Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > BT > BT07032
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(1)

Fossil Myrtaceae from the Early Miocene of southern New Zealand

Mike Pole A D , John Dawson B and Trish Denton C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Queensland Herbarium, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha, Mt Coot-tha Rd, Toowong, Qld 4066, Australia.

B School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.

C School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: murihiku@yahoo.com

Australian Journal of Botany 56(1) 67-81 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT07032
Submitted: 21 February 2007  Accepted: 9 October 2007   Published: 7 February 2008

Abstract

Seven parataxa of Myrtaceae leaf cuticle and one associated leaf are described from Early Miocene sediments of the Manuherikia Group, Central Otago, and the Gore Lignite Measures of Southland. These include two or perhaps three species of Syzygium as well as Metrosideros, possibly the extant New Zealand M. diffusa. The most widespread species is a Syzygium, which appears to have dominated low-diversity vegetation of which the conifer Retrophyllum was also a part. Capsules of Metrosideros subgenus Mearnsia are also illustrated.


Acknowledgements

We thank the Centre for Marine Studies, and Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, for their continued support, and the Queensland Herbarium, the Allan Herbarium and the Botany Department, University of Otago, for access to their collections. We also appreciate helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.


References


Bowman DMJS (2000) ‘Australian rainforests islands of green in a land of fire.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

Carpenter KJ (2005) Stomatal architecture and evolution in basal angiosperms. American Journal of Botany 92, 1595–1615. open url image1

Christophel DC, Lys SD (1986) Mummified leaves of two new species of Myrtaceae from the Eocene of Victoria, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 34, 649–662.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Craven LA, Biffin E, Ashton PS (2006) Acmena, Acmenosperma, Cleistocalyx, Piliocalyx and Waterhousea formally transferred to Syzygium (Myrtaceae). Blumea 51, 135–142. open url image1

Dawson JW (1988) ‘Forest vines to snow tussocks the story of New Zealand plants.’ (Victoria University Press: Wellington, New Zealand)

Dilcher DL (1974) Approaches to the identification of angiosperm leaf remains. Botanical Review 40, 1–157. open url image1

Douglas BJ (1986) Lignite resources of Central Otago. New Zealand Energy Research and Development Committee, Publication P104, open url image1

Gee CT (2005) The genesis of mass carpological deposits (bedload carpodeposits) in the Tertiary of the Lower Rhine Basin, Germany. Palaios 20, 464–479. open url image1

Harrington MG, Gadek PA (2004) Molecular systematics of the Acmena alliance (Myrtaceae) phylogenetic analyses and evolutionary implications with reference to Australian taxa. Australian Systematic Botany 17, 63–72.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hickey LJ (1973) Classification of the architecture of dicotyledonous leaves. American Journal of Botany 60, 17–33.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Isaac MJ, Lindqvist JK (1990) Geology and lignite resources of the East Southland Group, New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin n.s. 101, 1–202. open url image1

Kürschner WM (1996) Leaf stomata as biosensors of palaeoatmospheric CO2 levels. LPP contributions Series No. 5. Dissertation, PhD Thesis, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Ladiges PY, Udovicic F (2005) Comment on molecular dating of the age of eucalypts. Australian Systematic Botany 18, 291–293.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ladiges PY, Udovicic F, Nelson G (2003) Australian biogeographical connections and the phylogeny of large genera in the plant family Myrtaceae. Journal of Biogeography 30, 989–998. open url image1

Lange RT (1980) Evidence for lid-cells and host-specific microfungi in the search for Tertiary Eucalyptus. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 29, 29–33.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Mabberley DJ (1996) ‘The plant-book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

Martin HA (1994) Australian Tertiary phytogeography: evidence from palynology. In ‘History of the Australian vegetation: cretaceous to recent’. (Ed. RS Hill) pp. 104–142. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

McKelvey PJ, Nicholls JL (1959) The Indigenous forest types of North Auckland. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 8, 29–45. open url image1

Mildenhall DC (1980) New Zealand Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic plant biogeography: a contribution. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 31, 197–233.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Mildenhall DC, Pocknall DT (1989) Miocene–Pleistocene spores and pollen from Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Palaeontological Bulletin 59, 1–128. open url image1

Morton J , Ogden J , Hughes T (1984) ‘To save a forest. Whirinaki.’ (David Bateman Ltd for The Whirinaki Forest Promotion Trust: Auckland)

Myerscough PJ (1998) Ecology of Myrtaceae with special reference to the Sydney region. Cunninghamia 5, 787–807. open url image1

Pocknall DT, Mildenhall DC (1984) Late Oligocene–Early Miocene spores and pollen from Southland, New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Paleontological Bulletin 51, 1–66. open url image1

Pole MS (1993a) Early Miocene floras of the Manuherikia Group, New Zealand. 7. Myrtaceae, including Eucalyptus. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 23, 313–328. open url image1

Pole MS (1993b) Early Miocene flora of the Manuherikia Group, New Zealand. 10. Paleoecology and stratigraphy. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 23, 393–426. open url image1

Pole MS (1996) Plant macrofossils from the Foulden Hills Diatomite (Miocene), Central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 26, 1–39. open url image1

Pole MS (1998) Paleocene gymnosperms from Mount Somers, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 28, 375–403. open url image1

Pole MS (2007) Conifer and cycad distribution in the Miocene of southern New Zealand. Australian Journal of Botany 55, 143–164.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pole MS, Douglas BJ (1998) A quantitative palynostratigraphy of the Miocene Manuherikia Group, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 28, 405–420. open url image1

Pole MS, Douglas BJ, Mason G (2003) The terrestrial Miocene biota of southern New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 33, 415–426. open url image1

Timonin AC (1995) Ontogenetic basis for classification of stomatal complexes—a reapproach. Flora 190, 189–195. open url image1

Wardle P (1991) ‘Vegetation of New Zealand.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

Wilkinson HP (1979) The plant surface (mainly leaf). In ‘Anatomy of the Dicotyledons’. 2nd edn. (Eds CR Metcalfe, L Chalk) pp. 97–158. (Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK)

Wilson PG, O’Brien MM, Gadek PA, Quinn CJ (2001) Myrtaceae revisited. A reassessment of infrafamilial groups. American Journal of Botany 88, 2013–2025.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wood BL (1956) The geology of the Gore Subdivision. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin 53, open url image1

Wright SD, Yong CG, Dawson JW, Whittaker DJ, Gardner RC (2000) Riding the ice age El Niño? Pacific biogeography and evolution of Metrosideros subg. Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) inferred from nuclear ribosomal DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 97, 4118–4123.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wright SD, Yong CG, Wichman SR, Dawson JW, Gardner RC (2001) Stepping stones to Hawaii a trans-equatorial dispersal pathway for Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) inferred from nrDNA (ITS + ETS). Journal of Biogeography 28, 769–774.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1