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Premise of the Study: The fossil record of Agathis historically has been restricted to Australasia. Recently described fossils from the Eocene of Patagonian Argentina showed a broader distribution than found previously, which is reinforced here with a new early Paleocene Agathis species from Patagonia. No previous phylogenetic analyses have included fossil Agathis species. Methods: We describe macrofossils from Patagonia of Agathis vegetative and reproductive organs from the early Danian, as well as leaves with Agathis affinities from the latest Maastrichtian. A total evidence phylogenetic analysis is performed, including the new Danian species together with other fossil species having agathioid affinities. Key Results: Early Danian Agathis immortalis sp. nov. is the oldest definite occurrence of Agathis and one of the most complete Agathis species in the fossil record. Leafy twigs, leaves, pollen cones, pollen, ovuliferous complexes, and seeds show features that are extremely similar to the living genus. Dilwynites pollen grains, associated today with both Wollemia and Agathis and known since the Turonian, were found in situ within the pollen cones. Conclusions: Agathis was present in Patagonia ca. 2 million years after the K‐Pg boundary, and the putative latest Cretaceous fossils suggest that the genus survived the K–Pg extinction. Agathis immortalis sp nov. is recovered in a stem position for the genus, while A. zamunerae (Eocene, Patagonia) is recovered as part of the crown. A Mesozoic divergence for the Araucariaceae crown group, previously challenged by molecular divergence estimates, is supported by the combined phylogenetic analyses including the fossil taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of the Study: We describe a new araucarian species, Araucaria lefipanensis, from the Late Cretaceous flora of the Lefipán Formation, in Patagonia (Argentina) based on reproductive and vegetative remains, with a combination of characters that suggest mosaic evolution in the Araucaria lineage. Methods: The studied fossils were found at the Cañadón del Loro locality. Specimens were separated into two leaf morphotypes, and their morphological differences were tested with MANOVA. Key Results: The new species Araucaria lefipanensis is erected based on the association of dimorphic leaves with cuticle remains and isolated cone scale complexes. The reproductive morphology is characteristic of the extant section Eutacta, whereas the vegetative organs resemble those of the sections Intermedia, Bunya, and Araucaria (the broad‐leaved clade). Conclusions: The leaf dimorphism of A. lefipanensis is similar to that of extant A. bidwillii, where dimorphism is considered to be related to seasonal growth. The leaf dimorphism in A. lefipanensis is consistent with the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions previously suggested for the Lefipán Formation, which is thought to have been a seasonal subtropical forest. The new species shows evidence of mosaic evolution, with cone scale complexes morphologically similar to section Eutacta and leaves similar to the sections of the broad‐leaved clade, constituting a possible transitional form between these two well‐defined lineages. More complete plant concepts, especially those including both reproductive and vegetative remains are necessary to understand the evolution of ancient plant lineages. This work contributes to this aim by documenting a new species that may add to the understanding of the early evolution of the sections of Araucaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

283I.283II.284III.284IV.287V.288288References288 Summary: Evolutionary divergence‐age estimates derived from molecular ‘clocks’ are frequently correlated with paleogeographic, paleoclimatic and extinction events. One prominent hypothesis based on molecular data states that the dominant pattern of Southern Hemisphere biogeography is post‐Gondwanan clade origins and subsequent dispersal across the oceans in a metaphoric ‘Green Web’. We tested this idea against well‐dated Patagonian fossils of 19 plant lineages, representing organisms that actually lived on Gondwana. Most of these occurrences are substantially older than their respective, often post‐Gondwanan molecular dates. The Green Web interpretation probably results from directional bias in molecular results. Gondwanan history remains fundamental to understanding Southern Hemisphere plant radiations, and we urge significantly greater caution when using molecular dating to interpret the biological impacts of geological events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

* Premise of the study: Agathis is an iconic genus of large, ecologically important, and economically valuable conifers that range over lowland to upper montane rainforests from New Zealand to Sumatra. Exploitation of its timber and copal has greatly reduced the genus's numbers. The early fossil record of Agathis comes entirely from Australia, often presumed to be its area of origin. Agathis has no previous record from South America. * Methods: We describe abundant macrofossils of Agathis vegetative and reproductive organs, from early and middle Eocene rainforest paleofloras of Patagonia, Argentina. The leaves were formerly assigned to the New World cycad genus Zamia. * Key results: Agathis zamunerae sp. nov. is the first South American occurrence and the most complete representation of Agathis in the fossil record. Its morphological features are fully consistent with the living genus. The most similar living species is A. lenticula, endemic to lower montane rainforests of northern Borneo. * Conclusions: Agathis zamunerae sp. nov. demonstrates the presence of modern-aspect Agathis by 52.2 mya and vastly in creases the early range and possible areas of origin of the