title: Winged fruits and associated leaves of Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae) from the Late Eocene of South China and their phytogeographic and paleoclimatic implications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dipterocarps are the representative component of tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia and hold important economic and ecological significance, but their origin and migration are controversial. Information on dipterocarpaceous fossils, particularly the more convincing reproductive structures, not only can improve the phylogenetic and phytogeographic studies of this family, but also provide important information for reconstructing paleoclimate. •
  
  
  METHODS
  Morphologically preserved winged fruits and associated leaves were collected from the Late Eocene Huangniuling Formation, Maoming Basin, South China. We determined their taxonomic positions based on comparative morphology with similar extant and fossil specimens and discuss their phytogeographic and paleoclimatic implications by consulting the distribution and habitat of fossil and modern populations. •
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Late Eocene winged fruits are attributed to Shorea Roxburgh ex Gaertner (Dipterocarpaceae) as Shorea maomingensis sp. nov. The associated leaves are recognized as Shorea sp. based on leaf architecture, and they are likely to be conspecific with the winged fruits. •
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The discovery of dipterocarps indicates that they had arrived in tropical and humid South China by the Late Eocene. Dipterocarps including Shorea exhibit a wide range of physiological tolerance to climate; palynological analysis suggests an increase in aridity and seasonality in the Maoming Basin from the Late Eocene. Dipterocarps became adapted to this seasonal climate from the Late Eocene to Early Miocene, expanded northward in the climatic optimum of the Middle Miocene, and declined and gradually disappeared from the southeastern part of the continent from the Late Miocene.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors: Xinxin
authors: X
authors: Feng
authors: Biao
authors: B
authors: Tang
authors: Tatiana M
authors: TM
authors: Kodrul
authors: Jianhua
authors: J
authors: Jin
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D053958:Dipterocarpaceae / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005580:Fossils; D005638:Fruit / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005843:Geography; D010163:Paleontology; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013997:Time Factors