Leaf fossils of Sabalites (Arecaceae) from the Oligocene of northern Vietnam and their paleoclimatic implications

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2021.08.003

Plant Diversity ›› 2022, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (04): 406-416.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2021.08.003

• Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles

Leaf fossils of Sabalites (Arecaceae) from the Oligocene of northern Vietnam and their paleoclimatic implications

Ai Song^a,b, Jia Liu^b, Shui-Qing Liang^b, Truong Van Do^c,d, Hung Ba Nguyen^c, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng^b, Lin-Bo Jia^e, Cédric Del Rio^b, Gaurav Srivastava^f, Zhuo Feng^a, Zhe-Kun Zhou^b, Jian Huang^b, Tao Su^b

a Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China;
b CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China;
c Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Hanoi, Viet Nam;
d Graduate Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Hanoi, Viet Nam;
e CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, China;
f Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, 226 007, India

Received:2021-05-14 Revised:2021-08-09 Online:2022-07-25 Published:2022-08-13
Contact: Jian Huang,E-mail:huangjian@xtbg.ac.cn;Tao Su,E-mail:sutao@xtbg.org.cn
Supported by:
We thank members of Paleoecology Research Group (PRG) in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences for field trips in northern Vietnam; People's Committee of Hoanh Bo District, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam and Vietnam National Museum of Nature (VNMN), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for field permission and assistance; the Public Technology Service Center in XTBG for imaging assistance. We thank Mrs. Teresa Spicer for polishing English which makes our manuscript a great improve. GS thanks to Dr. Vandana Prasad (Director), Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow for providing necessary facilities during the research work. This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (31800183, 41922010, 42002020, 41661134049), Yunnan Basic Research Projects (202001AU070137, 2019FB026), Chinese Academy of Sciences "Light of West China" Program (2020000023), the CAS 135 program (2017XTBG-T03), and Project "Study, collection of fossil woods in Vietnam for exhibition in System of Vietnam National Museum of Nature" (CT0000.01/19-21).

Abstract

Abstract: Recent paleobotanical investigations in Vietnam provide a good opportunity to improve our understanding of the biodiversity and paleoclimatic conditions in the geological past of Southeast Asia. Palms (Arecaceae) are a diverse family of typical thermophilous plants with a relatively low tolerance for freezing. In this study, we describe well-preserved fossil palm leaves from the Oligocene Dong Ho Formation of Hoanh Bo Basin, northern Vietnam. Characters of the fossil leaves, such as a fan-shaped costapalmate lamina, an unarmed petiole, a costa slightly enlarged at the base that then tapers distally into the blade, and well-preserved amphistomatic leaves with cuticles, suggest that they represent a new fossil species, which we herein designate Sabalites colaniae A. Song, T. Su, T. V. Do et Z.K. Zhou sp. nov. Together with other paleontological and palaeoclimatic evidence, we conclude that a warm climate prevailed in northern Vietnam and nearby areas during the Oligocene.

Key words: Fossil, Leaf, Oligocene, Paleoclimate, Palm, Vietnam

Ai Song, Jia Liu, Shui-Qing Liang, Truong Van Do, Hung Ba Nguyen, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng, Lin-Bo Jia, Cédric Del Rio, Gaurav Srivastava, Zhuo Feng, Zhe-Kun Zhou, Jian Huang, Tao Su. Leaf fossils of Sabalites (Arecaceae) from the Oligocene of northern Vietnam and their paleoclimatic implications[J]. Plant Diversity, 2022, 44(04): 406-416.

