Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities

Dominican amber (15–20 Ma) and Mexican amber (15–23 Ma) are valuable sources of fossil epiphytic bryophytes, ferns, and lichens. Both ambers derive from resins of Hymenaea, a genus in the Fabaceae family still occurring in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean today. The amber inclusions provid...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kathrin Feldberg, Ulla Kaasalainen, Yuriy S. Mamontov, S. Robbert Gradstein, Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp, Pradeep K. Divakar, Alexander R. Schmidt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2025-02-01
Series:Fossil Record
Online Access:https://fr.pensoft.net/article/137758/download/pdf/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850043663527182336
author Kathrin Feldberg
Ulla Kaasalainen
Yuriy S. Mamontov
S. Robbert Gradstein
Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp
Pradeep K. Divakar
Alexander R. Schmidt
author_facet Kathrin Feldberg
Ulla Kaasalainen
Yuriy S. Mamontov
S. Robbert Gradstein
Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp
Pradeep K. Divakar
Alexander R. Schmidt
author_sort Kathrin Feldberg
collection DOAJ
description Dominican amber (15–20 Ma) and Mexican amber (15–23 Ma) are valuable sources of fossil epiphytic bryophytes, ferns, and lichens. Both ambers derive from resins of Hymenaea, a genus in the Fabaceae family still occurring in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean today. The amber inclusions provide rare glimpses into Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities in life-like preservation. In this study, we extend the fossil record of these communities and describe Frullania chiapasensis and Thysananthus patrickmuelleri, two new fossil species of leafy liverworts from Mexican amber. Frullania chiapasensis is the fourth representative of this genus from tropical amber. The genus Thysananthus is rather diverse in Dominican amber, and it is here newly recorded from Mexican amber. Additionally, we treat five new fossils at genus level, including one leafy liverwort (Lejeunea sp.) as well as three lichens from Dominican amber and one lichen from Mexican amber, all belonging to the extant genus Parmotrema. All four cryptogamic genera are common extant elements of tropical and subtropical forests. The new fossil evidence substantiates that Miocene neotropical cryptogamic communities were very similar to extant ones at generic level.
format Article
id doaj-art-d4604c4eebb046718b475d3c4b8d431a
institution DOAJ
issn 2193-0074
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Pensoft Publishers
record_format Article
series Fossil Record
spelling doaj-art-d4604c4eebb046718b475d3c4b8d431a2025-08-20T02:55:10ZengPensoft PublishersFossil Record2193-00742025-02-012817910210.3897/fr.28.137758137758Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communitiesKathrin Feldberg0Ulla Kaasalainen1Yuriy S. Mamontov2S. Robbert Gradstein3Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp4Pradeep K. Divakar5Alexander R. Schmidt6University of GöttingenUniversity of HelsinkiRussian Academy of SciencesMeise Botanic GardenUnaffiliatedUniversidad Complutense de MadridUniversity of GöttingenDominican amber (15–20 Ma) and Mexican amber (15–23 Ma) are valuable sources of fossil epiphytic bryophytes, ferns, and lichens. Both ambers derive from resins of Hymenaea, a genus in the Fabaceae family still occurring in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean today. The amber inclusions provide rare glimpses into Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities in life-like preservation. In this study, we extend the fossil record of these communities and describe Frullania chiapasensis and Thysananthus patrickmuelleri, two new fossil species of leafy liverworts from Mexican amber. Frullania chiapasensis is the fourth representative of this genus from tropical amber. The genus Thysananthus is rather diverse in Dominican amber, and it is here newly recorded from Mexican amber. Additionally, we treat five new fossils at genus level, including one leafy liverwort (Lejeunea sp.) as well as three lichens from Dominican amber and one lichen from Mexican amber, all belonging to the extant genus Parmotrema. All four cryptogamic genera are common extant elements of tropical and subtropical forests. The new fossil evidence substantiates that Miocene neotropical cryptogamic communities were very similar to extant ones at generic level.https://fr.pensoft.net/article/137758/download/pdf/
spellingShingle Kathrin Feldberg
Ulla Kaasalainen
Yuriy S. Mamontov
S. Robbert Gradstein
Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp
Pradeep K. Divakar
Alexander R. Schmidt
Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
Fossil Record
title Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
title_full Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
title_fullStr Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
title_full_unstemmed Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
title_short Extending the fossil record of Miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
title_sort extending the fossil record of miocene neotropical epiphyte communities
url https://fr.pensoft.net/article/137758/download/pdf/
work_keys_str_mv AT kathrinfeldberg extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT ullakaasalainen extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT yuriysmamontov extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT srobbertgradstein extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT alfonsschaferverwimp extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT pradeepkdivakar extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities
AT alexanderrschmidt extendingthefossilrecordofmioceneneotropicalepiphytecommunities