Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps

The Dipterocarpaceae, a well known and economically important family of trees of the tropical rain forests of Asia, comprise over 470 species. These angiosperm trees contribute to 30% of the total area in typical lowland evergreen forests in Southeast Asia. Despite their remarkable diversity and reg...

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Main Authors: Dutta, S., Tripathi, S., Mallick, M., Mathews, R., Greenwood, Paul, Rao, M., Summons, R.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58350
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author Dutta, S.
Tripathi, S.
Mallick, M.
Mathews, R.
Greenwood, Paul
Rao, M.
Summons, R.
author_facet Dutta, S.
Tripathi, S.
Mallick, M.
Mathews, R.
Greenwood, Paul
Rao, M.
Summons, R.
author_sort Dutta, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Dipterocarpaceae, a well known and economically important family of trees of the tropical rain forests of Asia, comprise over 470 species. These angiosperm trees contribute to 30% of the total area in typical lowland evergreen forests in Southeast Asia. Despite their remarkable diversity and regional ecological dominance, the origins and phytogeographical evolution of the family are poorly understood. The earliest dipterocarp fossils recorded in SE Asia come from Oligocene (34-23. Ma) sediments of Borneo. Here, we report an occurrence of Asian dipterocarps from approximately 53. Ma old sediments from western India based on fossil resin chemistry and palynological data. An important implication of our finding is that Asian dipterocarps must have originated in Gondwana and dispersed from India into Asia once the land connection between the Indian and Asian plate was well established during the middle Eocene (49-41. Ma). Moreover, the present study supports the hypothesis which suggests that many angiosperms did not originate in the SE Asian region, but dispersed into the area from western Gondwanaland. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-583502017-11-24T05:46:26Z Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps Dutta, S. Tripathi, S. Mallick, M. Mathews, R. Greenwood, Paul Rao, M. Summons, R. The Dipterocarpaceae, a well known and economically important family of trees of the tropical rain forests of Asia, comprise over 470 species. These angiosperm trees contribute to 30% of the total area in typical lowland evergreen forests in Southeast Asia. Despite their remarkable diversity and regional ecological dominance, the origins and phytogeographical evolution of the family are poorly understood. The earliest dipterocarp fossils recorded in SE Asia come from Oligocene (34-23. Ma) sediments of Borneo. Here, we report an occurrence of Asian dipterocarps from approximately 53. Ma old sediments from western India based on fossil resin chemistry and palynological data. An important implication of our finding is that Asian dipterocarps must have originated in Gondwana and dispersed from India into Asia once the land connection between the Indian and Asian plate was well established during the middle Eocene (49-41. Ma). Moreover, the present study supports the hypothesis which suggests that many angiosperms did not originate in the SE Asian region, but dispersed into the area from western Gondwanaland. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58350 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.002 restricted
spellingShingle Dutta, S.
Tripathi, S.
Mallick, M.
Mathews, R.
Greenwood, Paul
Rao, M.
Summons, R.
Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title_full Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title_fullStr Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title_full_unstemmed Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title_short Eocene out-of-India dispersal of Asian dipterocarps
title_sort eocene out-of-india dispersal of asian dipterocarps
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58350