Mid Miocene–Last Interglacial Callitris (Cupressaceae) from south-eastern Australia

Abstract

Callitris Vent., is the most speciose of the Southern Hemisphere Cupressaceae (conifer) genera, with species indigenous to Australia and New Caledonia. While most other Southern Hemisphere conifers are restricted to wet climates, Callitris species occupy a broad range of habitats, from the margins of rainforests to arid Australia. This study examines fossilized Callitris foliage collected from three south-eastern Australian sites ranging in age from middle Miocene to the Last Interglacial. The oldest, middle Miocene, fossils are from Yallourn, southern Victoria and represent a new (extinct) species, Callitris blackburnii. Much younger, early Pleistocene (~ 1.59 Ma), fossils are from four sli..