Early Tertiary leaves of the Menispermaceae from Nerriga, New South Wales

Abstract

Leaves from the early/middle Eocene Nerriga locality are assigned to Menispermaphyllum tomentosum gen. et sp. nov. The leaves are clearly assignable to the Menispermaceae, and have their closest affinities with the extant genus Legnephora. However, there are enough differences between the fossil leaves and leaves of the extant species to prevent their placement within an extant genus. It is suggested that M. tomentosum may have been a vine growing among trees on the lakeside at Nerriga. These fossils provide evidence for the presence of the Menispermaceae in Gondwana during the Tertiary.