Origin and Early Evolution of Hydrocharitaceae and the Ancestral Role of Stratiotes
- Author(s)
- Silvia Ulrich, Manuel Vieira, Mario Coiro, Johannes M. Bouchal, Christian Geier, Bonnie F. Jacobs, Ellen D. Currano, Olaf K. Lenz, Volker Wilde, Reinhard Zetter, Fridgeir Grimsson
- Abstract
The combined morphological features of Stratiotes (Hydrocharitaceae) pollen, observed with light and electron microscopy, make it unique among all angiosperm pollen types and easy to identify. Unfortunately, the plant is (and most likely was) insect-pollinated and produces relatively few pollen grains per flower, contributing to its apparent absence in the paleopalynological record. Here, we present fossil Stratiotes pollen from the Eocene of Germany (Europe) and Kenya (Africa), representing the first reliable pre-Pleistocene pollen records of this genus worldwide and the only fossils of this family discovered so far in Africa. The fossil Stratiotes pollen grains are described and compared to pollen from a single modern species, Stratiotes aloides L. The paleophytogeographic significance and paleoecological aspects of these findings are discussed in relation to the Hydrocharitaceae fossil records and molecular phylogeny, as well as the present-day distribution patterns of its modern genera.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, Department of Palaeontology, Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology
- External organisation(s)
- Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Southern Methodist University, University of Wyoming, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum
- Journal
- Plants
- Volume
- 13
- No. of pages
- 29
- ISSN
- 2223-7747
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13071008
- Publication date
- 03-2024
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106049 Ultrastructure research, 106008 Botany, 105117 Palaeobotany
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Plant Science, Ecology
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/origin-and-early-evolution-of-hydrocharitaceae-and-the-ancestral-role-of-stratiotes(64975256-7ee8-4b03-a570-e288256fc02f).html