Evolutionary history, biogeography, and extinction of the Cretaceous cheirolepidiaceous conifer, Frenelopsis
Marmi, Josep (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Tosal, Aixa (Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà)
Martín-Closas, Carles (Universitat de Barcelona. Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio))

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Frenelopsis Schenk (family Cheirolepidiaceae†) was among the most widespread conifer genera and a dominant element of wetland ecosystems in low to mid-palaeolatitudes in the the Northern Hemisphere. It was also one of the more important peat-forming shrubs and trees generating extensive deposits of Cretaceous lignite. The genus became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Studies of the presence/absence and diversity of Frenelopsis allow us to analyse its evolutionary history, biogeography, and the consider the possible causes of its extinction. During the Early Cretaceous, the genus diversified, triggered by the rise of short-lived species and the constraint of endemism. The maximum diversity and species richness were attained in Barremian and Aptian times while the maximum number of global occurrences is documented during the Albian. In the Late Cretaceous, Frenelopsis species richness declined and the genus became progressively more restricted to the Tethyan archipelago in the context of the rise to dominance of angiosperms. In the Maastrichtian, the last representatives of Frenelopsis survived in the coastal wetlands of Iberia as a relictual plant. In northeast Iberia (present-day Pyrenees) the last occurrences from this genus are early to middle Maastrichtian in age and show an intriguing contrast between the abundance of vegetative remains and the lack of Classopollis pollen grains. These data suggest that at the end of its lineage, the plant was reproducing only vegetatively and that male sterility may have contributed to extinction.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-113912 GB-100 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-119811 GB-100 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2022/SGR-349 Generalitat de Catalunya ARQ001SOL-173-2022
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Fossil conifers ; Macroevolution ; Palustrine ; Island biogeography ; K/Pg boundary
Published in:	Evolving Earth, Vol. 1 (December 2023) , art. 100017, ISSN 2950-1172

DOI: 10.1016/j.eve.2023.100017

13 p, 8.2 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles