Abstract
Nothofagus is common in Southern Hemisphere temperate forests today and was even more widespread and dominant during the middle Tertiary1–7. Although a type of Nothofagus pollen, the N. brassii-type, dominated the Southern Hemisphere in the middle Tertiary, there has been no previous macrofossil record. The discrepancy between the abundant N. brassii-type pollen record and the lack of a macrofossil record is the major problem in Southern Hemisphere Tertiary vegetation reconstruction. The late Oligocene Little Rapid River flora in north-west Tasmania contains three types of Nothofagus cupules. One belongs to subsection Bipartitae, which is uniquely associated with the N. brassii-type pollen. The second type is similar to cupules of the extant Australian species N. cunninghamii and N. moorei, and the third has unknown affinities. The presence of taxonomic groups which are now separated latitudinally by about 1,500 km in Tasmanian Tertiary forests supports the hypothesis that early to middle Tertiary climatic conditions in southeastern Australia may have no modern analogue.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
1. Humphries, C. J. in The Evolving Biosphere (ed. Forey, P. L.) 283–297 (British Museum (Natural History), London, 1981). 2. Cranwell, L. M. Rec. Auckland Inst. Mus. 2, 175–196 (1939). 3. Cookson, I. C. & Pike, K. M. Aust. J. Bot. 3, 197–206 (1955). 4. Martin, H. A. Alcheringa 2, 181–202 (1978). 5. Mildenhall, D. C. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 31, 197–233 (1980). 6. Archangelsky, S. & Romero, E. J. Bol. Soc. Bot. Mexico 33, 13–30 (1974). 7. Kemp, E. M. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 24, 169–208 (1978). 8. Hill, R. S. Aust. J. Bot. 31, 453–465 (1983). 9. Hill, R. S. Alcheringa 8, 81–86 (1984). 10. Christophel, D. C. Proc. R. Soc. Vie. 97, 176–178 (1985). 11. Hill, R. S. Alcheringa (in the press). 12. Stover, L. E. & Partridge, A. D. Proc. R. Soc. Vie. 85, 237–286 (1973). 13. Soepadmo, E. Flora Malesiana Series 1, 7, 265–403 (1972). 14. Read, J. & Hill, R. S. Vegetatio 63, 67–78 (1985). 15. Read, J. & Hill, R. S. New Phytol. 101, 731–742 (1985). 16. Veblen, T. T., Donoso, C. Z., Schlegel, F. M. & Escobar, B. R. /. Biogeogr. 8, 211–247 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hill, R. Discovery of Nothofagus fruits corresponding to an important Tertiary pollen type. Nature 327, 56–58 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/327056a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/327056a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
