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New legume fossils can provide a historical perspective of their early evolution and biogeographic history. Three legume species, Albizia ningmingensis sp. nov., Leguminocarpum sp. 1 and Leguminocarpum sp. 2, from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, are described on the basis of morphological and/or anatomical characteristics. Albizia ningmingensis sp. nov. bears a close resemblance to the extant species Albizia kalkora in morphology and anatomy and represents a reliable occurrence of Albizia in the Oligocene deposits of China. An incomplete fruit fossil is described as Leguminocarpum sp. 1, predominantly on the basis of anatomical characteristics. Fruits of Leguminocarpum sp. 2 are straight and strongly asymmetrical, with one straight suture and the other strongly constricted. The occurrence of Albizia fruits indicate that Albizia elements existed in the South China during the Oligocene. Our legume fossils, together with earlier records of three Bauhinia species, indicate that a flora with the unusual abundance of legumes was present in South China in the Oligocene. The legumes from the Ningming Formation, having a relatively high diversity, can contribute to the palaeoclimatic interpretation and indicate that the Oligocene Ningming flora most likely lived in a tropical-to-warm subtropical climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several three-dimensionally preserved Pinus female cones from the upper Miocene Shengxian Formation of Zhejiang Province, eastern China, were identified as two fossil species, Pinus preyunnanensis X.H. Xu and B.N. Sun sp. nov. and Pinus prekesiya Xing, Liu and Zhou. Morphologically, comparisons of P. preyunnanensis sp. nov. with previously published Cenozoic cones and related extant pine cones reveal that the present specimens differ from all of them. The new species has the closest affinity with the extant Pinus yunnanensis . The occurrence of P. preyunnanensis sp. nov. and P. prekesiya from the upper Miocene in Zhejiang, eastern China, indicates that 1) P. yunnanensis and Pinus kesiya (or their ancestral taxa) had a wider distribution during the late Miocene compared to the present; 2) P. yunnanensis and P. kesiya (or their ancestral taxa) disappeared from eastern China probably because of the prominent declining cold month mean temperature from the Miocene to the present; and 3) the differentiation of P. yunnanensis and P. kesiya can be traced back in eastern China to at least the late Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since gigantopterids are an enigmatic group of plants as they are grouped by their megaphyllous leaves with distinctive reticulate venation, their systematic relationships between each other are also so far essentially unknown. Clarifying these confusions about gigantopterids requires new information provided by more detailed studies of previously described and/or new material. Variations in venation can provide clues to explore the taxonomic relationships and diversity of gigantopterid taxa, even leading to an improved understanding of their biogeography. Recently, a gigantopterid-bearing plant assemblage was discovered from the Wuchiapingian Lungtan Formation of Qinglong County, Guizhou, China; some of which having the diagnostic venation pattern of gigantopterids are recognized here as Paragigantopteris qingloongensis gen. et sp. nov. The new genus has basal actinodromous venation with three primary veins radiating from the petiolar insertion and double meshes formed by the tertiary and occasionally quaternary veins, distinctly different from other double-meshed gigantopterid genera. P. qingloongensis gen. et sp. nov. is characterized by its obovate, entire margined, simple leaves. Together with previous studies, the taxonomic and biogeographic implications of Paragigantopteris gen. nov. are discussed. Since the new genus is characterized by megaphyllous leaves with angiosperm-like reticulate venation while lacking sutural veins, it conforms to the more restricted concept proposed by Glasspool et al. (2004a). Besides, the occurrence of Paragigantopteris gen. nov. known from a single deposit and its absence elsewhere may indicate that it was an endemic, rare taxon. • The new taxon has actinodromous venation with three primary veins and double meshes. • P. qingloongensis conforms to the more restricted concept of gigantopterid foliage. • It appears to be endemic as a result of a single monospecific occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of plant–insect interactions can provide valuable information about terrestrial ecosystems. A plant assemblage from the Toupi Formation of Jiangxi, China, provides indirect evidence of the plant–insect interactions that occurred in a Miocene forest community. A total of 123 dicot leaf specimens were examined and 25 of them showed traces of insect herbivory. Twenty-four damage types were identified and categorized into eight functional feeding groups. These traces indicate that insects interacted with these plants for various purposes, including feeding, sheltering and egg laying. To survey the responses of plant–insect interactions to climate conditions, the data on insect damage frequency and temperature variables from the Toupi assemblage and four other assemblages (from the middle Miocene to the early Pleistocene) from China were analyzed based on a linear stepwise regression analysis. The analysis suggests that there is a significant positive correlation between the damage frequency and the coldest month (mean) temperature (CMT) (R 2 = 0.709 and P =.047). The present result provides additional support for the hypothesis that the CMT, rather than the mean annual temperature, could be one of the factors influencing the frequency of damage in paleoflora communities. When compared to the four other assemblages, the Toupi assemblage has the lowest damage frequency which could be due to the lowest CMT. It is possible that a low CMT could result in a low insect metabolic rate per unit area and unit time, leading to a low frequency of insect attack and a low herbivory rate. • Plant–insect associations are firstly recorded from the Miocene of Jiangxi, China. • Twenty-four damage types grouped to eight functional feeding groups were identified. • Herbivorous insects interacted with plants for feeding, sheltering and egg laying. • The low damage frequency observed in the Toupi assemblage could be due to the low CMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]