J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 1981, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (2): -.

• Research Articles •    

Succession of the Floras in Xizang during Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene and Neogene

Tao Jun-rong   

Abstract: This paper mainly deals with the Upper Cretaecous-Paleogene and the Neogene floras of Xizang. In 1974–1976. the Scientific Expedition Party of Academia Sinica discovered some fossilbearing beds from the Rikaze Group of Angreg district, the Jiuwu Formation of Douga district and the Menchi Formation of the Gandis Mountains. From these beds, leaf impressions of Eucalyptus angusta, E. geinitzi, E. oblongifolia, Ficus daphnoycnoides, F. stepheuseni, F. myrtifolia, Cassia fayattensis, C. marshalensis, Celastrus minor, Quereus orbicularis, Rhamnus menshigensis, Juglandites sinutus, Phrynium tibeticum Cyperacites of. haydenii and Typha sp. were obtained. Of which the genus Eucalyptus appears to be predominant. The geological age of this flora is assigned to Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene. It indicates that during this time the flora is mainly composed of evergreen broad-leaved trees thriving under a hot and wet climate. Fossils obtained from the Ye-Ma-Gou Formation of Gandis Mountains mainly consist of Populus balsamoides, P. latior, P. glandulifera, Salix sp. and Leguminosites sp. The age of this flora is assigned to Miocene, the fossils indicate that by that time deciduous broad-leaved trees were flourishing in that area. The Miocene of the Wulong Formation consists of Quercus semicarpifotia, Q. pannosa, Q. senscens, Q. spathulata, and some species of Thuja, Sabiua, Spiraca, Carpinus, Betula and Rhododendron the flora is mainly composed of evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved trees and along with some conifers, and was thriving under a cooler and arid climate. This flora is quite different from the previous one which caused by the uplift of the Himalayas. The composition of this flora is very similar to the Neogene flora of Yunnan which indicates that at that time Xizang and Yunnan probable belong to the same floristic province. The discovery of Eucalyptus in Xizang shows that the climate of Xizang during Upper Cretaeeous-Paleogene was much warmer than that of Tibet at present. It also shows that this genus which now flourishes in Australia may originate from the northern hemisphere.

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