Papers by Sergio RS Cevallos-Ferriz
Revista Mexicana De Ciencias Geologicas, 1992
Botanical sciences, Aug 15, 1996
se han reconocido un gran número de comunidades caracterizadas por la asociación de algunas plant... more se han reconocido un gran número de comunidades caracterizadas por la asociación de algunas plantas, sin embargo, poco se ha estudiado la razón histórica de estos agrupamientos. Aunque los estudios basados en plantas actuales han proporciona-,
Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, Dec 1, 2013
History of plant diversity in Mexico might be sought in detailed descriptions and comparisons of ... more History of plant diversity in Mexico might be sought in detailed descriptions and comparisons of fossil taxa. Fossil plants allow the recognition of plant communities and their history, especially if they include key elements. In Mexico, Bursera is correlated with dry tropical habitats, and its presence in the fossil record certainly helps to trace the history of both the taxon and the habitat. Eocene material from the La Carroza Formation, La Popa basin, in Nuevo León, Mexico contains a diverse leaf assemblage among which certain leaves resemble two morphotypes, both members of Bursera. A brief description of the leaf architecture of Burseraceae is presented in order to unify criteria and establish comparative parameters that allow identification of fossil leaflet compressions and impressions. Burseraceae has variable leaf architecture, and a single character can change in a single leaf and/or leaflet. For example, the characteristic brochidodromous condition of the family may change to craspedodromous, semi-craspedodromous or even eucamptodromous, in a single leaf. Both Eocene species that are recognized here suggest that the sections Bursera and Bullockia, were differentiated around Middle Eocene; however, previous studies suggest an earlier differentiation of these sections. The two new fossil species in La Popa basin support the presence of members of the extant dry tropical forest in northwestern Mexico, but not necessarily the presence of a dry community. This community developed at a time of geologic/physiographic changes in the area, promoting drought and the establishment of a dry flora.
Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 2014
Fossils have always been an intriguing and spectacular source of information for naturalists who ... more Fossils have always been an intriguing and spectacular source of information for naturalists who discuss how life and diversity came about. In plants, it is difficult to find in the fossil record all organs or plant parts in connection to each other. Thus, many angiosperms are sketched as undefined entities that somehow resemble an extant relative. Nevertheless, several examples of whole plant reconstructions based on extensive collection of fossil parts have been published through the years. Two methods have been used to reconstruct fossil plants: 1) Through organic connections among the different organs, and 2) concurrent location of fossil parts (seed, leaves, flowers, etc.) in the same locality and across localities. In the latter case, the argument can be strengthened by similarities of epidermal anatomy. The association of organs gives a more complete picture of fossils plants and it can help to make better taxonomic inferences, as they provide a morphological tool about plants that grew in the past. This information may as well be used in other areas, such as biogeography or phylogenetics.
Paleontología Mexicana, Jan 16, 2014
The study of Upper Cretaceous plants in Coahuila has allowed recognition of a diverse flora that ... more The study of Upper Cretaceous plants in Coahuila has allowed recognition of a diverse flora that seems to share elements with higher latitude floras; even more, it also demonstrates a small but clear difference in vegetation composition growing some 70 to 65 million years ago in the Olmos Formation of the Carboniferous basin and the Cerro del Pueblo Formation of the Parras basin. Certainly, comprehension of the flora en vegetation change through geologic time in the region will explain in a more complete and dynamic way the extant scenery in the state.
Iawa Journal, Dec 6, 2014
Fossil woods from the El Cien Formation have yielded important information on the taxonomic compo... more Fossil woods from the El Cien Formation have yielded important information on the taxonomic composition and climate of a flora established in the west coast of Mexico during the Miocene. This report of a new genus and species, Ruprechtioxylon multiseptatus Cevallos-Ferriz, Martínez Cabrera et Calvillo-Canadell, is based on woods with the following combination of features: vessels solitary and in radial multiples of 2-3; vestured, alternate, oval to polygonal intervessel pits; vessel-ray and vessel-parenchyma pits similar in size to intervessel pits, but with slightly reduced to reduced borders; 2-5 septa per fibre; scanty paratracheal, unilateral and vasicentric axial parenchyma; uniseriate homocellular rays, occasionally locally biseriate; crystals in fibres. The presence of Ruprechtioxylon (Polygonaceae) in the El Cien Formation confirms that plants of lineages growing today under contrasting climates lived together in the past. This record adds a new species to the growing list of Neotropical taxa that were present in Mexico prior to the great Plio-Pleistocene exchange of biota in the Americas.
