Origin and Early Evolution of Hydrocharitaceae and the Ancestral Role of Stratiotes

Autor(en)

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

Abstrakt

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(en)

Department für Botanik und Biodiversitätsforschung, Institut für Paläontologie, Institut für Urgeschichte und Historische Archäologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Southern Methodist University, University of Wyoming, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum

Journal

Plants

Band

13

Anzahl der Seiten

29

ISSN

2223-7747

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13071008

Publikationsdatum

03-2024

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

106049 Ultrastrukturforschung, 106008 Botanik, 105117 Paläobotanik

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Plant Science, Ecology

Link zum Portal

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/origin-and-early-evolution-of-hydrocharitaceae-and-the-ancestral-role-of-stratiotes(64975256-7ee8-4b03-a570-e288256fc02f).html