae). The grains are from the late Paleocene to early middle Eocene Ligorio Márquez Formation of Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina, and are assigned to Dilwynites, the fossil pollen type that closely resembles the pollen of modern Wollemia and some species of its Australasian sister genus, Agathis. Dilwynites was formerly known only from Australia, New Zealand, and East Antarctica. The Patagonian Dilwynites occurs with several taxa of Podocarpaceae and a diverse range of cryptogams and angiosperms, but not Nothofagus. The fossils greatly extend the known geographic range of Dilwynites and provide important new evidence for the Antarctic region as an early Paleogene portal for biotic interchange between Australasia and South America.
History
Publication title
PLoS OneVolume
8Issue
7Article number
e69281Number
e69281Pagination
1-8ISSN
1932-6203Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Public Library of SciencePlace of publication
United StatesRights statement
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Repository Status
- Open