The Cenozoic history of palms: Global diversification, biogeography and the decline of megathermal forests

• Published in: Global ecology and biogeography Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 425 - 439
• Main Authors: Lim, Jun Ying, Huang, Huasheng, Farnsworth, Alexander, Lunt, Daniel J., Baker, William J., Morley, Robert J., Kissling, W. Daniel, Hoorn, Carina, Jordan, Gregory
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Afrotropical region; Arecaceae; Biogeography; Cenozoic; Climate change; climatic niche modelling; Drying; Eocene; Eocene–Oligocene transition; Fossil pollen; fossil record; fossils; geographical distribution; Global cooling; habitats; Mangroves; Miocene; Miocene epoch; Niches; Oligocene; palaeoclimate; paleoclimatology; palynology; Pollen; Rain; rain forests; Rainforests; species diversity; Taxa; Trends; tropical forests; Tropical plants

Aim Megathermal rain forests and mangroves are much smaller in extent today than in the early Cenozoic, primarily owing to global cooling and drying trends since the Eocene–Oligocene transition (c. 34 Ma). The general reduction of these biomes is hypothesized to shape the diversity and biogeographic...