An update of monocot macrofossil data from New Zealand and Australia

Abstract

Cretaceous;Cuticle;Eocene;macrofossils;Miocene;palaeoclimate;palaeoenvironment. The macrofossil record of monocotyledons for New Zealand and Australia is updated on the basis of recent finds. In particular, reports for mummified leaf fossils with good cuticular preservation reveal significant fossil age or range extensions for a number of families in several different orders, including Ripogonaceae in the Eocene of Tasmania and New Zealand (and South America), and calamoid and other Arecaceae from the Eocene of southern New Zealand. There are also earliest macrofossil records for several families or subfamilies, including Alstroemeriaceae: Luzuriagoideae (Luzuriaga), Arecaceae, Asparagaceae: Lomandroideae (Cordyline), Asteliaceae (Astelia), Cymodoceaceae (aff. Ruppia), Cyperaceae, Restionaceae, Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae (Dendrobium and Earina), Asphodelaceae (previously Xanthorrhoeaceae): Hemerocallidoideae (Dianella/Phormium) and Xeronemataceae (Xeronema) from the Miocene of New Zealand. In addition, an Ensete-like seed associated with Pakawaua (Musaceae) and a leaf fragment of a second Musaceae-like species of Miocene age are presented. The biogeographical and palaeoecological implications of these records, especially for tropical or subtropical taxa occurring at mid to high southern latitudes, is discussed. In particular, the role and ecology of the relatively high-diversity monocot fossils in the sclerophyllous swamp forest at Newvale Mine in Southland and the lake-edge rainforest at Foulden Maar are explored. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 00, 000–000.