Cenozoic Ampelopsis and Nekemias leaves (Vitaceae, Ampelopsideae) from Eurasia: Paleobiogeographic and paleoclimatic implications

We describe a new species of Ampelopsideae (Vitaceae), Nekemias mucronata sp. nov., from the Rupelian of Cervera (Spain) and revise another fossil species, Ampelopsis hibschii, originally described from Germany. Comparison with extant Ampelopsideae suggests that the North American species Nekemias a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Tosal, Aixa|||0000-0002-1300-0312, Vicente, Alba|||0000-0002-0313-7104, Denk, Thomas
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:300125
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/300125
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1111/jse.13126
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cenozoic
Leaf fossils
Paleobiogeography
Paleoclimate
Vitaceae
Western Eurasia
Descripción
Sumario:We describe a new species of Ampelopsideae (Vitaceae), Nekemias mucronata sp. nov., from the Rupelian of Cervera (Spain) and revise another fossil species, Ampelopsis hibschii, originally described from Germany. Comparison with extant Ampelopsideae suggests that the North American species Nekemias arborea is most similar to Nekemias mucronata while the East Mediterranean Ampelopsis orientalis is the closest living relative of A. hibschii. Our review of fossil data indicates that, during the Eocene, four species of Ampelopsideae occurred in Eurasia, that is, N. mucronata in the Czech Republic, A. hibschii in Kazakhstan, and two fossil species in the Far East (Ampelopsis cercidifolia and Ampelopsis protoheterophylla). In the Oligocene, a new species, Ampelopsis schischkinii, appeared in Kazakhstan; meanwhile, N. mucronata spread eastwards and southwards, and A. hibschii mainly grew in Central Europe. In the late Oligocene, N. mucronata became a relict in the Iberian Peninsula and Nekemias might have persisted in Western Eurasia until the latest Miocene ("Ampelopsis" abkhasica). The last occurrence of A. hibschii was in the Middle Miocene in Bulgaria, probably a refuge of humid temperate taxa, along with Ampelopsis aff. cordata. Carpological remains suggest that this lineage persisted in Europe at least until the Pleistocene. Our data confirm previous notions of the North Atlantic and Bering land bridges being important dispersal routes for Ampelopsideae. However, such dispersion probably occurred during the Paleogene rather than the Neogene, as previously suggested. A single species of Ampelopsideae, A. orientalis, has survived in Western Eurasia, which appears to have been linked to a biome shift.