Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 105-126 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology |
| Volume | 161 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2010 |
Abstract
The radiation of flowering plants during the Cretaceous represents a marked evolutionary turnover from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated ecosystems within a time span of about 30 Ma. Despite the importance of this profound ecological transformation, many aspects regarding the timing, floral composition and spatial distribution of early angiosperms are poorly documented. Here, we present a record of early angiosperm pollen from the Brazilian Araripe Basin from the late Aptian to early Albian time interval. For this study, 17 samples from 5 sedimentary sections, spanning a total of ∼ 150 m, have been investigated for their palynological content with particular attention on the occurrence of angiosperm pollen. Our results show a relatively high angiosperm pollen diversity of 70 different taxa, including numerous undescribed forms. Across the succession, angiosperm pollen accounts on average for 7% of the total palynoflora, with maximum abundances reaching 18%. Dominant taxa include monocolpate pollen of "magnoliid" or monocotyledon origin (e.g. Stellatopollis, Retimonocolpites, Pennipollis, Dichastopollenites, and Trisectoris) as well as pollen with eudicotyledon affinities (e.g. triaperturate forms like Rousea, Tricolpites, and Striatopollis). Judging from the existing evidence it appears that the diversity of the late Aptian-early Albian angiosperm palynoflora from the Araripe Basin has been underestimated. In addition, the composition of the total palynoflora shows congruent shifts in the abundance of hygrophilic ferns, Afropollis spp. and angiosperm pollen. The co-occurrence of moisture-loving ferns and early angiosperm pollen may support the hypothesis that early angiosperms evolved and diversified in moist and shady disturbed habitats near the palaeoequator.
Keywords
- angiosperms, Araripe Basin, Brazil, Early Cretaceous, low-latitude, palynology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Palaeontology
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In: Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Vol. 161, No. 3-4, 07.2010, p. 105-126.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Early Cretaceous angiosperm pollen from a low-latitude succession (Araripe Basin, NE Brazil)
AU - Heimhofer, Ulrich
AU - Hochuli, Peter A.
N1 - Funding Information: We thank David M. Martill, Robert Loveridge (both from the University of Portsmouth), José Artur F. G. de Andrade (DNPM, Crato) and Aristóteles M. Rios-Netto (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) for assistance during field work in Brazil and S. P. Hesselbo (University of Oxford) for his support of this project. Taylor S. Field and David W. Taylor as well as two anonymous reviewers are thanked for helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript. Financial support from DFG project HE 4467/1-2 and by the NRW Akademie der Wissenschaften to UH are gratefully acknowledged.
PY - 2010/7
Y1 - 2010/7
N2 - The radiation of flowering plants during the Cretaceous represents a marked evolutionary turnover from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated ecosystems within a time span of about 30 Ma. Despite the importance of this profound ecological transformation, many aspects regarding the timing, floral composition and spatial distribution of early angiosperms are poorly documented. Here, we present a record of early angiosperm pollen from the Brazilian Araripe Basin from the late Aptian to early Albian time interval. For this study, 17 samples from 5 sedimentary sections, spanning a total of ∼ 150 m, have been investigated for their palynological content with particular attention on the occurrence of angiosperm pollen. Our results show a relatively high angiosperm pollen diversity of 70 different taxa, including numerous undescribed forms. Across the succession, angiosperm pollen accounts on average for 7% of the total palynoflora, with maximum abundances reaching 18%. Dominant taxa include monocolpate pollen of "magnoliid" or monocotyledon origin (e.g. Stellatopollis, Retimonocolpites, Pennipollis, Dichastopollenites, and Trisectoris) as well as pollen with eudicotyledon affinities (e.g. triaperturate forms like Rousea, Tricolpites, and Striatopollis). Judging from the existing evidence it appears that the diversity of the late Aptian-early Albian angiosperm palynoflora from the Araripe Basin has been underestimated. In addition, the composition of the total palynoflora shows congruent shifts in the abundance of hygrophilic ferns, Afropollis spp. and angiosperm pollen. The co-occurrence of moisture-loving ferns and early angiosperm pollen may support the hypothesis that early angiosperms evolved and diversified in moist and shady disturbed habitats near the palaeoequator.
AB - The radiation of flowering plants during the Cretaceous represents a marked evolutionary turnover from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated ecosystems within a time span of about 30 Ma. Despite the importance of this profound ecological transformation, many aspects regarding the timing, floral composition and spatial distribution of early angiosperms are poorly documented. Here, we present a record of early angiosperm pollen from the Brazilian Araripe Basin from the late Aptian to early Albian time interval. For this study, 17 samples from 5 sedimentary sections, spanning a total of ∼ 150 m, have been investigated for their palynological content with particular attention on the occurrence of angiosperm pollen. Our results show a relatively high angiosperm pollen diversity of 70 different taxa, including numerous undescribed forms. Across the succession, angiosperm pollen accounts on average for 7% of the total palynoflora, with maximum abundances reaching 18%. Dominant taxa include monocolpate pollen of "magnoliid" or monocotyledon origin (e.g. Stellatopollis, Retimonocolpites, Pennipollis, Dichastopollenites, and Trisectoris) as well as pollen with eudicotyledon affinities (e.g. triaperturate forms like Rousea, Tricolpites, and Striatopollis). Judging from the existing evidence it appears that the diversity of the late Aptian-early Albian angiosperm palynoflora from the Araripe Basin has been underestimated. In addition, the composition of the total palynoflora shows congruent shifts in the abundance of hygrophilic ferns, Afropollis spp. and angiosperm pollen. The co-occurrence of moisture-loving ferns and early angiosperm pollen may support the hypothesis that early angiosperms evolved and diversified in moist and shady disturbed habitats near the palaeoequator.
KW - angiosperms
KW - Araripe Basin
KW - Brazil
KW - Early Cretaceous
KW - low-latitude
KW - palynology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77953126698&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2010.03.010
DO - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2010.03.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77953126698
VL - 161
SP - 105
EP - 126
JO - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
JF - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
SN - 0034-6667
IS - 3-4
ER -