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(American Journal of Botany. 2007;94:1821-1827.)
© 2007 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Paleobotany

Swietenia (Meliaceae) flower in Late Oligocene–Early Miocene amber from Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, Mexico1

Carlos Castañeda-Posadas and Sergio R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz

Posgrado de Ciencias Biológicas; Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, México, D.F. C.P. 04510 Mexico; Departamento de Paleontología, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, México, D.F. C.P. 04510 Mexico

ABSTRACT

The amber of Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, Mexico, of Late Oligocene–Early Miocene age, has yielded a new flower representing the Meliaceae. The flower of Swietenia miocenica Castañeda-Posadas & Cevallos-Ferriz sp. nov. is characterized by small size; free calyx composed of five glabrous lobes, ciliolated along the margin lobes; corolla composed of five free, contortedly inserted petals with ciliolated margins; cylindrical staminal tube ending in 10 acuminate or toothed accessories and 10 sessile anthers; and a discoid stigma divided in five lobular stigmatic glands. The morphology of S. miocenica is well represented among Meliaceae. Although the new species shares many characters with Swietenia microphylla, small differences in the length and width of petals and the length of staminal tube support its recognition as a new species. The presence of this genus demonstrates the establishment of tropical communities in southern Mexico by the early Miocene and highlights the influence of the northern hemisphere flora on the extant neotropical flora of the area.

Key Words: fossil flower • Mexico • Miocene • Simojovel de Allende • Swietenia






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