Proteaceae leaf fossils from the Oligo-Miocene of New Zealand: new species and evidence of biome and trait conservatism

Abstract

At least seven foliar taxa of Proteaceae occur in Oligo–Miocene lignite from the Newvale site. These taxa include two new species of the fossil genus Euproteaciphyllum, and previously described species of tribe Persoonieae and Banksia. Other specimens from Newvale are not assigned to new species, but some conform to leaves of the New Caledonian genus Beauprea, which is also represented in the lignite by common pollen. Two other Euproteaciphyllum species are described from the early Miocene Foulden Maar diatomite site. One of these species may belong to Alloxylon (tribe Embothrieae) and the other to tribe Macadamieae, subtribe Gevuininae. Ecologically, the species from Newvale represented important components of wet, oligotrophic, open vegetation containing scleromorphic angiosperms and very diverse conifers. In contrast, Proteaceae were large-leaved and rare in Lauraceae-dominated rainforest at the volcanic Foulden Maar site. Overall, the Oligo–Miocene fossils confirm that Proteaceae was formerly much more diverse and dominant in the New Zealand vegetation, and provide fossil evidence for biome conservatism in both leaf traits and lineage representation.