title: Leaf fossils of Luzuriaga and a monocot flower with in situ pollen of Liliacidites contortus Mildenh. & Bannister sp. nov. (Alstroemeriaceae) from the Early Miocene.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Foulden Maar lake sediments in Otago, South Island, New Zealand, date to the earliest Miocene and provide an important picture of the diversity of the Australasian biota, paleoecology, and climate at a time when New Zealand had a smaller land area than today. The diverse rainforest contains many taxa now restricted to Australia, New Caledonia, or South America. The presence of Luzuriaga-like fossils in these deposits is important for understanding Alstroemeriaceae evolution and the biogeography of genera shared between New Zealand and South America.
  
  
  METHODS
  Leaves and a flower with in situ pollen that resemble extant Luzuriaga are described and placed phylogenetically. Geographic range information and a molecular clock model for the Alstroemeriaceae were used to investigate possible biogeographic scenarios and the influence of the new fossil on inferred divergence times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Luzuriaga peterbannisteri Conran, Bannister, Mildenh., & D.E.Lee sp. nov. represents the first macrofossil record for Alstroemeriaceae. An associated Luzuriaga-like flower with in situ fossil pollen of Liliacidites contortus Mildenh. & Bannister sp. nov. is also described. The biogeographic analysis suggests that there have been several dispersal events across the Southern Ocean for the genus, with the fossil representing a now-extinct New Zealand lineage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Luzuriaga was present in Early Miocene New Zealand, indicating a long paleogeographic history for the genus, and L. peterbannisteri strengthens biogeographic connections between South America and Australasia during the Oligocene and earliest Miocene.
authors.affiliation: ACEBB & SGC, DX 650 312, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia.
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Conran
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bannister
authors.forename: Dallas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Mildenhall
authors.forename: Daphne E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chacón
authors.forename: Susanne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Renner
mesh_terms: D001683:Biological Clocks; D018548:Cotyledon / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009520:New Zealand; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Alstroemeriaceae; Liliacidites contortus; Liliales; biogeography; earliest Miocene; fossil plants; monocot; pollen