Sanping Xie

Lanzhou University | LZU · School of Earth Sciences

Dalbergia is a pantropical genus of Fabaceae with a limited fossil record. In this study we describe diverse and well-preserved Dalbergia fossils distributed through Cenozoic (Eocene to Pliocene) strata in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Comparison with newly collected modern samples from Eurasian forests and herbarium specimens allow accurate id...

Understanding the paleoenvironment and phytogeographical history of the Tibetan Plateau, China relieson discovering new plant fossils. The Qaidam Basin has long been regarded as an ideal ‘field laboratory’to investigate the paleoclimate and paleobiological evolution of the northern Tibetan Plateau. However,fossil angiosperms from the Qaidam Basin a...

A new species of Berothidae, Jersiberothamusivum sp. nov., is described and illustrated from mid-Cretaceous (lowest Cenomanian) Myanmar amber. It is easily distinguished from other species of Berothidae by the configuration of the wing venation including: forewing with distinct areas of infuscation surrounding cross-veins and vein forks, all cross-...

A fossil eudicot, Gansufructus saligna gen. et sp. nov., is reported from the Early Cretaceous (late Aptian-early Albian) of the Gansu Province, Northwest China, based on numerous well-preserved axes with attached leaves and infructescences. The leaves are alternate, short petiolate and linear-lanceolate with low rank pinnate to reticulate venation...

Camptotheca Decaisne, an endemic genus with three species confined in central and southern China, is medically important for its anticancer effects. Fossil records indicate extinct genera Amersinia Manchester, Crane & Golovneva and Browniea Manchester et Hickey represented Palaeogene members of the Nyssaceae family resembling extant Camptotheca Dec...

A new species of dance fly, Alavesia tripudii sp. nov., (Diptera, Empidoidea, Atelestidae), archived in a piece of mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber was described and illustrated based on two individuals of different genders, and a cladistics analysis was also performed to establish its phylogenetic position. Furthermore, our specimen showed a remarkabl...

The living fossil Craigia consists only two species Craigia yunnanensis W.W. Smith et W.E. Evans and Craigia kwangsiensis H.H. Hsue, endemic to East Asia. Craigia is a typical palaeoendemic genus, with an extensive fossil record in the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe and Asia); but there is a temporospatial gap between its fossil occurre...

Equisetum (Equisetaceae, Equisetales) is widely distributed around the world and distinguished by obviously jointed stems with longitudinal ridges or furrows. Recently, fossil materials collected from the Shangganchaigou Formation of northwestern Qaidam Basin, China, are assigned to Equisetum based on the presence of jointed stems, longitudinal rid...

Fossils are critical for understanding the environmental changes and uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau during the Cenozoic. As the largest inland basin located at the northeastern plateau, Qaidam Basin has been regarded as the key region to understand the climatic changes in the plateau during the Cenozoic. Herein, fossil legumes from the Oligo...

As the largest inland basin in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, Qaidam Basin has traditionally been thought of as the key region to study the Cenozoic climatic changes in the plateau; however, the information from a palaeobotanic respect is still lacking because of the paucity of the fossil plants. Fossil fruits and foliage of Ailanthus (Simarouba...

Drynarioid ferns comprise a large group in the Polypodiaceae family and are characterised by anastomosing venation and line of abscission between the pinna and the costa. In this paper, after morphological comparison with other ferns, we report and describe a new species, Drynaria diplosticha Y. Yu and S. P. Xie, sp. nov. from the upper Miocene sed...

The cover image, by Zixi Wang et al., is based on the Research Article A new species of Garcinia (Clusiaceae) from the middle Miocene of Fujian, China, and a phytogeographic analysis, https://doi.org/10.1111/gj.3228.

Podocarpium (Fabaceae), characterized by single seeded pods and paripinnate compound leaves, is well known as an extinct legume genus having extensive fossil occurrences from the Miocene of Central Europe and eastern Asia. However, the Palaeogene unambiguous megafossils are quite scarce, especially the Oligocene record from eastern Asia, which heav...

Yunnan in SW China is a world renowned hotspot for diverse species of vascular plants such as ferns. However, fossil records of the Cenozoic ferns there are insufficient to clarify their phylogeny and historical biogeography from a geological perspective. Among these derived ferns, the monogeneric family Oleandraceae, with a pantropic distribution,...

Three species within the genus Calophyllum collected from middle Miocene Fotan Group sediments in Zhangpu County, Fujian, southeastern China are described in this paper. These fossils include Calophyllum zhangpuensis sp. nov., Calophyllum striatum, and Calophyllum suraikholaensis. The new fossil species C. zhangpuensis sp. nov. is oval, possesses e...

Yunnan Province is rich in resources of modern ferns. Understanding the origin and the diversity history of Yunnan ferns must learn from fossil records. Some new materials including one sterile frond and two humus fronds of the genus Drynaria were found in recent collections. These new specimens allow us to revise the previous fossil species Drynar...

Albizzia is a leguminous genus belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae with approximately 150 modern species, widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia and America. Among them, 17 species are mainly distributed in southern and southwestern China. Abundant fossils of the subfamily Mimosoideae, including lea...

Some well‐preserved Garcinia leaves were collected from middle Miocene deposits from the Fotan Group of Zhangpu County, Fujian, southeast China. Based on leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics, a new species was established, Garcinia zhangpuensis sp. nov. The leaves were elliptic with an acute apex, they had a major secondary vein meeting...

The first megafossil record of the genus Neolepisorus Ching from the late Miocene of Yunnan Province, SW China, is reported. Neolepisorus chingii sp. nov. is represented by a simple fertile frond with one line exindusiate, elliptic-fusiform sori along the lower part of the midrib, and a basal contractive sterile frond with a sinuolate margin. The v...

