Work

Megafossils of Betulaceae from the Oligocene of Qaidam Basin and their paleoenvironmental and phytogeographic implications

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: . These findings, together with other reported fossil plants from the same locality, reveal a close floristic linkage between the Qaidam Basin and Europe during the Oligocene. The northern pathway of this floristic exchange may have crossed through the Qaidam Basin during the late Paleogene. This floristic linkage may have been facilitated by the continuous narrowing of the Turgai Strait and stronger westerlies, which transported moisture and provided favorable climatic conditions. Indeed, fossil plants collected from the Qaidam Basin suggest that during the Oligocene this region had warm and humid deciduous broad-leaf forest, which differs from the region's modern vegetation and indicates that the Qaidam Basin may have been a suitable region for these plants to flourish and spread during the Oligocene.

Source: Acta Botanica Yunnanica

DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2023.03.007