Dating Suborder Polypodiineae (Eupolypods I) with Its Oldest Fossil — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Dating Suborder Polypodiineae (Eupolypods I) with Its Oldest Fossil
Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
,
Department of Micropaleontology, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
,
Department of Cenozoic Biological Evolution and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
1 Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
2 Department of Micropaleontology, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
3 Department of Cenozoic Biological Evolution and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, China
Inferring divergence times between lineages is crucial for understanding biological evolutionary processes. The extraordinary species diversity of Eupolypods within the fern lineage has been interpreted as an ecological opportunistic response to the emergence of more complex, angiosperm-dominated ecosystems. This co-adaptation between Eupolypods and angiosperms has prompted ongoing investigations into the phylogenetic and diversification timelines of Eupolypods. In this study, we incorporate newly discovered fossils of Dryopteridaceae, including two species from both the stem and crown groups, to reanalyze the phylogenetic and diversification times of Eupolypods using total-evidence dating (TED or tip-dating) methods. Our analyses confirm that Eupolypods first diversified during the Jurassic and suggest that both subclades, Polypodiineae and Aspleniineae, underwent their earliest diversification during this period, challenging recent claims that Polypodiineae diversified no earlier than the Cretaceous. These results support a “long fuse” model, indicating that the initial emergence of Polypodiales preceded their diversification and extensive fossil record. Furthermore, our findings clarify the systematic position of Hypodematiaceae, indicating that it, along with Didymochlaenaceae, represents the basal lineages of Polypodiineae. This study highlights the critical role of fossil abundance and taxonomic composition in molecular dating analyses.
Wang, Y. and Li, C. (2024) Inferring Eupolypods Divergence Time Using Bayesian Tip-dating. Open Journal of Geology , 14, 247-258. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2024.142013
Nitta, J.H., Schuettpelz, E., Ramírez-Barahona, S. and Iwasaki, W. (2022) An Open and Continuously Updated Fern Tree of Life. Frontiers in Plant Science , 13, Article 909768. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.909768
Du, X., Lu, J., Zhang, L., Wen, J., Kuo, L., Mynssen, C.M., et al. (2021) Simultaneous Diversification of Polypodiales and Angiosperms in the Mesozoic. Cladistics , 37, 518-539. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12457
Qi, X., Kuo, L., Guo, C., Li, H., Li, Z., Qi, J., et al. (2018) A Well-Resolved Fern Nuclear Phylogeny Reveals the Evolution History of Numerous Transcription Factor Families. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 127, 961-977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.043
Regalado, L., Schmidt, A.R., Krings, M., Bechteler, J., Schneider, H. and Heinrichs, J. (2017) Fossil Evidence of Eupolypod Ferns in the Mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar. Plant Systematics and Evolution , 304, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-017-1439-2
Testo, W. and Sundue, M. (2016) A 4000-Species Dataset Provides New Insight into the Evolution of Ferns. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 105, 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.003
Rothfels, C.J., Li, F., Sigel, E.M., Huiet, L., Larsson, A., Burge, D.O., et al. (2015) The Evolutionary History of Ferns Inferred from 25 Low-Copy Nuclear Genes. American Journal of Botany , 102, 1089-1107. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500089
Schuettpelz, E. and Pryer, K.M. (2009) Evidence for a Cenozoic Radiation of Ferns in an Angiosperm-Dominated Canopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 106, 11200-11205. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811136106
Pryer, K.M., Schuettpelz, E., Wolf, P.G., Schneider, H., Smith, A.R. and Cranfill, R. (2004) Phylogeny and Evolution of Ferns (Monilophytes) with a Focus on the Early Leptosporangiate Divergences. American Journal of Botany , 91, 1582-1598. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.91.10.1582
Schneider, H., Schuettpelz, E., Pryer, K.M., Cranfill, R., Magallón, S. and Lupia, R. (2004) Ferns Diversified in the Shadow of Angiosperms. Nature , 428, 553-557. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02361
Ppg, I. (2016) A Community-Derived Classification for Extant Lycophytes and Ferns. Journal of Systematics and Evolution , 54, 563-603. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12229
Chen, F., Deng, S.H. and Sun, K.Q. (1997) Early Cretaceous Athyrium Roth from Northeastern China. Journal of Palaeosciences , 46, 117-133. https://doi.org/10.54991/jop.1997.1356
Deng, S.H. and Chen, F. (2001) The Early Cretaceous Filicopsida from Northeast China. Geological Publishing House, 374.
Li, C., Ma, J., Hao, J. and Yang, Q. (2023) On the Systematic Position of the Early Cretaceous Fern Genus “Athyrium”. Palaeoworld , 32, 116-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2022.07.003
Regalado, L., Schneider, H., Müller, P. and Schmidt, A.R. (2023) Character Evolution of Modern Eupolypods Supports the Assignment of the Fossil Fern Cretacifilix Fungiformis to Dryopteridaceae. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , 11, Article 1162577. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1162577
Poinar Jr., G.O. and Buckley, R. (2008) Cretacifilix Fungiformis Gen. and sp. nov., an Eupolypod fern (Polypodiales) in Early Cretaceous Burmese Amber. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas , 2, 1175-1182.
