Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Virola dominicana sp. nov., (Myristicaceae) from Dominican amber George Poinar, Jr. Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331. poinarg@science.oregonstate.edu Royce Steeves * Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1. rsteeves@uoguelph.ca *Corresponding author Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 2 36 37 38 39 Abstract: 40 Magnoliales, however the family is poorly represented by fossil collections. We describe 41 Virola dominicana sp. nov. (Myristicaceae), the first record of fossilized Myristicaceae 42 flowers, from mid-Tertiary (45-15 mya) Dominican amber. The description is based on 43 24 male flowers in 17 pieces of amber, thus providing some indication of intra-specific 44 variation, including a 2-tepaled flower. Diagnostic characters of the new species are the 45 long simple or few-branched trichomes on the perianth margins, the small pollen grains 46 and a short staminal column. There are no endemic members of the Myristicaceae in 47 Hispaniola today and it is speculated that V. dominicana disappeared from the region 48 during the Pliocene-Pleistocene cooling events. These fossils provide observations of 49 possible pollinators of Virola and establishes the presence of Myristicaceae in the 50 Western Hemisphere during the mid-Tertiary. The Myristicaceae is a member of the early diverging angiosperm order 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Keywords: Virola dominicana, Myristicaceae, Dominican fossil Amber, paleobotany Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 3 65 66 67 68 Introduction 69 Amber, the fossilized resin of woody plants, may contain a great wealth of ancient 70 organisms and is one of the best media for preserving delicate structures like flowers. Not 71 only is the perianth often preserved, but also details of trichomes and even complete 72 pollen cells. Flowers up to 100 million years old have been preserved in amber, although 73 these cannot be assigned to extant genera (Poinar and Chambers 2005; Chambers et al. 74 2010). Flowers found within Dominican amber have been used to identify members of 75 the genera Persea (Lauraceae)(Chambers et al. 2011a), Trichilia (Meliaceae) (Chambers 76 et al. 2011b), and Trochanthera (Balanophoraceae or Moraceae) (Poinar et al. 2008). 77 The Myristicaceae comprises an assemblage of canopy to subcanopy trees of 78 some 21 genera and about 500 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of 79 Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Madagascar (Doyle et al. 2004; Smith 80 1937). Despite the family’s phylogenetic placement within the early diverging magnoliid 81 grade of angiosperms (Soltis et al. 2011), the Myristicaceae are poorly represented by 82 fossil collections. Fossilized wood (Boureau 1950), leaves (Wolfe 1977), pollen 83 (Frederiksen 1973; Jan du Chene et al. 1978), fruits and seeds (Berry 1929) have been 84 described as belonging to the Myristicaceae, however few can be unambiguously 85 assigned to the family. 86 Six genera of Myristicaceae are endemic to the Neotropics. One of these is Virola, 87 which is represented by some 60 species restricted to lowland and cloud rainforests of 88 Central and South America. Virola is differentiated from other Neotropical genera of 89 Myristicaceae by possessing profuse red latex (rarely green-yellow) and dendritic or Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 4 90 stalked-sessile stellate hairs on the surfaces of their leaves, flowers and fruits. The 91 flowers of these dioecious trees are very small (1-4mm in diameter) and are composed of 92 3-4 tepals (petals) that are often covered in a dense dendritic or stellate pubescence. 93 Extant species of Virola can only be identified by numerous vegetative and reproductive 94 characters as there exists a great deal of overlap among species for any one character. 95 The objectives of this study are to 1) describe the staminate flowers of Virola 96 dominicana, the only known fossil flowers of the family Myristicaceae, and 2) quantify 97 the floral variation that occurred within Virola in Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and 98 Dominican Republic) during the mid-Tertiary. 99 100 101 102 103 Materials and Methods 104 Septentrional, between Puerto Plata and Santiago, of the Dominican Republic. Dating of 105 Dominican amber is equivocal with the latest proposed age of 20-15 mya based on 106 foraminifera (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee 1996) and the earliest as 45-30 mya based 107 on coccoliths (Cêpek in Schlee 1990). In addition, Dominican amber is secondarily 108 deposited in sedimentary rocks, which makes a definite age determination difficult 109 (Poinar and Mastalerz 2000). Dominican amber was produced by the leguminous tree, 110 Hymenaea protera Poinar (1991) and a re-construction of the Dominican amber forest 111 based on amber fossils indicated that the environment was similar to that of a present day 112 tropical moist forest (Poinar and Poinar 1999). 