Neogene plant macrofossils from West Antarctica reveal persistence of Nothofagaceae forests into the early Miocene
The extinction of woody vegetation in Antarctica remains difficult to constrain due to its fragmented macrofossil record. Despite its long-standing polar position, Antarctica hosted extensive vegetation throughout the Paleogene. This changed near the Eocene-Oligocene Transition (ca. 34 Ma) as glaciation led to vegetation decline. Sparse evidence suggests tundra-like forests persisted until the Pliocene in East Antarctica, but the Neogene record from West Antarctica is largely restricted to palynoflora data. Here, we report early Miocene plant macrofossils from West Antarctica, consisting of <i>Nothofagus</i> leaves. U-Pb zircon geochronology confirms tundra-like vegetation existed in this region during the early Miocene (ca. 22-20 Ma), representing the youngest macrofossil record of West Antarctica. These findings suggest that <i>Nothofagus</i> either persisted through Antarctica's harsh Late Cenozoic Ice Age conditions or recolonised during intermittent warm periods. This substantially advances our understanding of West Antarctica's vegetation history and extends the known record of <i>Nothofagus</i> in Antarctic ecosystems.
Authors
- G. S. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0025-3641)
- Lorenzo Tavazzani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4078-8854)
- Francisco Hervé
- Joaquin Bastías (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6678-3173)
- Marcelo Leppe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1545-8167)
- Leslie M.E. Manríquez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0797-0355)
- Carlos Marques da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8440-5600)
- Claudio Tapia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7653-738X)
- Héctor Mansilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2601-1835)
- Dawid Szymanowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9524-5710)
- Matthias Magiera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-3686)
- Bethany Fox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9848-7838)
- Cyril Chelle-Michou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1760-3492)
- Cristine Trevisan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5550-2380)
- Liang Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3741-9377)
Institutions
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Universidad Mayor (CL)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- University of Huddersfield (GB)
- Millennium Science Initiative (CL)
- Universidad Católica de Temuco (CL)
- China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Universidad Andrés Bello (CL)
- Universidad Santo Tomás (CL)
- University of Waikato (NZ)
- University of Salford (GB)
- Instituto Antártico Chileno (CL)
- University of Otago (NZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2025-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02921-x
- Primary Topic
- Plant Diversity and Evolution
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Institut chilien de l'Antarctique