References

Allen, S.E., 2015. Fossil palm flowers from the Eocene of the rocky mountain region with affinities to Phoenix L. (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae). Int. J. Plant Sci. 176, 586-596.
Baker, W.J., Dransfield, J., 2016. Beyond Genera Palmarum: progress and prospects in palm systematics. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 182, 207-233.
Bande, M.B., Prakash, U., 1986. The Tertiary flora of Southeast-Asia with remarks on its paleoenvironment and phytogeography of the Indo-Malayan region. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 49, 203-233.
Bjorholm, S., Svenning, J.C., Baker, W.J., et al., 2006. Historical legacies in the geographical diversity patterns of New World palm (Arecaceae) subfamilies. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 151, 113-125.
Böhme, M., Prieto, J., Schneider, S., et al., 2011. The Cenozoic on-shore basins of Northern Vietnam: biostratigraphy, vertebrate and invertebrate faunas. J. Asian Earth Sci. 40, 672-687.
Chaimanee, Y., Suteethorn, V., Jintasakul, P., et al., 2004. A new orang-utan relative from the Late Miocene of Thailand. Nature 427, 439-441.
Clift, P.D., Sun, Z., 2006. The sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the YinggehaiSong Hong basin and the southern Hainan margin, South China Sea: implications for Tibetan uplift and monsoon intensification. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B06405.
Colani, M., 1920. Etude sur les flores tertiaires de quelques gisements de lignite de l'Indochine et du Yunnan. Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient, Hanoi-Haiphong, p. 517.
Couvreur, T.L., Forest, F., Baker, W.J., 2011. Origin and global diversification patterns of tropical rain forests: inferences from a complete genus-level phylogeny of palms. BMC Biol. 9, 44.
Crié, L., 1892. Recherches sur les palmiers silicifiée des terrains crétacés de l'Anjou. Bulletin de la Socíeté d'Études Scientifiques d'Angers 21, 97-103.
Dransfield, J., Uhl, N.W., Lange, C.B.A., et al., 2008. Genera Palmarum: the Evolution and Classification of Palms. Kew Publishing.
Eiserhardt, W.L., Svenning, J.C., Kissling, W.D., et al., 2011. Geographical ecology of the palms (Arecaceae): determinants of diversity and distributions across spatial scales. Ann. Bot. 108, 1391-1416.
Faurby, S., Eiserhardt, W.L., Baker, W.J., et al., 2016. An all-evidence species-level supertree for the palms (Arecaceae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 100, 57-69.
Friederich, M.C., Moore, T.A., Flores, R.M., 2016. A regional review and new insights into SE Asian Cenozoic coal-bearing sediments: why does Indonesia have such extensive coal deposits? Int. J. Coal Geol. 166, 2-35.
Greenwood, D.R., West, C.K., 2017. A fossil coryphoid palm from the Paleocene of western Canada. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 239, 55-65.
Greenwood, D.R., Wing, S.L., 1995. Eocene continental climates and latitudinal temperature gradients. Geology 23, 1044-1048.
Guo, S., 1965. On the discovery of fossil palms from the Tertiary formation of Kwangtung and Kwangsi. Acta Palaeontol. Sin. 13, 598-601 (In Chinese).
Harley, M.M., 2006. A summary of fossil records for Arecaceae. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 151, 39-67.
Harley, M.M., Morley, R.J., 1995. Ultrastructural studies of some fossil and extant palm pollen, with notes on the geological history of subtribes Iguanurinae and Calaminae. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 85, 153-182.
Hartwich, S.J., Conran, J.G., Bannister, J.M., et al., 2010. Calamoid fossil palm leaves and fruits (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) from late Eocene Southland, New Zealand. Aust. Syst. Bot. 23, 131-140.
Herman, A.B., Spicer, R.A., Aleksandrova, G.N., et al., 2017. Eoceneeearly Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: evidence from the Maoming Basin. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 479, 126-137.
Huang, H., Morley, R., Licht, A., et al., 2020. Eocene palms from central Myanmar in a South-East Asian and global perspective: evidence from the palynological record. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 194, 177-206.
Kooyman, R.M., Morley, R.J., Crayn, D.M., et al., 2019. Origins and assembly of Malesian rainforests. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 50, 119-143.
Krausel, R., 1923. Nipadites borneensis n. sp. eine fossile palmenfrucht aus Borneo. Senckenbergiana 5, 3-4.
Kvaček, J., Herman, A.B., 2004. Monocotyledons from the early Campanian (Cretaceous) of Grünbach, lower Austria. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 128, 323-353.
Larcher, W., Winter, A., 1981. Frost susceptibility of palms: experimental data and their interpretation. Principes 25, 143-152.
Morley, R.J., 1998. Palynological evidence for Tertiary plant dispersals in the SE Asian region in relation to plate tectonics and dispersal. In: Hall, R., Holloway, J.D. (Eds.), Biogeography and Geological Evolution of SE Asia. Backhuys, Leiden, pp. 211-234.
Morley, R.J., 2000. Origin and Evolution of Tropical Rain Forests. Wiley, Chichester.
