Interplate dispersal paths for megathermal angiosperms
Interplate dispersal paths for megathermal angiosperms
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DOI:
10.1078/1433-8319-00039
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发表时间:
2003-01-01
影响因子:
3.6
通讯作者:
Morley, RJ
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Morley, RJ
The dispersal of megathermal angiosperms between tectonic plates is reviewed on the basis of fossil evidence for the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, since the radiation of the angiosperms, and the period of break-up of Gondwana. The combination of tectonic plate disassembly and redistribution, coupled with phases of global warming followed by pronounced cooling, has resulted in the formation of intermittent dispersal opportunities for frost-intolerant plants, and has been a major factor in determining the direction of angiosperm diversification. The Early Cretaceous radiation of angiosperms seems to show little relationship to the formation of Tethys. However, for the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary nine relevant dispersal routes can be differentiated that can be divided into two distinct categories: routes which formed following the break-up of Gondwana during the Late Cretaceous and Earlier Tertiary, when warm climates encouraged dispersal of megathermal elements globally, and routes which formed since the Middle Eocene, following phases of plate collision, as global climates were cooling down, inhibiting such dispersal. Most inter-plate dispersal of megathermal angiosperms took place in the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary at a time when global climates were markedly different from those of today, and the global area of megathermal vegetation several times greater than at present. Under such a scenario, it is likely than opportunities for speciation were much higher than for present-day megathermal plants.