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New coryphoid fossil palm leaves (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae) from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island, South China

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Abstract

Modern palms are diverse and widespread in the tropics and subtropics, especially the tropical rainforests. However, most fossil palm records have been reported from regions of relatively higher latitude. In this paper seven species of coryphoid palm from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island of South China are reported. These are Sabalites asymmetricus sp. nov., S. robustus sp. nov., S. tenufolius sp. nov., S. szei Guo, S. changchagnensis Guo, Livistona sp., and Amesoneuron sp. According to leaf morphological characteristics, they can be classified as members of the subfamily Coryphoideae. In extant flora of Hainan Island, only three species of Livistona have costapalmate leaves. These palm fossils indicate that, during the Eocene, flora in Hainan Island included a diversity of coryphoid palms, which have some bearings on the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of South China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    WenJun Zhou, XiaoYan Liu, QingQing Xu & JianHua Jin

  2. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing, 210008, China

    WenJun Zhou, XiaoYan Liu, QingQing Xu & JianHua Jin

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    KangYou Huang

Authors
  1. WenJun Zhou
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  2. XiaoYan Liu
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  3. QingQing Xu
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  4. KangYou Huang
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  5. JianHua Jin
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Correspondence to KangYou Huang or JianHua Jin.

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Zhou, W., Liu, X., Xu, Q. et al. New coryphoid fossil palm leaves (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae) from the Eocene Changchang Basin of Hainan Island, South China. Sci. China Earth Sci. 56, 1493–1501 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-013-4681-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-013-4681-7

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