Muller, J., 1968. Palynology of the pedawan and plateau sandstone formations (Cretaceous-Eocene) in Sarawak, Malaysia. Micropaleontol. 14, 1-37.
Muller, J., 1979. Reflections on fossil palm pollen. In: Proceedings of 4th International Palynological Conference, vol. 1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany Lucknow, pp. 568-579.
Nhan, T.D., Danh, T., 1975. The new discovers about biostratigraphy of the Neogene sediments in the east of Bac Bo. In: Nhan, T.D., Danh, T. (Eds.), Stratigraphic Works. Science and Technology Publishing House, Hanoi, pp. 244-283.
Petersen, H., Tru, V., Nielsen, L., et al., 2005. Source rock properties of lacustrine mudstones and coals (Oligocene Dong Ho formation), onshore Song Hong basin, northern Vietnam. J. Petrol. Geol. 28, 19-38.
Pramook, B., 2003. Petrified Wood of Northeastern Thailand and its Implication on Biodiversity and the Ecosystem during the Cenozoic Era (Ph.D. Thesis). Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand (In Thai).
Pross, J., Contreras, L., Bijl, P.K., et al., 2012. Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch. Nature 488, 73-77.
Read, R.W., Hickey, L.J., 1972. A revised classification of fossil palm and palm-like leaves. Taxon 21, 129-137.
Reichgelt, T., West, C.K., Greenwood, D.R., 2018. The relation between global palm distribution and climate. Sci. Rep. 8, 4721.
Shi, G.L., Zhou, Z., Xie, Z., 2012. A new Oligocene Calocedrus from South China and its implications for transpacific floristic exchanges. Am. J. Bot. 99, 108-120.
Srivastava, R., Srivastava, G., Dilcher, D.L., 2014. Coryphoid palm leaf fossils from the MaastrichtianeDanian of Central India with remarks on phytogeography of the Coryphoideae (Arecaceae). PLoS One 9, e111738.
Su, T., Farnsworth, A., Spicer, R.A., et al., 2019. No high Tibetan plateau until the Neogene. Sci. Adv. 5, eaav2189.
Svenning, J.C., Borchsenius, F., Bjorholm, S., et al., 2008. High tropical net diversification drives the New World latitudinal gradient in palm (Arecaceae) species richness. J. Biogeogr. 35, 394-406.
Taylor, T.N., Taylor, E.L., Krings, M., 2008. Paleobotany: the Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, second ed. Academic Press, New York.
Tha, H.V., Wysocka, A., Cuong, N.Q., et al., 2017. Sedimentary petrology characteristics and their implications for provenance of Hoanh Bo Basin Neogene system in Quang Ninh province, north-eastern Vietnam. Geol. Geophys. Environ. 43, 69-87.
Tomlinson, P.B., Horn, J.W., Fisher, J.B., 2011. The Anatomy of Palms. Oxford University Press.
Traynor, J.J., Sladen, C., 1997. Seepage in Vietnam-onshore and offshore examples. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 14, 345-362.
Trinh, D., 1986. Neogene flora of North Vietnam and its stratigraphic significance(Ph.D. Thesis). In: Associate Doctoral Thesis in Geography-Geology. Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources (In Vietnamese).
Trung, P., Bat, D., An, N., et al., 1999a. The new documentation of spore and pollen fossil in the Dong Ho formation. J. Petrol. Geol. 3, 2-8.
Trung, P., Quynh, P., Bat, D., et al., 2000. New palynological investigation in the Na Duong mine. Oil Gas J. 7, 18-27.
Trung, P.Q., Bat, D., An, N.Q., et al., 1999b. New palynological find in the Dong Ho formation. Petrovietnam Rev 3, 14-20.
Van Der Burgh, J., 1984. Some palms in the Miocene of the lower rhenish plain. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 40, 359-374.
Wang, L., Kunzmann, L., Su, T., et al., 2019. The disappearance of Metasequoia(Cupressaceae) after the middle Miocene in Yunnan, Southwest China: evidences for evolutionary stasis and intensification of the Asian monsoon. Rev.
Palaeobot. Palynol. 264, 64-74.
Wang, Q.J., Ma, F.J., Dong, J.L., et al., 2015. Coryphoid palms from the Oligocene of China and their biogeographical implications. C. R. Palevol. 14, 263-279.
Wang, Q.J., Ma, F.J., Dong, J.L., et al., 2017. New costapalmate palm leaves from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, China, and their biogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications. Hist. Biol. 29, 594-606.
Wei, X., Yan, D., Luo, P., et al., 2020. Astronomically forced climate cooling across the eocene-Oligocene transition in the pearl river Mouth basin, northern South China Sea. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 558, 109945.
Wysocka, A., Pha, P.D., Durska, E., et al., 2018. New data on the continental deposits from the cao bang basin (cao bang-tien yen fault zone, NE Vietnam)-biostratigraphy, provenance and facies pattern. Acta Geol. Pol. 68, 689-709.
Xing, Y., Gandolfo, M.A., Onstein, R.E., et al., 2016. Testing the biases in the rich Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record. Int. J. Plant Sci. 177, 371-388.
Zeiller, R., 1903. Flore fossile des gites de charbon du Tonkin: Texte. Imprimerie Nationale, Paris.
Zhou, W., Liu, X., Xu, Q., et al., 2013. New coryphoid fossil palm leaves (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae) from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island, South China. Sci. China Earth Sci. 56, 1493-1501.

[1]	Ming-Yue Jin, Daniel J. Johnson, Guang-Ze Jin, Qing-Xi Guo, Zhi-Li Liu. Soil water content and nitrogen differentially correlate with multidimensional leaf traits of two temperate broadleaf species [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(06): 694-701.
[2]	Xiang-Chuan Li, Yi Hu, Xiang Zhang, Liang Xiao, Li-Na Liang, Rui-Zhi Zhang, Lei Qiao. A novel seed cone of Pinus from the Miocene of coastal Southeast China indicates kinship with Southeast Asian pines [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(06): 732-747.
[3]	Yi Jin, Hong Qian. Drivers of the differentiation between broad-leaved trees and shrubs in the shift from evergreen to deciduous leaf habit in forests of eastern Asian subtropics [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(05): 535-543.
[4]	Sampa Kundu, Taposhi Hazra, Tapan Chakraborty, Subir Bera, Mahasin Ali Khan. Evidence of the oldest extant vascular plant (horsetails) from the Indian Cenozoic [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(05): 569-589.
[5]	Xiao-Yan Liu, Han-Zhang Song, Xin-Kai Wu, Jia-Rong Hu, Wei-Ye Huang, Cheng Quan, Jian-Hua Jin. Late Oligocene fossil acorns and nuts of Quercus section Cyclobalanopsis from the Nanning Basin, Guangxi, South China [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(04): 434-445.
[6]	Mahasin Ali Khan, Sumana Mahato, Robert A. Spicer, Teresa E.V. Spicer, Ashif Ali, Taposhi Hazra, Subir Bera. Siwalik plant megafossil diversity in the Eastern Himalayas:A review [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(03): 243-264.
[7]	Jing-Jing Cao, Jing Chen, Qing-Pei Yang, Yan-Mei Xiong, Wei-Zheng Ren, De-Liang Kong. Leaf hydraulics coordinated with leaf economics and leaf size in mangrove species along a salinity gradient [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(03): 309-314.
[8]	Sanchita Kumar, Taposhi Hazra, Robert A. Spicer, Manoshi Hazra, Teresa E. V. Spicer, Subir Bera, Mahasin Ali Khan. Coryphoid palms from the K-Pg boundary of central India and their biogeographical implications: Evidence from megafossil remains [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(01): 80-97.
[9]	Tian-Yao Li, Chen Ye, Yi-Jie Zhang, Jun-Xing Zhang, Min Yang, Xia-Hong He, Xin-Yue Mei, Yi-Xiang Liu, You-Yong Zhu, Hui-Chuan Huang, Shu-Sheng Zhu. 2,3-Butanediol from the leachates of pine needles induces the resistance of Panax notoginseng to the leaf pathogen Alternaria panax [J]. Plant Diversity, 2023, 45(01): 104-116.
[10]	Lubing Liu, Jie Yang, Min Cao, Qinghai Song. Intraspecific trait variation of woody species reduced in a savanna community, southwest China [J]. Plant Diversity, 2022, 44(02): 163-169.
[11]	Pisal Chheang, David H. Hembry, Gang Yao, Shi-Xiao Luo. Diversity and species-specificity of brood pollination of leafflower trees (Phyllanthaceae: Glochidion) by leafflower moths (Lepidoptera: Epicephala) in tropical Southeast Asia (Cambodia) [J]. Plant Diversity, 2022, 44(02): 191-200.
[12]	Jing-Qiu Feng, Ji-Hua Wang, Shi-Bao Zhang. Leaf physiological and anatomical responses of two sympatric Paphiopedilum species to temperature [J]. Plant Diversity, 2022, 44(01): 101-108.
[13]	Haiyan Zhang, Liping Zhang, Songguo Wu, Yanli Chen, Diqiu Yu, Ligang Chen. AtWRKY75 positively regulates age-triggered leaf senescence through gibberellin pathway [J]. Plant Diversity, 2021, 43(04): 331-340.
[14]	Yi-Min Tian, Jian Huang, Tao Su, Shi-Tao Zhang. Early Oligocene Itea (Iteaceae) leaves from East Asia and their biogeographic implications [J]. Plant Diversity, 2021, 43(02): 142-151.
[15]	Robert A. Spicer, Alexander Farnsworth, Tao Su. Cenozoic topography, monsoons and biodiversity conservation within the Tibetan Region: An evolving story [J]. Plant Diversity, 2020, 42(04): 229-254.

Leaf fossils of Sabalites (Arecaceae) from the Oligocene of northern Vietnam and their paleoclimatic implications

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics