An extinct Eocene taxon of the daisy family (Asteraceae): evolutionary ecological and biogeographical implications

摘要

Background and AimsMorphological, molecular and biogeographical information bearing on early evolution of the sunflower alliance of families suggests that the clade containing the extant daisy family (Asteraceae) differentiated in South America during the Eocene, although palaeontological studies on this continent failed to reveal conclusive support for this hypothesis. Here we describe in detail >Raiguenrayun cura gen. & sp. nov., an exceptionally well preserved capitulescence of Asteraceae recovered from Eocene deposits of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina.