Cenozoic Dalbergia (Fabaceae) plant fossils from Southwest China: Biogeographic implications and plant-insect interactions

Dalbergia is a pantropical genus of Fabaceae with limited fossil records. In this study we describe diverse and well-preserved Dalbergia fossils distributed through Cenozoic (Eocene to Pliocene) strata in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Comparison with newly collected modern samples from Eurasian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2024-08, Vol.647, p.112260, Article 112260
Main Authors: Zhao, Yishan, Wappler, Torsten, Labandeira, Conrad, Huang, Jian, Song, Ai, Xie, Sanping, Jia, Linbo, Deng, Weiyudong, Su, Tao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
Dalbergia
Eocene epoch
Fabaceae
Fossil
fossils
genus
geographical distribution
herbaria
Leucoptera
palaeogeography
paleoclimatology
paleoecology
Plant-insect interactions
Pliocene epoch
Yunnan
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Summary:Dalbergia is a pantropical genus of Fabaceae with limited fossil records. In this study we describe diverse and well-preserved Dalbergia fossils distributed through Cenozoic (Eocene to Pliocene) strata in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Comparison with newly collected modern samples from Eurasian forests and herbarium specimens allow accurate identification of our fossil materials, and we demonstrate that Yunnan Province represents an hitherto unrecognised hotspot for the diversification of Dalbergia. Our findings also include evidence of the earliest known mining damage reported on Dalbergia leaflets, which sheds light on their interactions with various arthropods (Leucoptera and other insects) during the early Neogene. As such, our results improve knowledge of Dalbergia fossils in East Asia and are crucial for understanding the evolutionary history of analogous mining behavior observed from modern Dalbergia. •The most complete Dalbergia fossil records from Southwest China hitherto ever reported.•Newly discovered fossils could significantly contribute to the understanding of Dalbergia diversification history in Asia.•Lyonetiidae mining on Dalbergia occurred in the early Miocene.•Biotas of Yunnan were closely related to the contemporary tropical regions since the Late Paleogene.
ISSN:0031-0182
1872-616X
DOI:10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112260