The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction appears to have been geographically heterogeneous for ... more The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction appears to have been geographically heterogeneous for some organismal groups. Southern Hemisphere K/Pg palynological records have shown lower extinction and faster recovery than in the Northern Hemisphere, but no comparable, well-constrained Southern Hemisphere macrofloras spanning this interval had been available. Here, macrofloral turnover patterns are addressed for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, using more than 3500 dicot leaves from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and the earliest Paleocene (Danian) of Argentine Patagonia. A maximum ca. 90% macrofloral extinction and ca. 45% drop in rarefied species richness is estimated across the K/Pg, consistent with substantial species-level extinction and previously observed extirpation of host-specialized leaf mines. However, prior palynological and taxonomic studies indicate low turnover of higher taxa and persistence of general floral composition in the same sections. High spec...
Many plant genera in the tropical West Pacific are survivors from the paleo-rainforests of Gondwa... more Many plant genera in the tropical West Pacific are survivors from the paleo-rainforests of Gondwana. For example, the oldest fossils of the Malesian and Australasian conifer Agathis (Araucariaceae) come from the early Paleocene and possibly latest Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina (West Gondwana). However, it is unknown whether dependent ecological guilds or lineages of associated insects and fungi persisted on Gondwanan host plants like Agathis through time and space. We report insect-feeding and fungal damage on Patagonian Agathis fossils from four latest Cretaceous to middle Eocene floras spanning ca. 18 Myr and compare it with damage on extant Agathis. Very similar damage was found on fossil and modern Agathis, including blotch mines representing the first known Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary crossing leaf-mine association, external foliage feeding, galls, possible armored scale insect (Diaspididae) covers, and a rust fungus (Pucciniales). The similar suite of damage, unique to ...
Fossil plants from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Aptian) of the La Cantera Formation, Argentina, ar... more Fossil plants from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Aptian) of the La Cantera Formation, Argentina, are described. The fossils studied represent a leafy shooting system with several orders of articulated and striated axes and attached leaves with unequivocal ephedroid affinity. We also found associated remains of ovulate cones with four whorls of sterile bracts, which contain two female reproductive units (FRU). Ovulate cone characters fit well within the genus Ephedra. Special characters in the ovulate cones including an outer seed envelope with two types of trichomes, allowed us to consider our remains as a new Ephedra species. Abundant dispersed ephedroid pollen obtained from the macrofossil-bearing strata also confirms the abundance of Ephedraceae in the basin. The co-occurrence of abundant fossil of Ephedra (adapted to dry habitats) associated with thermophilic cheirolepideacean conifer pollen (Classopollis) in the unit would suggest marked seasonality at the locality during the Ear...
The Southern Hemisphere may have provided biodiversity refugia after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K... more The Southern Hemisphere may have provided biodiversity refugia after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/Pg) mass extinction. However, few extinction and recovery studies have been conducted in the terrestrial realm using well-dated macrofossil sites that span the latest Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) and early Palaeocene (Danian) outside western interior North America (WINA). Here, we analyse insect-feeding damage on 3,646 fossil leaves from the latest Maastrichtian and three time slices of the Danian in Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina (palaeolatitude approximately 50° S). We test the southern refugial hypothesis and the broader hypothesis that the extinction and recovery of insect herbivores, a central component of terrestrial food webs, differed substantially from WINA at locations far south of the Chicxulub impact structure in Mexico. We find greater insect-damage diversity in Patagonia than in WINA during both the Maastrichtian and Danian, indicating a previously unknown insect richness. As in WINA, the total diversity of Patagonian insect damage decreased from the Cretaceous to the Palaeocene, but recovery to pre-extinction levels occurred within approximately 4 Myr compared with approximately 9 Myr in WINA. As for WINA, there is no convincing evidence for survival of any of the diverse Cretaceous leaf miners in Patagonia, indicating a severe K/Pg extinction of host-specialized insects and no refugium. However, a striking difference from WINA is that diverse, novel leaf mines are present at all Danian sites, demonstrating a considerably more rapid recovery of specialized herbivores and terrestrial food webs. Our results support the emerging idea of large-scale geographic heterogeneity in extinction and recovery from the end-Cretaceous catastrophe.
