Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology
The Fagaceae family is currently widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions of South America and the Northern Hemisphere, especially East Asia, and has likely been so since the Eocene, according to fossil records. In China, Fagaceae fossils are rare in the lowest latitudes of South China....
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00255/full |
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| author | Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Hanzhang Song Jianhua Jin |
| author_facet | Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Hanzhang Song Jianhua Jin |
| author_sort | Xiaoyan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Fagaceae family is currently widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions of South America and the Northern Hemisphere, especially East Asia, and has likely been so since the Eocene, according to fossil records. In China, Fagaceae fossils are rare in the lowest latitudes of South China. Here, we describe 12 species in 5 genera of Fagaceae (i.e., Berryophyllum, Castaneophyllum, Quercus, Castanopsis, and Lithocarpus) based on leaf morphology and trichomes. These fossils are recovered from the Changchang Formation of Changchang Basin, Hainan Island, South China, indicating that Fagaceae has been distributed in the tropical low latitudes since the Eocene. Given that our fossils are closely related to the tropical and subtropical extant species, we speculate that Fagaceae lineages have likely diverged since the Eocene and that each extant lineage, such as Quercus sect. Cyclobalanopsis, became highly differentiated no later than middle Eocene. Based on the current living conditions of the extant species, we further speculate that the climate of Hainan Island was warm and wet during the middle Eocene, suitable for the growth and differentiation of the family. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T21:24:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2617e93551654056bcb67fece100c4d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T21:24:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-2617e93551654056bcb67fece100c4d72022-12-21T18:49:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2020-08-01810.3389/fevo.2020.00255550660Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and PaleoecologyXiaoyan Liu0Xiaoyan Liu1Xiaoyan Liu2Hanzhang Song3Jianhua Jin4School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, ChinaThe Fagaceae family is currently widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions of South America and the Northern Hemisphere, especially East Asia, and has likely been so since the Eocene, according to fossil records. In China, Fagaceae fossils are rare in the lowest latitudes of South China. Here, we describe 12 species in 5 genera of Fagaceae (i.e., Berryophyllum, Castaneophyllum, Quercus, Castanopsis, and Lithocarpus) based on leaf morphology and trichomes. These fossils are recovered from the Changchang Formation of Changchang Basin, Hainan Island, South China, indicating that Fagaceae has been distributed in the tropical low latitudes since the Eocene. Given that our fossils are closely related to the tropical and subtropical extant species, we speculate that Fagaceae lineages have likely diverged since the Eocene and that each extant lineage, such as Quercus sect. Cyclobalanopsis, became highly differentiated no later than middle Eocene. Based on the current living conditions of the extant species, we further speculate that the climate of Hainan Island was warm and wet during the middle Eocene, suitable for the growth and differentiation of the family.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00255/fullFagaceaeEoceneSouth Chinaphytogeographypaleoecology |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu Hanzhang Song Jianhua Jin Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Fagaceae Eocene South China phytogeography paleoecology |
| title | Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology |
| title_full | Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology |
| title_fullStr | Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology |
| title_short | Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology |
| title_sort | diversity of fagaceae on hainan island of south china during the middle eocene implications for phytogeography and paleoecology |
| topic | Fagaceae Eocene South China phytogeography paleoecology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00255/full |
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