Eocene fossil Alseodaphne from Hainan Island of China and its paleoclimatic implications  

作　　者：LI JingZhao QIU Jue LIAO WenBo JIN JianHua 

机构地区：[1]School of Life Sciences,Sun Yat-Sen University,Guangzhou 510275,China

出　　处：《Science China Earth Sciences》2009年第10期1537-1542,共6页中国科学（地球科学英文版）

基　　金：Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40672017);the joint Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant Nos. 40811120033, 07-04-92127);Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 06023161);Key Project Inviting Foreign Teachers and Scientific Research Fund, Hongda Zhang, Sun Yat-sen University

摘　　要：Alseodaphne changchangensis sp. nov. (Lauraceae), with a perfectly preserved fossil leaf, was found in the Eocene Changchang Formation from the Changchang Basin of Hainan Island, China. This represents the earliest occurrence at the lowest latitude for the genus Alseodaphne, and offers important fossil evidence for further investigation of the origin and evolution of this genus and the paleoclimate of Hainan Island in the Eocene. Based on leaf morphology and cuticle characteristics, our fossil specimen is closest to the living species A. hainanensis Merrill, which is distributed mainly in tropical lowland rain forests, tropical montane rain forests, and subtropical montane evergreen broad-leafed forests on Hainan Island, and also found on the Wanshan Islands of Zhuhai of Guangdong Province and in northern parts of Vietnam. In the above areas, the climate factors are similar, i.e., the mean annual temperature is 20–22.6°C, the mean annual range of temperature 12–12.6°C and the mean annual precipitation 1784–2500 mm. Based on the nearest living species analysis, we conclude that the climate of the Changchang Basin on Hainan Island during the Eocene was close to that of the distribution areas of the living A. hainanensis.Alseodaphne changchangensis sp. nov. (Lauraceae), with a perfectly preserved fossil leaf, was found in the Eocene Changchang Formation from the Changchang Basin of Hainan Island, China. This represents the earliest occurrence at the lowest latitude for the genus Alseodaphne, and offers important fossil evidence for further investigation of the origin and evolution of this genus and the paleo-climate of Hainan Island in the Eocene. Based on leaf morphology and cuticle characteristics, our fossil specimen is closest to the living species A. hainanensis Merrill, which is distributed mainly in tropical lowland rain forests, tropical montane rain forests, and subtropical montane evergreen broad-leafed forests on Hainan Island, and also found on the Wanshan Islands of Zhuhai of Guangdong Province and in northern parts of Vietnam. In the above areas, the climate factors are similar, i.e., the mean annual temperature is 20-22.6℃, the mean annual range of temperature 12-12.6℃ and the mean annual precipitation 1784-2500 mm. Based on the nearest living species analysis, we conclude that the climate of the Changchang Basin on Hainan Island during the Eocene was close to that of the distribution areas of the living A. hainanensis.

关 键 词：Alseodaphne changchangensis sp. nov. A. hainanensis Merrill EOCENE Changchang Basin HAINAN ISLAND LAURACEAE PALEOCLIMATE 

分 类 号：Q911[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]