A FRUIT AND LEAVES OF RHAMNACEOUS AFFINITIES FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN) OF COLOMBIA
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Correa, Edwin
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A FRUIT AND LEAVES OF RHAMNACEOUS AFFINITIES FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN) OF COLOMBIA
Abstract
Although Rhamnaceae are distributed worldwide today, the former hypothesis for its Laurasian origins may need to be reconsidered
in view of recently discovered fossils from the Guaduas Formation of central Colombia (~68 Ma), including fossil leaves
( Berhamniphyllum) and a fruit ( Archaeopaliurus boyacensis). Recent phylogenetic studies calibrate the stem of Rhamnaceae at 64
Ma and divide the family into three groups, rhamnoid, ampeloziziphoid, and ziziphoid. Although the fruit, Archaeopaliurus boyacensis,
resembles that of Paliurus and suggests a relationship to the Paliureae in the ziziphoid group, associated leaves of Berhamniphyllum
conform in architecture to those found today only in the Rhamneae tribe. The Maastrichtian age of these fossils
predates the ages previously estimated for the Rhamneae tribe (28.5 Ma) and the Paliureae tribe (31.6 Ma) using a modifi ed clock
approach. Based on the new megafossil evidence, two alternative ideas are proposed: (1) that these fossils predate the extant tribes
or (2) that the family diversifi ed into modern tribes earlier than previously proposed.
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American Journal of Botany 97(1): 71–79. 2010.
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