High Plant Diversity in Eocene South America: Evidence from Patagonia

• Published in: Science communication Vol. 300; no. 5616; p. 122
• Main Authors: Wilf, Peter, Cuneo, N R, Johnson, Kirk R, Hicks, Jason F, Wing, Scott L, Obradovich, John D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 04-04-2003
• ISSN: 1075-5470

The highest level of biodiversity in the modern world is contained in tropical South America. These high levels of biodiversity have been characterized as a geologically recent development. Findings are reported from analyses of caldera-lake beds exposed at Laguna del Hunco in Patagonia, Argentina. Data are presented describing 102 leaf species found at the site. Findings from radioisotopic and paleomagnetic analyses suggested that these flora were deposited some 52 million years in the past, during the early Eocene climatic optimum. During this period, tropical plant taxa reached the warm, equitable climates developing in the middle latitudes of both hemispheres. Results from the analysis suggested an ancient history of high plant diversity in warm regions of South America.