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Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Farnsworth, Alexander; Huang, Jian; Del Rio, Cédric; Deng, Tao; Ding, Lin; and
(2020).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012647117
Abstract
Tibet’s ancient topography and its role in climatic and biotic evo- lution remain speculative due to a paucity of quantitative surface- height measurements through time and space, and sparse fossil records. However, newly discovered fossils from a present eleva- tion of ∼4,850 m in central Tibet improve substantially our knowl- edge of the ancient Tibetan environment. The 70 plant fossil taxa so far recovered include the first occurrences of several modern Asian lineages and represent a Middle Eocene (∼47 Mya) humid subtropical ecosystem. The fossils not only record the diverse com- position of the ancient Tibetan biota, but also allow us to constrain the Middle Eocene land surface height in central Tibet to ∼1,500 ± 900 m, and quantify the prevailing thermal and hydrological re- gime. This “Shangri-La”–like ecosystem experienced monsoon sea- sonality with a mean annual temperature of ∼19 °C, and frosts were rare. It contained few Gondwanan taxa, yet was composi- tionally similar to contemporaneous floras in both North America and Europe. Our discovery quantifies a key part of Tibetan Paleo- gene topography and climate, and highlights the importance of Tibet in regard to the origin of modern Asian plant species and the evolution of global biodiversity.
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About
- Item ORO ID
- 74261
- Item Type
- Journal Item
- ISSN
- 0027-8424
- Keywords
- biodiversity; fossil; monsoon; Tibetan Plateau; topography
- Academic Unit or School
-
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Physical Sciences - Copyright Holders
- © 2020 The Authors.
- Depositing User
- Sarah Sherlock