Grimsson, F;
Kapli, P;
Hofmann, C-C;
Zetter, R;
Grimm, GW;
(2017)
Eocene Loranthaceae pollen pushes back divergence ages for major splits in the family.
PeerJ
, 5
, Article e3373. 10.7717/peerj.3373.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: We revisit the palaeopalynological record of Loranthaceae, using pollen ornamentation to discriminate lineages and to test molecular dating estimates for the diversification of major lineages. METHODS: Fossil Loranthaceae pollen from the Eocene and Oligocene are analysed and documented using scanning-electron microscopy. These fossils were associated with molecular-defined clades and used as minimum age constraints for Bayesian node dating using different topological scenarios. RESULTS: The fossil Loranthaceae pollen document the presence of at least one extant root-parasitic lineage (Nuytsieae) and two currently aerial parasitic lineages (Psittacanthinae and Loranthinae) by the end of the Eocene in the Northern Hemisphere. Phases of increased lineage diversification (late Eocene, middle Miocene) coincide with global warm phases. DISCUSSION: With the generation of molecular data becoming easier and less expensive every day, neontological research should re-focus on conserved morphologies that can be traced through the fossil record. The pollen, representing the male gametophytic generation of plants and often a taxonomic indicator, can be such a tracer. Analogously, palaeontological research should put more effort into diagnosing Cenozoic fossils with the aim of including them into modern systematic frameworks.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Eocene Loranthaceae pollen pushes back divergence ages for major splits in the family |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.7717/peerj.3373 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3373 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © Copyright 2017 Grímsson et al. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, Pollen morphology, Pollen as minimum age priors, Uncorrelated clock node dating, Topological uncertainty, Palaeophytogeography, Lineage-through-time plot, Santalales, Long-Distance Dispersal, North-America, Mistletoe Family, West Greenland, Fossil Pollen, Tripodanthus Loranthaceae, Evolutionary History, Extant Angiosperms, Fine-Structure, Middle Eocene |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10038811 |
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