A new species of Macaranga from the middle Miocene of Fujian, China and its significance

Abstract

A well-preserved Macaranga leaf fossil from the middle Miocene Fotan Group of Zhangpu County, Fujian, South-eastern China is examined and described as a new species, Macaranga zhangpuensis Z.X. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. The present fossil species represents the highest latitudinal distribution of a reliable Macaranga fossil in the world, and we present the first Macaranga fossil described with detailed cuticular characteristics from China. Based on the global palaeogeographic distribution of Macaranga, we infer that the genus probably originated during the Oligocene in Africa and spread from Africa to India and then to South Fujian, China, further into the Mariana Islands and finally into the Philippine Islands and Malaysia, leading to its present distribution. In addition, the new leaf material described herein is the first Macaranga fossil record with three leaf tips globally. This finding demonstrates that Macaranga with three leaf tips already existed during the Miocene in Fujian, South China, and it provides new information for understanding climatic changes between the Miocene and the present -day.

Keywords:

• Macaranga
• middle Miocene
• micro-structure
• climate
• origination

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the academic editor and reviewers for their constructive comments. We also thank Li Xibeiyang from the South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences for providing us with the herbarium collections.