Malvaceae Info (Home)
Fossil Index
Fossil material of plants can be difficult to identify as to species, genus, or larger taxonomic units, as usually what is found is individual parts of plants, such as wood, leaves, flowers, fruits or pollen, and these are often insufficient for identification, particularly for older material which is less closely related to modern material, and may be less well preserved. Consequently, and as fossils of one plant part often cannot be unambigiously associated with those of another plant part, palaeobotanists use form genera to classify parts of plants of uncertain taxonomic position. The suffices -pollis and -pollenites are sometimes used with generic names, indicating a similarity with the pollen of the modern genus whose name is combined with that suffix. It cannot be assumed that fossil pollen represents a species particularly close to the modern genus; for example much Malvacipollis is euphorbiaceous rather than malvaceous.
Material on fossil pollen often omits the taxonomic position of the material, and I have probably omitted some genera which are considered malvaceous; for example, Thomsonipollis is a segregate from Intratriporopollenites, but I don't whether the segregator placed the former in the same taxon (Malvaceae sensu lato) as the latter. (Species of Thomsonipollis include T. magnificus, T. magnificoides, T. sabinetownensis, T. expolitus and T. gracilis.) The botanical affinities of Suprapollis variabilis are said to be unknown, but it looks rather grewioid (i.e. malvaceous) to my untutored eye.
The fossil record of pollen is sufficiently rich that I am in the process of dividing my notes into separate pages on echinate, prolate and oblate pollen. Echinate pollen characterises Malvoideae and some Bombacoideae, but is also prevalent in a number of other families such as Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Consequently there have been a number of mistaken assignments of pollen to Malvoideae (formerly Malvaceae) and Bombacoideae (formerly Bombacaceae).
Pollen ascribed to Abutilon is recorded from the Middle Oligocene of Puerto Rico [1].
Abutilonacidites bohaiensis is recorded from the Miocene Minghuazhen Formation of China [2]. Abutilonacidites is a junior synonym of Malvacipollis [3]
Baumannipollis is a pollen genus from the middle Tertiary of South America, believed to represent the pollen of a malvoid plant related to Hibiscus [4]. Pollen of this genus is spinose (echinate) and stephanocolporate.
Baumannipollis chubutensis Barreda is recorded from the Miocene Cerro Morado Formation of Argentina [4] and also from the Pliocene, and perhaps also from the late Oligocene, of Argentina [4, 5, 26], described as being from a malvaceous aquatic herb [4, 3].
Baumannipollis evae Anzótegui y Cuadrado is recorded from the Upper Miocene of Argentina [5].
Baumannipollis variaperturatus Barreda is recorded from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, and perhaps also Middle Miocene, of Argentina [5, 3].
Pollen ascribed to Camptostemon is recorded from the Miocene of Borneo [46], and the Pleistocene of East Java and Australia.
Echiperiporites is a form genus containing species of varying affinities. Echiperiporities akanthos, recorded from Brasil and Tibet, is said to be araceous (Sagittaria/Echinodorus); Echitricolporites lophatus is said to be convolulaceous; Echiperiporites scabrannulatus is said to be of unknown affinity.
Echiperiporites estelae Germeraad, Hopping and Muller is recorded from the Lower Miocene of the Gulf of Siam [6], the Miocene Heath Formation of Peru [a], the Middle Eocene [49], Oligocene amd Miocene of Columbia, and the Upper Eocene to Lower Miocene of Venezuela [25, 43]. It is also recorded from the Eocene or Miocene of West Africa [23] .
Echiperiporites parviechinatus Anzótegui y Cuadrado [5] and Echiperiporites santamariana are recorded from the Middle Miocene of Argentina [5].
Echiperiporites jutaiensis ...
Echiperiporites rotundus Kemp ...
Echiperiporites icacinoides ...
Echiperiporites tschudyi N.O. Fred. ...
Echiperiporites akanthos is recorded from the Palaeogene of Tibet.
Echiperiporities, unspecified as to species, is recorded from the Palaeocene of Pakistan [42], the Late Palaeocene of Columbia [49], the Upper Eocene of Venezuela, the lower Miocene of Panama and the Upper Miocene of Veracruz (Mexico) [62].
Echitricolporites maristellae is common in the Lower Miocene of western Venezuela, and is used a biostratigraphic zone fossil. It is of uncertain taxonomic affinity, but it has been proposed that it is malvoid or bombacoid. It represents a plant of back-mangrove swamps [25]. ?It is also recorded from Brasil, as Malvacipolloides maristellae?
Echitricolporites mcneillyi is recorded from the Pliocene of Columbia.
Echitricolporites spinosus is recorded from the Miocene and Pleistocene of Columbia. It is said to be asteraceous.
These form genera presumably represent the pollen similar to that of Hibiscus and related genera, and may be orthographic variants.
Hibisceaepollenites splendus is recorded from the Miocene of Mizoram (India) [7]
Hibisceaepollenites robustispinosus is recorded from the Oligocene Tikat Parbat Formation of Assam [8] and Holocene of Maharashtra (India) [45].
Pollen of Hoheria ("a very small Malvacipollis type") is recorded from the Middle Eocene of Texas [27]. I am skeptical of this identification.
Magnaperiporites is a segregate from Echiperiporites, from which it differs in the large size of the grains and the possession of a perforate tectum [21]. The latter is generally considered to be malvaceous, but it may be unwarranted to assume that Magnaperiporites also is, and Magnaperiporites may be convolvulaceous.
The type species is Magnaperiporites spinosus
Magniperiporites echinatus is recorded from the Miocene Heath Formation of Peru [a].
