Calamoid fossil palm leaves and fruits (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) from Late Eocene Southland, New Zealand

Abstract

Late Eocene prickly-leaved and scaly-fruited palm macrofossils are described from Pikopiko, Southland, New Zealand, and compared with extant Arecaceae: Calamoideae. Lamina prickles and scaly fruits support affinities to the subfamily and tribe Calameae and possible association with the extant genus Calamus. Because isolated calamoid leaf fragments and fruit are difficult to determine precisely, the fossils are placed into a new form genus (Calamoides) for the leaves and the existing form genus Lepidocaryopsis for the fruits. These represent the first calamoid-like palm macrofossils from New Zealand and suggest a subtropical to tropical palaeoclimate at far southern latitudes in the Late Eocene and an early, widespread vicariant Gondwanan distribution for the subfamily