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Roystonea palaea is an extinct species of palm known from fossil flowers found in the early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.[1][2] The species is known from a single staminate flower and a single pistillate flower both preserved in the same piece of amber.[1] The amber specimen bearing the holotype and paratype is currently deposited in the collections of the Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, as number "Sd–9–101", where it was studied and described by George Poinar.[1] Poinar published his 2002 type description for R. palaea in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 139.[1] The species' second name is taken from the Greek word palaios meaning "ancient".[1] The amber specimen bearing the flowers was excavated from the La Toca mine northeast of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.[1]

Roystonea palaea Temporal range: Burdigalian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Roystonea
Species:	†R. palaea
Binomial name
†Roystonea palaea Poinar, 2002

Taxonomy

R. palaea has been placed in the Arecoideae genus Roystonea, which has ten modern genera native to the islands of the Caribbean, and to Florida, Central and South America.[1]

Description

Many of the characters used to separate modern species of Roystonea, including coloration, are not visible in the preserved flowers.[1] The fossil flowers have darkened to shades of brown, with only the anthers retaining a light whitish color.[1] Of the modern genera the R. palaea flowers are similar in structure, R. oleracea and R. dunlapiana both having a similar petal to sepal length ratio.[1] R. palaea is most distinguishable from modern species by the large size of the calyx. The three species differ in the shape and length of their sepals, R. palaea having the longest of the species while R. dunlapiana has the shortest.[1] R. oleracea also possesses longer anthers at 3.5–4.7 millimetres (0.14–0.19 in)which are recurved at the tips, unlike R. palaea, with anthers 1.7–3.1 millimetres (0.067–0.122 in) and straight. Along with the shorter sepal length R. dunlapiana also has purple anthers, differing from the light-colored anthers of R. palaea.[1]

Possible ecology

Of note is the damage which is present on the pistillate flower. One side of the flower is preserved, having the peranth ripped off exposing the center of the flower and the developing fruit, which has two scratches on the exposed side.[1] Poinar proposes that the damages may have occurred due to an herbivore seizing the flower and subsequently dropping it in the soft tree resin, which afterward fossilized. This is supported by many of the modern Roystonea species having oily fruits that are eaten by a number of bird and bat species.[1]

References

На других языках

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- [en] Roystonea palaea

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[es] Roystonea palaea

Roystonea palaea es una especie de palmera extinta conocida por fósiles de flores hallados en un Ámbar dominicano del Mioceno temprano de la época Burdigaliana en depósitos de la isla La Española.[1][2] La especie es conocida por una flor estaminada (masculine) y una pistilada (femenina) preservadas en la misma pieza de ámbar.[1] La muestra de ámbar del specimen usada para en holotipo y el paratipo están depositadas en la colección de la Universidad Estatal de Oregón en Corvallis, Oregón, con el número "Sd–9–101", donde fue estudiada y descripta por el Dr. George Poinar.[1] Poinar publicó su descripción tipo en 2002 de R. palaea en la Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 139.[1] El epíteto específico fue tomado de la palabra griega palaios que significa "antiguo".[1] La muestra de ámbar contentiva de las flores fue excavada en mina La Toca al noreste de Santiago de los Caballeros, República Dominicana.[1]

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