Magnaperiporites paleocenicus,
Malvacearumpollis is a form genus for pollen similar to that of living Malvaceae sensu strictu. It is recorded from the Oligocene Tikat Parbat Formation of Assam [8], the Miocene Heath Formation of Peru [a], and from the Miocene Sindhudurg Formation of peninsula India [63]. A record of Malva cearupolis from the Palaeogene Cullen Formation of Tierra del Fuego [9] looks to represent a misspelling of this.
Malvacearumpollis acuta
Malvacearumpollis africana
Malvacearumpollis bakonyensis Nagy is recorded from the Miocene(?) Cuddalore Sandstone of Tamil Nadu [10], and the Eocene-Oligocene boundary of Australia.
Malvacearumpollis csolnokensis
Malvacearumpollis dispinus is recorded from the Pliocene Santan Formation of China. [2]
Malvacearumpollis estelae
Malvacearumpollis grandis
Malvacearumpollis indicus
Malvacearumpollis magnus is recorded from the Pliocene Santan Formation of China. [2]
Malvacearumpollis majus
Malvacearumpollis mannanensis is recorded from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australia [30]. and the Tertiary of New Zealand [34].
Malvacearumpollis minor is recorded from the Miocene of Yunnan and Xinjiang. [2]
Malvacearumpollis minutus
Malvacearumpollis miocenicus
Malvacearumpollis nagyae
Malvacearumpollis paucibaculatus
Malvacearumpollis papuensis is recorded from the Upper Tertiary of Papua [b]. It may represent the pollen of Camptostemon.
Malvacearumpollis pleistocenicus
Malvacearumpollis rotundus
Malvacearumpollis rudis
Malvacearumpollis taiwanensis
Malvacearumpollis taxiheensis
Malvacearumpollis viriosus
Malvaceidites spinosus is recorded from the Upper Tertiary of Papua [b] and the Holocene of Maharashtra (India) [45].
Malvacipollis is a form genus for pollen similar to that of living mallows. Much material assigned to this genus is in fact euphorbiaceous (Euphorbiaceae also has echinate pollen) rather than malvaceous.
Malvacipollis is recorded from the Middle Miocene of Argentina [2].
The name Malvacipollis diversus WK Harris is recorded from the Palaeogene of New Zealand. It may be euphorbiaceous. [34]
Malvacipollis spinyspora is recorded from the Neogene of New Zealand. It may be euphorbiaceous (Micrantheum). [34] An alternative interpretation associates it with Selenothamnus (here treated as a synonym of Lawrencia)
Malvacipollis spinulosa is recorded from the Lower Miocene of the Maracaibo Basin of western Venezuela. [25], and from the Upper Eocene and Oligocene of the Barinas–Apure Basin also of western Venezuela [43]. It may be euphorbiaceous.
Malvacipollis subtilis is recorded from the Tertiary of New Zealand [34] and Tasmania. It may be euphorbiaceous (Austrobuxus).
Malvacipollis (Echiperiporites) tschudyi is a pollen morphospecies that may belong to an euphorbiaceous plant, rather than a malvaceous one. It is recorded from the Lower Tertiary of the United States [7].
Malvacipollis problematicus is recorded from the Upper Tertiary of Papua [b].
Malvacipollis dispinus.
Malvacipollis minor.
Malvasipollis may be an orthographic variant of Malvacipollis. This is tentatively recorded from the Early Eocene of Wyoming. [29]
Malvacipolloides represents tricolporate pollen with a (presumed) affinity to Malvaceae.[4] It is recorded from the Palaeogene Cullen Formation of Tierra del Fuego [9]
Malvacipolloides densiechinata is recorded from the Upper Miocene of Argentina (Parana Formation) [5 ]
Malvacipolloides comodoroensis Barreda is recorded from the Miocene Cerro Morado Formation of Argentina [4]
Malvacipolloides comodoroensis Barreda is recorded from the Oligocene or early Miocene to Pliocene of Argentina [45 ], and is described as being from a malvaceous aquatic herb [4, 3].
Malvacipolloides tucumanensis is recorded from the Middle and Upper Miocene of Argentina. It is tricolporate. [5].
Malvacipolloides maristellae is recorded from Brasil. It is said to be bombacaceous.
Malvapantocolporites is a form genus including oligopantocolporate and oligopantocolpoidate pollen, presumably with an echinate tectum. It is recorded from the Middle Miocene of Argentina, where the species M. rafaelii, M. sanjoseii, M. silvinites are recorded. [5]
Malvatriporites argentina is recorded from the Eocene to Middle Oligocene of Argentina [5], and Malvatriporites sanjosesii from the Middle Miocene of Argentina [5].
This form genus presumably represents pollen similar to that of Malvaceae. As the pollen of Malvaceae has been confused with other plants with echinate pollen, one can't be confident that this does represent Malvaceaous pollen, without further information.
Palaeomalvaceaepollis mammilatus is recorded from the Miocene of Mizoram (India) [7]. Palaeomalvaceaepollis rudis is recorded from the Neogene (Surma Group, Tipam Sandstone Formation, Gurujan Clay Formation) of Assam [11]. Palaeomalvaceaepollis paucispinosus is recorded from the Palaeogene of north east India [].
Pollen questionably attributable to Plagianthus is recorded from the Late Eocene of Texas [27]. I am skeptical of this identification. Plagianthus pollen is also recorded from the Neogene of New Zealand. [34]
Pollen attributed to Sphaeralcea is recorded from the Upper Miocene of Argentina (Parana Formation) [5].
References
Bibliography
Trochetiopsis-like pollen is recorded from the late Miocene of St. Helena [40].
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