Progress on the study of mummified fossil woods from the Cenozoic of South China
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Abstract:
Although fossil woods are abundant in China, they are not as well-studied as fossil leaves. In addition, reports on these fossil woods are mainly focused on specimens from the north and southwest of China and are limited to their taxonomy. Studies on other aspects related to these fossil woods, such as their paleoclimatic and paleoecological implications are relatively rare. In most cases, these fossil woods are petrified or mineralized. Mummified fossil woods are very scarce. These mummified specimens have a unique and important value for the study of their taxonomy, phylogeny, and paleoclimate. Recently, a large number of mummified fossil woods were discovered and collected from the Cenozoic of South China, including the late Oligocene Yongning Formation of the Nanning Basin, and the Miocene Erzitang Formation of the Guiping Basin, Guangxi, and the Late Pleistocene sediments of the Maoming Basin, Guangdong. This paper summarizes the progress on the study of these mummified fossil woods, including the composition, paleovegetation, paleoclimate and paleoecology of the floras, as well as the phytogeographical history of Magnolia L., Syzygium Gaertn., and Liquidambar L. Based on the floristic composition of the flora, the growth rings and other anatomical characteristics of the woods, it was suggested that there is an evergreen (with a few deciduous) broad-leaved forest in a warm and humid subtropical seasonal climate during the late Oligocene in Nanning Basin of Guangxi; an evergreen-deciduous, broad-coniferous mixed forest in a warm and humid subtropical climate during the Miocene in the Guiping Basin, and an Guangxi; evergreen-deciduous and broad-coniferous mixed forest in a warm and humid subtropical to tropical monsoon climate in the Late Pleistocene of Maoming Basin, Guangdong. This report represents the first comprehensive study on the mummified fossil woods from low-latitude areas of China. The results, provide an important basis for the study of the evolution of the Cenozoic floras and their paleoenvironments.
