Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography

Summary: The evolutionary history of bamboo has remained elusive, primarily due to the scarcity of fossils that exhibit varied morphological traits, often lacking detailed features. In this study, we introduce a remarkable fossil find, a bamboo culm from the early Miocene sediments of the Neyveli li...

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Main Authors: Harshita Bhatia, Purushottam Adhikari, Poonam Verma, Yogesh Pal Singh, Tao Su, Gaurav Srivastava
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007163
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author Harshita Bhatia
Purushottam Adhikari
Poonam Verma
Yogesh Pal Singh
Tao Su
Gaurav Srivastava
author_facet Harshita Bhatia
Purushottam Adhikari
Poonam Verma
Yogesh Pal Singh
Tao Su
Gaurav Srivastava
author_sort Harshita Bhatia
collection DOAJ
description Summary: The evolutionary history of bamboo has remained elusive, primarily due to the scarcity of fossils that exhibit varied morphological traits, often lacking detailed features. In this study, we introduce a remarkable fossil find, a bamboo culm from the early Miocene sediments of the Neyveli lignite mine in India. This fossil is distinguished by its nodal buds and notably ventricose (swollen) nodes—features rarely preserved in the fossil record. This unique specimen stands alone to showcase such specific morphological characteristics and is the earliest known bamboo fossil from southern India. Its discovery is a significant breakthrough in the study of bamboo diversity, offering fresh insights into the morphological evolutionary history of bamboo and lending support to the hypothesis of a Gondwanan origin for Asian bamboos. Furthermore, this fossil is crucial for reconstructing past environments, suggesting that ancient bamboos likely evolved in warm, humid climatic conditions.
format Article
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issn 2589-0042
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publishDate 2025-05-01
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spelling doaj-art-5e8b9d7032d8466f9a1c86231a7903512025-08-20T01:55:52ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-05-0128511245510.1016/j.isci.2025.112455Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeographyHarshita Bhatia0Purushottam Adhikari1Poonam Verma2Yogesh Pal Singh3Tao Su4Gaurav Srivastava5Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, IndiaDepartment of Geology, Birendra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal; Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, NepalBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, IndiaBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, IndiaState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, ChinaBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India; Corresponding authorSummary: The evolutionary history of bamboo has remained elusive, primarily due to the scarcity of fossils that exhibit varied morphological traits, often lacking detailed features. In this study, we introduce a remarkable fossil find, a bamboo culm from the early Miocene sediments of the Neyveli lignite mine in India. This fossil is distinguished by its nodal buds and notably ventricose (swollen) nodes—features rarely preserved in the fossil record. This unique specimen stands alone to showcase such specific morphological characteristics and is the earliest known bamboo fossil from southern India. Its discovery is a significant breakthrough in the study of bamboo diversity, offering fresh insights into the morphological evolutionary history of bamboo and lending support to the hypothesis of a Gondwanan origin for Asian bamboos. Furthermore, this fossil is crucial for reconstructing past environments, suggesting that ancient bamboos likely evolved in warm, humid climatic conditions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007163Earth sciencesPaleontologyEvolutionary biologyPaleobiology
spellingShingle Harshita Bhatia
Purushottam Adhikari
Poonam Verma
Yogesh Pal Singh
Tao Su
Gaurav Srivastava
Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
iScience
Earth sciences
Paleontology
Evolutionary biology
Paleobiology
title Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
title_full Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
title_fullStr Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
title_full_unstemmed Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
title_short Early Miocene ventricose bamboo from south Asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
title_sort early miocene ventricose bamboo from south asia with implications for evolutionary ecology and biogeography
topic Earth sciences
Paleontology
Evolutionary biology
Paleobiology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007163
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