113 114 The Dominican amber specimens were obtained from mines in the Cordillera Observations, drawings, and photographs were made with a Nikon SMZ-10 R stereoscopic microscope and Nikon Optiphot compound microscope with Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 5 115 magnifications up to 600X. In some instances, Helicon Focus Pro X64 was used to 116 stack photos for better clarity and depth of field. 117 118 Results 119 Seventeen pieces of Dominican amber, containing a total of 24 male and no female 120 Virola flowers, were examined during the present study. Not all characters were evident 121 on every flower since some had been partly polished away during preparation of the 122 amber or partially eaten by herbivores or slightly obstructed from view by other 123 inclusions. The number of specimens examined for each numerical value is provided. 124 Description 125 Myristicaceae 126 Virola Aublet, 1775 127 Type Species: Virola dominicana Poinar and Steeves, sp. nov. (Figs. 1-4) 128 Specific Description: Flowers brown to orange-brown; perianth 3 (2) -lobed to middle or 129 beyond; lobes thick, rounded to acute at apex, spreading at anthesis; stamens 3, 130 apparently opposite tepal lobes where visible in two specimens (supplementary Figs. 131 S2+S3), filaments connate in a column; anthers 2-celled, extrose, dehiscing 132 longitudinally. Length of the complete flower 3.4 (2.1-5.0) mm (N= 16); length of 133 perianth lobes 1.3 (0.7-3.3) mm (N= 24); greatest width of perianth lobes 0.9 (0.5-1.5) 134 mm (N= 23); length of fused portion of perianth 0.9 ( 0.5- 1.5) mm (N= 19); pedicel 135 length 1.4 (0.7-2.0) mm (N= 17); length of stamenal column 0.5 (0.3-0.8) mm (N= 10); 136 length stamen stalk 0.2 (0.1-0.3) mm (N= 6). Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 6 137 Exterior surface of perianth covered with short, stubby, simple or branched trichomes 138 (supplementary Figure S1); lobe margins with long, thick single to multiple- celled 139 trichomes ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mm in length; pollen apparently monosulcate, boat- 140 shaped, ranging from 23- 27 µm in diameter (Fig. 2F). Pistillate flower unknown. 141 Types: Holotype deposited in the Poinar amber collection (accession # Sd-9-30A) and 142 Paratypes (Sd-9-30B through Sd-9-30R) maintained at Oregon State University, 143 Corvallis, Oregon. 144 Type locality: Amber mine in the northern mountain ranges (Cordillera Septentrional) of 145 the Dominican Republic. 146 Etymology: The specific name is based on the country of origin of the fossil. 147 Discussion 148 Despite their early origination in angiosperm evolution and their current 149 pantropical distribution, the fossil record of the Myristicaceae is rather meager and no 150 fossil flowers have been described prior to this study. Eocene fossil seeds and fruit casts 151 from Texas were described as Myristica catahoulensis Berry (Berry 1929; Chesters et al. 152 1967), however Doyle et al (2008) postulate that these represent molds of an endocarp of 153 Mastixiaceae (Cornales). Leaf fragments from the Eocene of Borneo were described as 154 Myristicophyllum minus Geyler (Andrews 1970). Wood described as Myristicoxylon 155 princeps E. Boureau from Oligocene-Miocene deposits in the Sahara was also attributed 156 to the nutmeg family (Boureau 1950; Collinson et al. 1993). In addition, Miocene (~23-5 157 mya) and Eocene (~56-34 mya) fruits from Germany and England were assigned to the 158 Myristicaceae and described as Myristicacarpum miocaenicum Gregor and M. 159 chandlerae Doyle, Manchester and Sauquet, respectively (Collinson et al. 1993; Doyle et Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 7 160 al. 2008). Myristicaceous pollen from the Eocene of Nigeria was described as 161 Echimonocolpites major du Chene (Collinson et al. 1993). 162 A seed described as Virola tertiaria Berry from the Oligocene of Peru, is the only 163 previous putative fossil of the genus Virola (Berry, 1929), however a transversely broken 164 specimen does not possess tegminal ruminations, which would be indicative of Virola 165 (Doyle et al. 2008). A flower of Virola in Dominican amber was previously depicted, but 166 not described (Poinar and Poinar, 1999). 167 The male flowers described in this study are the first confirmed fossil flowers of 168 the family Myristicaceae and represent one of few fossil collections distinctly of 169 Myristicaceae origin. Virola dominicana is known only from these 24 flowers entrapped 170 in 17 pieces of mid-Tertiary Dominican amber. The spreading petal lobes of V. 171 dominicana resemble the modern day species of V. surinamensis, V. multinervia, V. 172 duckei and V. flexuosa. However, these extant species have mostly stellate trichomes on 173 the lobes (Smith, 1937; Croat 1978), as do other members of the genus (Sabatier, 1997), 174 whereas the lobes of V. dominicana appear to possess simple or few-branched trichomes. 