A Lagerstätte from Australia provides insight into the nature of Miocene mesic ecosystems

McCurry, Matthew R.; Cantrill, David J.; Beattie, Robert; Dettmann, Mary E.; Baranov, Viktor; Magee, C. W.; Nguyen, Jacqueline M. T.; Forster, Marnie; Hinde, Jack; Pogson, Ross E.; Wang, Helen; Marjo, Christopher E.; Vasconcelos, Paulo; Frese, Michael

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abm1406

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…More specifically, I hypothesize that the disappearance of (most) tree ferns from Laurasian landmasses was likely triggered by changing climate during the Cenozoic, which began to shift into the drier and colder conditions that lead to the disappearance of tropical climates 19,94 . For instance, the Thyrsopteridaceae, now restricted to a single species in the Juan Fernández Island off the coast of South America 41,44 , is believed to have been more diverse and wide spread in the past, with fossils from the Cretaceous-Late Eocene uncovered in Japan 97 , Southeast Asia 44 , Australia 84,98 , and North America 99 .…”

Section: The Biogeography Of Cyathealesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laurasian legacies in the Gondwanan tree fern order Cyatheales

Ramírez‐Barahona

2023

Preprint

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Present-day geographic and phylogentic patterns often reflect the Gondwana-Laurasia separation and subsequent history of continental drift. However, some lineages show non-overlapping fossil distributions relative to extant species and in some cases extant Gondwanan lineages have Laurasian extinct relatives. Here, I combined distribution data for 101 fossils and 442 extant species of tree ferns (Cyatheales) to reconstruct their biogeographic history over the last 220 million years. The time calibrated tree showed most tree ferns families originating during the Jurassic and the onset of crown group diversification beginning during the Cretaceous; a major shift in diversification rates occurred in the largest tree fern family (Cyatheaceae) that comprises ~90% of extant diversity in the group. Biogeographical reconstructions based on extant distributions alone supported a Gondwanan origin for the group; the most probable ancestral range encompassed Australasia and South America. Alternatively, incorporating fossil distribution data into reconstructions showed a Laurasian origin and a most probable ancestral range in Eurasia. These results evince the Laurasian legacies of the Cyatheales spanning the Triassic-Cretaceous, which otherwise remain hidden from biogeographic inferences. These results show that extant-only biogeographic analyses are limited when fossils distribution are more wide spread than in the present-day, highlighting the need to directly incorporate fossils into biogeographical analyses and improve the reliability of ancestral geographic range estimation.

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Section: The Biogeography Of Cyathealesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laurasian legacies in the Gondwanan tree fern order Cyatheales

Ramírez‐Barahona

2023

Preprint

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“…For this study, we used rocks collected from McGraths Flat, a newly discovered Lagerstätte in central New South Wales, Australia [ 10 ]. Interpreted as a Miocene age (11–20 million-years-old) rainforest lake deposit, McGraths Flat contains exceptionally well-preserved compressions/impressions of leaves, flowers and fruiting bodies, aquatic and terrestrial insects, spiders, fishes, and other vertebrates ( Fig 1 ) [ 10 , 11 ]. In addition to these macrofossils, a diverse suite of microfossils, including pollen, spores, yeast cells, nematodes, and insect wing scales are also well-preserved [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This method is only effective if the fossils and surrounding rock matrix are compositionally different (heterogeneous) [ 14 ]. However, some sites, like McGraths Flat, preserve fossils and rock matrix that are compositionally similar (homogeneous) [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inferring the age and environmental characteristics of fossil sites using citizen science

et al. 2023

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Not all fossil sites preserve microfossils that can be extracted using acid digestion, which may leave knowledge gaps regarding a site’s age or environmental characteristics. Here we report on a citizen science approach that was developed to identify microfossils in situ on the surface of sedimentary rocks. Samples were collected from McGraths Flat, a recently discovered Miocene rainforest lake deposit located in central New South Wales, Australia. Composed entirely of iron-oxyhydroxide, McGraths Flat rocks cannot be processed using typical microfossil extraction protocols e.g., acid digestion. Instead, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to automatically acquire 25,200 high-resolution images from the surface of three McGraths Flat samples, covering a total area of 1.85 cm2. The images were published on the citizen science portal DigiVol, through which 271 citizen scientists helped to identify 300 pollen and spores. The microfossil information gained in this study is biostratigraphically relevant and can be used to constrain the environmental characteristics of McGraths Flat. Our findings suggest that automated image acquisition coupled with an evaluation by citizen scientists is an effective method of determining the age and environmental characteristics of fossiliferous rocks that cannot be investigated using traditional methods such as acid digestion.

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“…Here we present a new adpression fossil locality from the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, which is the first Permian Konservat- and Konzentrat-Lagerstätte for both plant and insect fossils in Gondwana. Lagerstätten, sites with fossils of exceptional quality of preservation and/or abundance, offer unique opportunities to infer trophic interactions and patterns of niche partitioning within communities 34 – 37 . Permian Lagerstätten are extremely rare globally compared to other time periods in Earth’s history, and most are found in North America and Eurasia 13 , 35 , 37 – 39 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lagerstätten, sites with fossils of exceptional quality of preservation and/or abundance, offer unique opportunities to infer trophic interactions and patterns of niche partitioning within communities 34 – 37 . Permian Lagerstätten are extremely rare globally compared to other time periods in Earth’s history, and most are found in North America and Eurasia 13 , 35 , 37 – 39 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

South African Lagerstätte reveals middle Permian Gondwanan lakeshore ecosystem in exquisite detail

Prevec

Nel²,

Day³

et al. 2022

Commun Biol

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Continental ecosystems of the middle Permian Period (273–259 million years ago) are poorly understood. In South Africa, the vertebrate fossil record is well documented for this time interval, but the plants and insects are virtually unknown, and are rare globally. This scarcity of data has hampered studies of the evolution and diversification of life, and has precluded detailed reconstructions and analyses of ecosystems of this critical period in Earth’s history. Here we introduce a new locality in the southern Karoo Basin that is producing exceptionally well-preserved and abundant fossils of novel freshwater and terrestrial insects, arachnids, and plants. Within a robust regional geochronological, geological and biostratigraphic context, this Konservat- and Konzentrat-Lagerstätte offers a unique opportunity for the study and reconstruction of a southern Gondwanan deltaic ecosystem that thrived 266–268 million years ago, and will serve as a high-resolution ecological baseline towards a better understanding of Permian extinction events.

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A Lagerstätte from Australia provides insight into the nature of Miocene mesic ecosystems

Abstract: The discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved fossil site provides new insight into the nature of Miocene ecosystems.

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Laurasian legacies in the Gondwanan tree fern order Cyatheales

Laurasian legacies in the Gondwanan tree fern order Cyatheales

Inferring the age and environmental characteristics of fossil sites using citizen science

South African Lagerstätte reveals middle Permian Gondwanan lakeshore ecosystem in exquisite detail

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