genus. The revision from Zamia breaks another link between the Eocene and living floras of South America. Agathis was a dominant, keystone element of the Patagonian Eocene floras, along side numerous other plant taxa that still associate with it in Australasia and Southeast Asia. Agathis extinction in South America was an integral part of the transformation of Patagonian biomes over millions of years, but the living species are disappearing from their ranges at a far greater rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of research. Phylogenetic relationships of Araucariaceae (Coniferophyta, Araucariales) are revised on the basis of the first combined data matrix for the family. Methodology. Taxon sampling includes 39 ingroup species (31 extant, 8 fossils) and outgroup species of all the remaining conifer families. Five fossil Araucaria species, one species of the genus Araucarites, and two species of the extinct genera Wairarapaia and Emwadea were included in the analyses. Character sampling includes 23 genomic regions (19 plastid, 2 nuclear, and 2 mitochondrial) and 62 morphological characters (52 discrete and 10 continuous). The phylogenetic analyses were conducted with equally weighted parsimony. Additionally, several analyses under different taxon- and gene-sampling regimes were analyzed for identifying the causes of the long-lasting controversies in the interrelationships of the three extant genera of Araucariaceeae. Pivotal results. Monophyletic Araucariaceae is the sister group of Podocarpaceae, forming the order Araucariales. Monophyly of Araucaria and Agathis is also strongly supported by the data. The results of both molecular and combined analyses indicate that Wollemia and Agathis form a clade (pagathioid clade) sister to Araucaria. Within Araucaria, the analyses support the monophyly of the four currently recognized sections: Araucaria, Bunya, Intermedia, and Eutacta. Results support the monophyly of living and fossil Araucaria (including Araucarites), whereas the remaining extinct genera are placed as the stem of the agathioid clade. In terms of the sensitivity analyses performed, results suggest that inconsistencies among previous results would be related to ingroup sampling. Conclusions. By means of a combined phylogenetic analysis, we have been able to obtain a strongly supported and well-resolved phylogeny of Araucariaceae that includes both living species and fossil species for the group. This study shows the feasibility and usefulness of phylogenetic analyses that incorporate multiple sources of evidence (molecules/morphology, living/fossil species, discrete/continuous characters). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of improving the knowledge on Triassic conifers resides in that the modern clades originated during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic. More than 30 conifer-like fossil woods are known from the Triassic strata of Argentina. Whereas some have not been linked to any family, others have been related to the "Protopinaceae", Taxaceae, Podocarpaceae, Araucariaceae, Cupressaceae, or Hirmeriellaceae (=Cheirolepidiaceae). The diversity of woods with anatomy close to derived conifers contrasts with the scarce Triassic record of leaves and micro and megasporangiate cones, which could be explained by a combination of taphonomic and evolutionary causes. In order to provide information to resolve this controversy, the anatomy and systematic affinities of Triassic permineralized conifer-like trunks and woods described to date for Argentina were reassessed. As a result of this review, it emerged that the woods previously assigned to Podocarpaceae and Taxaceae do not have enough preserved characters to support such assignment, or they have characters that are homoplasic in the context of Mesozoic gymnosperms and therefore their affinity is ambiguous. On the contrary, the reevaluation of the woods related to the Araucariaceae, Cupressaceae and Hirmeriellaceae (=Cheirolepidiaceae) allows us to support their affinity with these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Eocene floras of Patagonia document biotic response to the final separation of Gondwana. The conifer genus Araucaria, distributed worldwide during the Mesozoic, has a disjunct extant distribution between South America and Australasia. Fossils assigned to Australasian Araucaria Sect. Eutacta usually are represented by isolated organs, making diagnosis difficult. Araucaria pichileufensis E.W. Berry, from the middle Eocene Río Pichileufú (RP) site in Argentine Patagonia, was originally placed in Sect. Eutacta and later reported from the early Eocene Laguna del Hunco (LH) locality. However, the relationship of A. pichileufensis to Sect. Eutacta and the conspecificity of the Araucaria material among these Patagonian floras have not been tested using modern methods. Methods: We review the type material of A. pichileufensis alongside large (n = 192) new fossil collections of Araucaria from LH and RP, including multi‐organ preservation of leafy branches, ovuliferous complexes, and pollen cones. We use a total evidence phylogenetic analysis to analyze relationships of the fossils to Sect. Eutacta. Results: We describe Araucaria huncoensis sp. nov. from LH and improve the whole‐plant concept for Araucaria pichileufensis from RP. The two species respectively resolve in the crown and stem of Sect. Eutacta. Conclusions: Our results confirm the presence and indicate the survival of Sect. Eutacta in South America during early Antarctic separation. The exceptionally complete fossils significantly predate several molecular age estimates for crown Eutacta. The differentiation of two Araucaria species demonstrates conifer turnover during climate change and initial South American isolation from the early to middle Eocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]