175 The stamen column (anther length) of V. dominicana (0.3-0.8 mm) is considerably 176 shorter than most extant Virola species (0.6-1.9 mm as measured in 8 extant Virola 177 species [Smith, 1937; Steeves, 2011]). The shape and size range of the pollen of V. 178 dominicana (23-27 µm) falls within the range of members of the genus (22-35 179 µm)(Walker and Walker, 1979). The two-petaled (or two-tepaled) flower (Figs. 2A and 180 2B) may represent a developmental anomaly as flowers comprised of two petal lobes are 181 rarely observed in extant Virola (Steeves, personal observations). We may have found 24 182 male Virola flowers and no female flowers as extant species have staminate flowers that Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 8 183 are easily deciduous owing to their thinner and longer pedicels compared to thick and 184 stout pistillate flowers that rarely fall to the ground (Steeves, personal observation). 185 A molecular study estimated the crown group of the Myristicaceae to have a 186 Miocene origin based on a molecular clock (Doyle et al. 2004), which is not incongruous 187 with the estimated age of the present fossils. However, this relatively recent molecular 188 age estimate is surprising given the pantropical distribution and relatively poor oceanic 189 dispersal potential of the Myristicaceae and the earlier estimates of crown group 190 divergence (~100-120 mya) of closely related families such as the Annonaceae (Doyle et 191 al. 2004). This relatively young age estimate for the Myristicaceae could be an artifact of 192 their poor fossil representation and/or a result of a slower rate of molecular evolution 193 compared to closely related families, leading to a mis-calibration in the molecular clock 194 estimate. Both the former and latter explanations are plausible given the paucity of fossil 195 evidence of the family and the fact that molecular investigations employing some of the 196 most variable nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers have found low levels of molecular 197 divergence among genera and even species of Myristicaceae (Sauquet et al. 2003; Doyle 198 et al. 2004, Steeves 2011). The fossil flowers described in this study place Virola in the 199 neotropical region sometime between 45-15 mya depending on age estimates for 200 Dominican amber (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee, 1996; Schlee 1990). 201 Extant members of Virola are of significant ecological and ethnobotanical 202 importance in the neotropics. Virola spp. are considered one of the 5-10 most abundant 203 fruit producing tree genera in South American (Pitman et al. 2001; Pitman et al. 2002). 204 The bright orange-red, fat-rich aril fruits are highly nutritious and are highly sought after 205 by birds and spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus). Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 9 206 Pollinators of Virola have been little studied. Beetles and thrips have been 207 observed visiting flowers (Steeves, 2011), however no representatives of these groups 208 occurred among the various insects found together with Virola flowers in the examined 209 Dominican amber samples. Planthoppers occurred with Virola flowers in several amber 210 pieces (Fig. 3) and may have been feeding on the perianth, possibly obtaining glandular 211 secretions in the flower and/or feeding on the plants sap. Both worker and alate ants were 212 associated with several Virola flowers in the amber samples. One of the identifiable ant 213 species present in the amber along with V. dominicana is a worker Cephalotus squamosus 214 (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) (Fig. 4). These ants are polyphagous but do include pollen in 215 their diet and take pollen back to the nest for larvae and nestmates. Ants visiting male 216 flowers could transfer pollen to female flowers, especially if the latter have extrafloral 217 nectaries, which Cephalotes ants are known to visit (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani, 218 1999). Although extant Virola spp. are not known to possess extrafloral nectaries, ants 219 have been observed on the male flowers of extant Virola calophylla (Steeves, 2011) and 220 could conceivably transfer the pollen to nearby female trees. The small and rather 221 inconspicuous flowers of Virola spp. are unlikely to be predominantly visually attractive 222 to pollinators. The flowers do, however, emit pungent odours (similar in smell to lilacs) 223 that appear to attract insects even after male flowers have fallen to the ground (Steeves, 224 personal observation). It is possible that the insects observed in the inclusions inspected 225 for this study represent individuals who were haphazardly trapped in the resin, but their 226 close proximity to the flowers (particularly Cephalotes squamosus, Fig. 4) may indicate 227 that the attraction of the fallen Virola dominicana flowers is what led to their entrapment. Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 10 228 The Dominican amber forest was categorized as a tropical moist forest unlike any 229 other found in the World today. During the Pliocene-Pleistocene global cooling period, 230 many of the stentopic biota of the forest, such as stingless and orchid bees, Mastotermes 231 termites and various plants, including Hymenaea protera that produced the amber, were 232 trapped by the island’s isolation. Refugia were apparently rare or inadequate for many 233 life forms (Poinar and Poinar, 1999). It is likely that V. dominicana disappeared from 234 Hispaniola during this cooling period. Although there are no native members of 235 Myristicaceae in Hispaniola today (Liogier 1983), Virola surinamensis is native to nearby 236 Guadeloupe southward to Grenada in the Lesser Antilles (Smith 1937). The mainland 237 distribution of contemporary Virola taxa encompasses lowland and montane rain forest 238 habitats (<1500m elevation) from Guatemala to the southern and eastern extent of the 239 Amazon Basin and the western coast of Ecuador (Smith 1937). 240 This study describes the first fossil flowers of the Myristicaceae, Virola 241 dominicana Poinar and Steeves preserved in mid-Tertiary Dominican amber. The 24 242 male flowers preserved in amber provide a glimpse into the reproductive biology of a 243 genus whose contemporary pollinators are not well established to date. The placement of 244 Virola in the Neotropical region during the mid-Tertiary will undoubtedly help future 245 studies of the biogeography and evolutionary biology of these ecological and 246 ethnobotanically significant trees. 247 248 249 250 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 11 251 252 Acknowledgments 253 The authors thank Cesare Baroni Urbani for identifying the species of Cephalotes in Fig. 254 4 and Sarah Baldwin for reviewing an earlier version of the manuscript. 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 12 274 275 References 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 De Andrade, M.L. and Baroni Urbani, C. 1999. Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes past and present. Stutt. Beitr. Naturkd., B 271: 1-889. Andrews, Jr., H.N. 1970. Index of Generic names of fossil plants, 1820-1965. Geological Survey Bulletin 1300, Washington, D.C. Berry, E.W. 1929. Early Tertiary fruits and seeds from Belen, Peru. 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An intrageneric and intraspecific study of morphological and 346 genetic variation in the Neotropical Compsoneura and Virola (Myristicaceae). 347 PhD dissertation, The University of Guelph, Guelph. 295 pp. 348 Walker, J.W., and Walker, A.G. 1979. Comparative pollen morphology of the American 349 Myristicaceous genera Compsoneura and Virola. Ann. Missouri 350 Bot. Gard. 66: 731-755. 351 352 Wolfe, J. 1977. Paleogene floras from the Gulf of Alaska region. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 997: 1–108. 353 354 355 356 Figures 357 Fig. 1. Virola dominicana sp. nov. holotype showing stubby trichomes on the lobe 358 blades and long trichomes on the lobe margins. Note also white pollen grains within 359 the flower diameter. Bar = 800 µm. 360 361 362 363 364 365 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 16 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 17 373 Fig. 2. Male flowers, indument and pollen of Virola dominicana. (A) Lateral view 374 of paratype of Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 850 µm. (B) Frontal 375 view of two-lobed flower of Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 480 µm. 376 (C) Long, straight trichomes on the margin of a perianth lobe of the Holotype of 377 Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 105 µm. (D) Pollen grains of Virola 378 dominicana in Dominican amber. Note upper boat-shaped grain. Bar = 23 µm. (E) 379 Lateral view of two-lobed flower of Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 380 28 µm. (F) Detail of pollen grains of the Holotype of Virola dominicana in 381 Dominican amber. Bar = 22 µm. 382 383 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 18 384 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 19 385 Fig. 3. A planthopper (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) adjacent to a paratype flower of 386 Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 490 µm. 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 20 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 21 411 Fig. 4. A worker Cephalotes squamosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with its head in 412 an open paratype flower of Virola dominicana in Dominican amber. Bar = 1.4 mm. 413 414 415 Poinar and Steeves: Virola dominicana 22 416