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction appears to have been geographically heterogeneous for ... more The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction appears to have been geographically heterogeneous for some organismal groups. Southern Hemisphere K/Pg palynological records have shown lower extinction and faster recovery than in the Northern Hemisphere, but no comparable, well-constrained Southern Hemisphere macrofloras spanning this interval had been available. Here, macrofloral turnover patterns are addressed for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, using more than 3500 dicot leaves from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and the earliest Paleocene (Danian) of Argentine Patagonia. A maximum ca. 90% macrofloral extinction and ca. 45% drop in rarefied species richness is estimated across the K/Pg, consistent with substantial species-level extinction and previously observed extirpation of host-specialized leaf mines. However, prior palynological and taxonomic studies indicate low turnover of higher taxa and persistence of general floral composition in the same sections. High spec...
Many plant genera in the tropical West Pacific are survivors from the paleo-rainforests of Gondwa... more Many plant genera in the tropical West Pacific are survivors from the paleo-rainforests of Gondwana. For example, the oldest fossils of the Malesian and Australasian conifer Agathis (Araucariaceae) come from the early Paleocene and possibly latest Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina (West Gondwana). However, it is unknown whether dependent ecological guilds or lineages of associated insects and fungi persisted on Gondwanan host plants like Agathis through time and space. We report insect-feeding and fungal damage on Patagonian Agathis fossils from four latest Cretaceous to middle Eocene floras spanning ca. 18 Myr and compare it with damage on extant Agathis. Very similar damage was found on fossil and modern Agathis, including blotch mines representing the first known Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary crossing leaf-mine association, external foliage feeding, galls, possible armored scale insect (Diaspididae) covers, and a rust fungus (Pucciniales). The similar suite of damage, unique to ...
Fossil plants from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Aptian) of the La Cantera Formation, Argentina, ar... more Fossil plants from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Aptian) of the La Cantera Formation, Argentina, are described. The fossils studied represent a leafy shooting system with several orders of articulated and striated axes and attached leaves with unequivocal ephedroid affinity. We also found associated remains of ovulate cones with four whorls of sterile bracts, which contain two female reproductive units (FRU). Ovulate cone characters fit well within the genus Ephedra. Special characters in the ovulate cones including an outer seed envelope with two types of trichomes, allowed us to consider our remains as a new Ephedra species. Abundant dispersed ephedroid pollen obtained from the macrofossil-bearing strata also confirms the abundance of Ephedraceae in the basin. The co-occurrence of abundant fossil of Ephedra (adapted to dry habitats) associated with thermophilic cheirolepideacean conifer pollen (Classopollis) in the unit would suggest marked seasonality at the locality during the Ear...
The Southern Hemisphere may have provided biodiversity refugia after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K... more The Southern Hemisphere may have provided biodiversity refugia after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/Pg) mass extinction. However, few extinction and recovery studies have been conducted in the terrestrial realm using well-dated macrofossil sites that span the latest Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) and early Palaeocene (Danian) outside western interior North America (WINA). Here, we analyse insect-feeding damage on 3,646 fossil leaves from the latest Maastrichtian and three time slices of the Danian in Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina (palaeolatitude approximately 50° S). We test the southern refugial hypothesis and the broader hypothesis that the extinction and recovery of insect herbivores, a central component of terrestrial food webs, differed substantially from WINA at locations far south of the Chicxulub impact structure in Mexico. We find greater insect-damage diversity in Patagonia than in WINA during both the Maastrichtian and Danian, indicating a previously unknown insect richness. As in WINA, the total diversity of Patagonian insect damage decreased from the Cretaceous to the Palaeocene, but recovery to pre-extinction levels occurred within approximately 4 Myr compared with approximately 9 Myr in WINA. As for WINA, there is no convincing evidence for survival of any of the diverse Cretaceous leaf miners in Patagonia, indicating a severe K/Pg extinction of host-specialized insects and no refugium. However, a striking difference from WINA is that diverse, novel leaf mines are present at all Danian sites, demonstrating a considerably more rapid recovery of specialized herbivores and terrestrial food webs. Our results support the emerging idea of large-scale geographic heterogeneity in extinction and recovery from the end-Cretaceous catastrophe.
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Papers by Ari Iglesias