New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

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The New Zealand fossil record of ferns for the past 85 million years

Ellen Cieraad
Daphne E. Lee

Department of Geology
University of Otago
PO Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand

Also
Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94062, 1090 GB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
ellencieraad@gmail.com

Abstract  The near-continuous record of the New Zealand terrestrial flora since the landmass broke away from Gondwana provides an excellent opportunity to assess the history of the pteridophyte flora in the region. A database of all published records of fossil ferns from the late Cretaceous onwards is presented, along with references to original reports. This compilation provides evidence for the time of arrival for fern lineages, continuity of their presence, and times of radiation, thereby greatly assisting the reconstruction of the history and biogeography of ferns in the region. Additionally, it provides a valuable source of lineage age estimates, which are required to calibrate the molecular clock for much needed molecular studies on pteridophytes.

Keywords  fern; pteridophyte; fossil record; index; lineage; age estimates; biogeography; late Cretaceous; Cenozoic; New Zealand

B05050; Received 22 November 2005; accepted 2 March 2006; Online publication date 2 May 2006
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2006, Vol. 44: 143–170
0028–825X/06/4402–0143 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2006

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