AN ASSESSMENT OF ANGIOSPERM REPRODUCTIVE FOSSILS OF THE EOCENE LAGUNA DEL HUNCO LOCALITY, PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA
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There is a distinct bias in the fossil record towards the Northern Hemisphere, which has resulted in global paleoclimatic and paleobiogeographic trends being inferred based on Northern Hemisphere records, sometimes exclusively. There has been a recent surge in research conducted in the Southern Hemisphere, of which this work is part, that is helping to alleviate this bias. Three species of angiosperm reproductive fossils from the Eocene Laguna del Hunco Locality in Argentine Patagonia, which preserves fossils from 52 million years ago during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, have been analyzed. Each analysis includes a description of morphological features and uses various phylogenetic methods to place the taxon within a family or even tribe, when possible. The ramifications of each assignment are then explored concerning biogeographical connections, understanding of the evolutionary history of a particular family, and understanding of the paleoclimatic conditions that persisted at Laguna del Hunco. The first set of fossils represents a schizocarpic fruit of the family Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae, which represents the first Malvoideae fossil fruit in the Southern Hemisphere. The second set of fossils represents fossil winged mericarps of a schizocarp belonging to the genus Tetrapterys (Malpighiaceae). These fossils represent the oldest Malpighiaceae fossils globally, and suggest a more global distribution of the family prior to late Cenozoic cooling. The third set of fossils represents a unique fruit which records the ontogeny of a possibly persistent set of bracts and fruit. Fruit development is not often observed in the fossil record, and, thus, these fruits provide a unique lens with which to understand these fossils and the ontogeny of an ancient plant.