The earliest record of the genus Cola (Malvaceae sensu lato: Sterculioideae) from the Late Oligocene (28–27 Ma) of Ethiopia and leaf characteristics within the genus

Pan, Aaron D.; Jacobs, Bonnie F.

doi:10.1007/s00606-009-0225-1

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…ex A.Juss. (Pan et al ., ; Pan, , ; Pan & Jacobs, ; Currano et al ., ). The assemblage appears to represent late‐stage successional forest because of the co‐occurrence of forest gap (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dioscoreaceae fossils from the late Oligocene and early Miocene of Ethiopia

2014

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Dioscorea section Lasiophyton leaflets from the late Oligocene (27.23 Ma) and Tacca leaves from the early Miocene (21.73 Ma) of north-western Ethiopia greatly expand the known fossil record of Dioscoreaceae and represent the earliest and only known records of the Afro-Asian trifoliate, palmately veined yams (Dioscorea) and bat flowers (Tacca). Both fossils occur in volcaniclastic and clastic sediments associated with a high water table, and the palaeofloral assemblages are indicative of tropical moist forest formations. These fossils provide insight into the evolutionary history of the family in Africa during the mid-Cenozoic and provide well-dated taxa that can assist in phylogenetic analyses and evolutionary divergence studies for Dioscoreales and Dioscoreaceae.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dioscoreaceae fossils from the late Oligocene and early Miocene of Ethiopia

2014

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“…Jacobs, Pan, and Scotese have presented substantial evidence of a Paleogene rainforest in West Africa in association with the gradual loss of grassy patches toward the Eocene. This forest may have extended to the northwest of Ethiopia, where rainforest rich in palms and other rainforest taxa such as Cola is documented from the Oligocene Chilga Woreda near Gondar …”

Section: Vegetation Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

East African Cenozoic vegetation history

Linder

2017

Evolutionary Anthropology

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The modern vegetation of East Africa is a complex mosaic of rainforest patches; small islands of tropic-alpine vegetation; extensive savannas, ranging from almost pure grassland to wooded savannas; thickets; and montane grassland and forest. Here I trace the evolution of these vegetation types through the Cenozoic. Paleogene East Africa was most likely geomorphologically subdued and, as the few Eocene fossil sites suggest, a woodland in a seasonal climate. Woodland rather than rainforest may well have been the regional vegetation. Mountain building started with the Oligocene trap lava flows in Ethiopia, on which rainforest developed, with little evidence of grass and none of montane forests. The uplift of the East African Plateau took place during the middle Miocene. Fossil sites indicate the presence of rainforest, montane forest and thicket, and wooded grassland, often in close juxtaposition, from 17 to 10 Ma. By 10 Ma, marine deposits indicate extensive grassland in the region and isotope analysis indicates that this was a C grassland. In the later Miocene rifting, first of the western Albertine Rift and then of the eastern Gregory Rift, added to the complexity of the environment. The building of the high strato-volcanos during the later Mio-Pliocene added environments suitable for tropic-alpine vegetation. During this time, the C grassland was replaced by C savannas, although overall the extent of grassland was reduced from the mid-Miocene high to the current low level. Lake-level fluctuations during the Quaternary indicate substantial variation in rainfall, presumably as a result of movements in the intertropical convergence zone and the Congo air boundary, but the impact of these fluctuations on the vegetation is still speculative. I argue that, overall, there was an increase in the complexity of East African vegetation complexity during the Neogene, largely as a result of orogeny. The impact of Quaternary climatic fluctuation is still poorly understood.

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“…Recent paleobotanical and palynological discoveries in eastern and northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have contributed significantly to our understanding of the composition and extent of Afro-Arabian tropical moist forests from the late Eocene through the early Miocene (Privé-Gill et al 1999;Herendeen and Jacobs 2000;Morley 2000;Jacobs 2004;Jacobs et al 2005Jacobs et al , 2010Pan et al 2006Pan et al , 2010Vincens et al 2006;Eisawi and Schrank 2008;Pan and Jacobs 2009;Bonnefille 2010;García Massini et al 2010;Pan 2010), a time interval when Afro-Arabia's humid tropical and subtropical forests were likely at an acme in terms of plant diversity and spatial extent (or at least compared to modern African forests; Salard-Cheboldaeff 1979, 1981Jacobs 2004;Morley 2007). Within these assemblages, the legume family (Fabaceae or Leguminosae) is well represented in terms of prominence and diversity, patterns that continue among contemporary African tropical forest communities (Gentry 1988;Jacobs 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%