In Europe, fossil fruits and seeds of Rhodoleia (Hamamelidaceae) have been described from the Upper Cretaceous to the Miocene, whereas no fossil record of Rhodoleia has been reported in Asia, where the modern species occur. Herein, 21 fossil leaves identified as Rhodoleia tengchongensis sp. nov. are described from the Upper Pliocene of Tengchong Co...

The genus Ventilago Gaertn. usually occurs in hot, dry, and low-altitude tropical environment. The fossil record of this genus is meager, so its origin and geographic history are still poorly understood. We describe a fossil winged fruit species—Ventilago lincangensis K. N. Liu & S. P. Xie sp. nov. from the upper Miocene Bangmai Formation of Lincan...

Two fossil fern species, Drynaria propinqua (Wall. ex Mett.) J. Sm. ex Bedd. and Humata henryana (Bak.) Ching from the late Miocene Lincang flora, Southwest China, are recognized and described based on frond (pinna) macrofossils. D. propinqua is characterized by round sori without indusium, attached both sides of midrib, and the so-called “Drynaria...

Premise of research. The origin and phytogeographic history of Citrus (Rutaceae) is poorly known, partly because of the very limited fossil record of this genus. Our newly discovered fossil materials confirm the existence of Citrus in the late Miocene in Asia. Methodology. Fossil leaves were collected from the field, carefully exposed in the labora...

Lindera is a large genus of graceful, pleasantly scented and common native trees and shrubs of southern China and neighboring regions of SE Asia. There is a well‐documented Cenozoic fossil record not only in these regions but also from elsewhere. A new fossil leaf record has been found in diatomite beds from the Upper Pliocene Mangbang Formation of...

Macrofossils of Carpinus have been widely reported from the Cenozoic of the Northern Hemisphere. However, the leaf cuticules of the genus have rarely been described. A new species, named Carpinus tengchongensis Dai et B.N. Sun, sp. nov., is identified based on 13 leaf fossils, collected from the late Pliocene Mangbang Formation, Tengchong County of...

The genus Fraxinus was one of well represented fossil records in the Northern Hemisphere in the Paleogene and Neogene. Fraxinus cf. honshuensis is first-time recognized and described in Lincang area, Yunnan Province, China. Furthermore, morphological parameters of 12 fossil species and 9 extent species of Fraxinus samaras were measured in order to...

Based on leaf physiognomy of the Late Pliocene Tuantian megaflora from the Mangbang Formation of Tengchong County in western Yunnan, a quantitative reconstruction of palaeoclimate was performed with Leaf Margin Analysis (1,MA) methodology and the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP). The latter produced the following parameters: mean...

Two types of fronds belonging to a new species, Drynaria dimorpha sp. nov., are described from the upper Pliocene Mangbang Formation in western Yunnan, southwestern China. The base frond is lobate and the lobes are incised up to 2/3 or more of the width. The foliage frond is preserved as individual fertile or sterile pinnae with serrated margin and...

A better theoretical and practical understanding of the linkage between paleo-CO2 and climate during geological history is important to enhance the sustainable development of modern human society. Development in plant physiology since the 1980s has led to the realization that fossil plants can serve as a proxy for paleoatmosphere and paleobiosphere...

Neogene climates and vegetation history of western Yunnan are reconstructed on the basis of known fossil plants using the Coexistence Approach (CA) and Leaf Margin Analysis (LMA). Four Neogene leaf floras from Tengchong, Jianchuan and Eryuan in southwestern China are analyzed by the CA, and the paleoclimatic data of one Miocene carpoflora from Long...

Well preserved late Pliocene–early Pleistocene megafossil leaves of Betula yunnanensis Zhi-Cheng Lin et Bai-Nian Sun sp. nov. were collected from the Mangbang Formation in southeastern Tengchong County, West Yunnan Province, China. Species determination was achieved by comparing the leaf architecture, cuticle and fine venation of the newly discover...

Specimens of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) were collected from the upper Pliocene of western Yunnan Province, which is a new geographical and age range record of engelhardioid winged fruits in China. A numerical taxonomic investigation based on 14 morphological characters of fossil and extant specimens of engelhardioid winged fruits in China was condu...

After detailed studies of leaf area, leaf shape index, petiole length, stomatal density, stomatal index, and carbon isotope discrimination of Ginkgo biloba L., growing in Northwest China, the change trends of these parameters with an altitude gradient and their differences between sun and shade leaves were assessed. The results show that leaf area,...

Solenites vimineus (Phillips) Harris (Ginkgophyta) specimens with well-preserved cuticles were collected from five different beds in the oil shale member of the Middle Jurassic Yaojie Formation in the Yaojie Basin, Gansu Province, northwestern China. Gross morphology and fine structures of the fossil leaves were studied, and stomatal parameters wer...

Eight fossil leaves identified as Exbucklandia tengchongensis sp. nov. (Hamamelidaceae) were collected from the Pliocene Mangbang Formation in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The fossil leaves are characterized by the overall rounded lamina with entire margin, actinodromous venation, and cyclocytic stomata, which suggest the affinity w...

Estimating the paleoclimate changes through CO2 levels has become a promising area of geological research. This paper focuses on analysis of fossil Ginkgo in continuous sedimentary series in northwestern China using plant anatomy and organic geochemistry approaches. The CO2 variation curve during Early and Middle Jurassic is reconstructed based on...

An angiosperm compression flora is found in Palaeogene from Lanzhou Basin and the cuticular analysis of Populus davidiana Dode in the flora is carefully made. Furthermore, the fossil cuticles are compared with the epidermal structures of extant Populus leaves growing in different environments, i.e. moist, semimoist, and semiarid to arid climatic re...