Palynological characteristics of the sediments of the Malokuril’skaya formation (Maastrichtian-Danian), Shikotan Island

International audienceSteppe vegetation represents a key marker of past Asian aridification and is associated with monsoonal intensification. Littleis, however, known about the origin of this pre-Oligocene vegetation, its specific composition and how it changed over timeand responded to climatic variations. Here, we describe the morphological characters of Ephedraceae pollen in Eocene strataof the Xining Basin and compare the pollen composition with the palynological composition of Late Cretaceous andPaleocene deposits of the Xining Basin and the Quaternary deposits of the Qaidam Basin. We find that the Late Cretaceoussteppe was dominated by Gnetaceaepollenites; in the transition from the Cretaceous to the Paleocene, Gnetaceaepollenitesbecame extinct and Ephedripites subgenus Ephedripites dominated the flora with rare occurrences of Ephedripites subgen.Distachyapites; the middle to late Eocene presents a strong increase of Ephedripites subgen. Distachyapites; and the Quaternary/Recent is marked by a significantly lower diversity of Ephedraceae (and Nitrariaceae) compared to the Eocene. In themodern landscape of China, only a fraction of the Paleogene species diversity of Ephedraceae remains and we propose thatthese alterations in Ephedreaceae composition occurred in response to the climatic changes at least since the Eocene. Inparticular, the strong Eocene monsoons that enhanced the continental aridification may have played an important role inthe evolution of Ephedripites subgen. Distachyapites triggering an evolutionary shift to wind-pollination in this group.Conceivably, the Ephedraceae/Nitrariaceae dominated steppe ended during the Eocene/Oligocene climatic cooling andaridification, which favoured other plant taxa

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Steppe development on the Northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from Paleogene ephedroid pollen

Han

Rydin

Bolinder

et al. 2016

Grana

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On the Possibility of Age Correlation of the Geological Complexes in the area of the Kuril Island Arc System from Seismoacoustic Parameters

Terekhov

Харченко

2020

Russ. J. of Pac. Geol.

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Paleocene Deposits of the Yamato Rise (Sea of Japan) and Their Formation Conditions

Terekhov

Маркевич

Tsoy

et al. 2023

Russ. J. of Pac. Geol.

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Palynological characteristics of the sediments of the Malokuril’skaya formation (Maastrichtian-Danian), Shikotan Island

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Steppe development on the Northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from Paleogene ephedroid pollen

Steppe development on the Northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from Paleogene ephedroid pollen

On the Possibility of Age Correlation of the Geological Complexes in the area of the Kuril Island Arc System from Seismoacoustic Parameters

Paleocene Deposits of the Yamato Rise (Sea of Japan) and Their Formation Conditions

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