Conran, J.G., Kaulfuss, U., Bannister, J.M., Mildenhall, D.C. and Lee, D.E. (2010) Davallia (Polypodiales: Davalliaceae) Macrofossils from Early Miocene Otago (New Zealand) with in Situ Spores. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology , 162, 84-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2010.06.001
Wu, J., Sun, B., Xie, S., Ding, S. and Wen, W. (2012) Dimorphic Fronds and in Situ Spores of Drynaria (Polypodiaceae) from the Upper Pliocene of Southwest China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology , 172, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2012.01.007
Ren, W., Wu, G., Han, L., Hua, Y. and Sun, B. (2022) New Species of Fossil Dryopterites from the Lower Cretaceous in the Zhongkouzi Basin, Beishan Area, Northwest China, and Its Geological Significance. Historical Biology , 35, 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2021.2022135
Lóriga, J., Schmidt, A.R., Moran, R.C., Feldberg, K., Schneider, H. and Heinrichs, J. (2014) The First Fossil of a Bolbitidoid Fern Belongs to the Early-Divergent Lineages of Elaphoglossum (Dryopteridaceae). American Journal of Botany , 101, 1466-1475. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1400262
Pigg, K.B. and Rothwell, G.W. (2001) Anatomically Preserved Woodwardia virginica (Blechnaceae) and a New Filicalean Fern from the Middle Miocene Yakima Canyon Flora of Central Washington, USA. American Journal of Botany , 88, 777-787. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657030
Rothwell, G.W. and Stockey, R.A. (1991) Onoclea Sensibilis in the Paleocene of North America, a Dramatic Example of Structural and Ecological Stasis. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology , 70, 113-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-6667(91)90081-d
Kvaček, Z. and Teodoridis, V. (2020) A New Oligocene fern of Dryopteridaceae from the České středohoří Mts (Czech Republic). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie — Abhandlungen , 295, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1127/njgpa/2020/0864
Vikulin, S.V. and Bobrov, A.E. (1987) A New Fossil Genus Protodrynaria ( Polypodiaceae ) from the Paleogene Flora of Tim (the South of the Middle Russian Upland). Botanicheskii Zhurnal , 72, 95-98. (In Russian)
Homes, A.M., Cieraad, E., Lee, D.E., Lindqvist, J.K., Raine, J.I., Kennedy, E.M., et al. (2015) A Diverse Fern Flora Including Macrofossils with in Situ Spores from the Late Eocene of Southern New Zealand. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology , 220, 16-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.04.007
Song, H., Naugolnykh, S.V., Wu, X., Liu, X. and Jin, J. (2022) Fertile Woodwardia from the Middle Eocene of South China and Its Implications for Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate. Plant Diversity , 44, 565-576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2021.09.003
Ma, X., Wang, A., Wang, F., He, C., Liu, D., Gerstberger, P., et al. (2018) A Revised Classification of Chinese Davalliaceae Based on New Evidence from Molecular Phylogenetics and Morphological Characteristics. PLOS ONE , 13, e0206345. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206345
Kuo, L., Li, F., Chiou, W. and Wang, C. (2011) First Insights into Fern Matk Phylogeny. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 59, 556-566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.010
Shang, H., Xue, Z., Liang, Z., Kessler, M., Pollawatn, R., Lu, N.T., et al. (2023) Splitting One Species into 22: An Unusual Tripling of Molecular, Morphological, and Geographical Differentiation in the Fern Family Didymochlaenaceae (Polypodiales). Cladistics , 39, 273-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12539
Shang, H., Liang, Z. and Zhang, L. (2021) Taxonomy of the Fern Genus Didymochlaena (Didymochlaenaceae) from Asia and Pacific Islands Based on Morphological and Molecular Evidence with the Description of Four New Species and One New Status. Phytotaxa , 479, 71-82. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.479.1.5
Fan, X., Thi Lu, N., Li, C., Knapp, R., He, H., Zhou, X., et al. (2022) Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Character Evolution in the Fern Family Hypodematiaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 166, Article ID: 107340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107340
Tsutsumi, C. and Kato, M. (2006) Evolution of Epiphytes in Davalliaceae and Related Ferns. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 151, 495-510. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2006.00535.x
Thorne, J.L. and Kishino, H. (2002) Divergence Time and Evolutionary Rate Estimation with Multilocus Data. Systematic Biology , 51, 689-702. https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150290102456
Xie, W., Lewis, P.O., Fan, Y., Kuo, L. and Chen, M. (2010) Improving Marginal Likelihood Estimation for Bayesian Phylogenetic Model Selection. Systematic Biology , 60, 150-160. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syq085
Ronquist, F., Teslenko, M., van der Mark, P., Ayres, D.L., Darling, A., Höhna, S., et al. (2012) Mrbayes 3.2: Efficient Bayesian Phylogenetic Inference and Model Choice across a Large Model Space. Systematic Biology , 61, 539-542. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys029
Zhang, C. (2021) Using Bayesian Tip-Dating Method to Estimate Divergence Times and Evolutionary Rates. Vertebrata Palasiatica , 4, 333-341. (In Chinese)
Zhang, C., Stadler, T., Klopfstein, S., Heath, T.A. and Ronquist, F. (2015) Total-Evidence Dating under the Fossilized Birth-Death Process. Systematic Biology , 65, 228-249. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syv080
Rambaut, A. (2012) FigTree, Version 1.4. http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree
Lehtonen, S. (2011) Towards Resolving the Complete Fern Tree of Life. PLOS ONE , 6, e24851. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024851
Zhang, L. and Zhang, L. (2015) Didymochlaenaceae: A New Fern Family of Eupolypods I (Polypodiales). TAXON , 64, 27-38. https://doi.org/10.12705/641.4