Synthesis of Cretaceous paleobotanical works in Mexico
Leaves of <i>Karwinskia axamilpense</i> sp.nov. (Rhamnaceae) from Oligocene sediments, near Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico
Canadian journal of botany, Mar 1, 1998
A new plant from the Los Ahuehuetes locality, near Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico, is descri... more A new plant from the Los Ahuehuetes locality, near Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico, is described based on its leaves. They are characterized by being ovate to elliptic, 4.5 cm long by 2.1 cm wide, having an entire margin, eucamptodromous venation, a midvein that is slightly curved and attenuated towards the leaf apex, seven pairs of secondary veins diverging at an acute angle from the midvein, percurrent tertiary veins forking or sometimes reticulated forming areoles, and having a petiole 1.3 cm long and 0.3 cm wide. An agglomerative nonhierarchical analysis with average linkage, based on the definition of 41 character states in 18 operational taxonomic units allows distinction between Karwinskia, Berchemia, and Rhamnus; the recognition of an extinct monotypic genus, Berhamniphyllum; and the identification of two fossil species of Karwinskia, among which the new plant from Puebla, Karwinskia axamilpense Velasco de León et al., is well defined. This new fossil leaf not only adds to the recently known Tertiary plants of the Los Ahuehuetes locality, but it gives new insights into the past flora of tropical North America and further supports the long history of some neotropical endemics, suggesting that, during the Tertiary, at least some areas in southern latitudes of North America could have been important for the origin and radiation of some taxa.Key words: Oligocene, Mexico, paleobotany, Rhamnaceae, Karwinskia.
Leaves of <i>Karwinskia a×amilpense</i> sp.nov. (Rhamnaceae) from Oligocene sediments, near Tepe×i de Rodríguez, Puebla, Me×ico
Canadian journal of botany, 1998
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Nov 1, 2002
The Oligocene Coatzingo Formation (WPie de Vaca Formation), Puebla, Mexico, has yielded a diverse... more The Oligocene Coatzingo Formation (WPie de Vaca Formation), Puebla, Mexico, has yielded a diverse assemblage of plants among which Leguminosae are represented by wood, fruits and leaves or leaflets. Leaf impressions from two specimens have characteristics found in extant members of Cercideae (Caesalpinieae). Morphological observations were corroborated through a phenetic analysis suggesting that morphological differences between the fossil and extant plants correspond to natural variation within the tribe. Although the fossil material closely resembles both Bauhinia and Cercis, its set of characters support the recognition of a new taxon, Bauhcis moranii Calvillo-Canadell and Cevallos-Ferriz. The cladistic analysis further supports that the fossil represents a moment in the history of the tribe, previous to the differentiation of the two extant genera. This new plant adds to the poorly known low-latitude fossil vegetation of Central Mexico and strengthens the idea of a long and complex phytogeography history to explain the extant biodiversity of the area, in which Leguminosae is among the most important component of the flora.
Paleobotany and geological perspective of biodiversity in México
Acta Botanica Mexicana, 2012
(Geasteraceae; Gasteromycetes) from the Late Cenozoic of Puebla, MEXICO1
The compressed basidiocarp of a fungus belonging to Geasteraceae (Lycoperdales; Gasteromycetes) w... more The compressed basidiocarp of a fungus belonging to Geasteraceae (Lycoperdales; Gasteromycetes) was recovered from the plant-bearing Cenozoic strata of the Pi6 de Vaca Formation, Puebla, Mexico. The fossil specimen consists of an open exoperidium with ten triangular rays, and a central, circular endoperidium with an eccentrical ostiole and irregular surface relief. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a delicate reticulum on the surface of rays and on samples of the endoperidium. An acetolyzed fragment of the endoperidium yielded a few fungal spores, and similar spores were also obtained from an acetolyzed rock fragment adjacent to the fossil specimen. The fossil fungus exhibits the characteristics of extant earthstars; morphological comparison between the extant and the fossil earthstar and the type of spores obtained from the endoperidium of the latter indicate its affinity with Geastrum, although uncertainty in diagnostic characters preclude its assignment to a living species. The report of a complete basidiocarp of Geastrum from the Cenozoic of Puebla may contribute greatly to the knowledge about the spatial distribution and evolutionary history of Geasteraceae and Lycoperdales. Fossil fungi are common as hyphae and spores in and among plant tissues where their presence is indicative of
Acta Botanica Mexicana, Dec 8, 2022
El origen de la vegetación actual de México y su diversidad tiene larga historia. Posiblemente es... more El origen de la vegetación actual de México y su diversidad tiene larga historia. Posiblemente es la extensión de esta historia el punto en que discrepan las propuestas, una planteando que inicia en el Cretácico (ca. 132 ma) y otras haciendo énfasis en procesos restringidos al Plio-Pleistoceno (5.3 ma), sobre todo si se refieren al origen de la vegetación actual. El aumento del conocimiento sobre la evolución geológica de México, y del constante cambio en su fisiografía, así como del estudio de las angiospermas fósiles de la región, genera un concepto más claro de cómo y cuándo las formas de vida fueron llegando y asociándose. Se presenta una hipótesis en la que se combinan procesos geológicos y cambios fisiográficos, con la presencia de plantas y vegetación en las partes emergidas que se van desarrollando. Se propone que la biodiversidad actual efectivamente inicia hace ca. 132 millones de años, aunque linajes que hoy viven en México se pueden reconocer desde este tiempo, es complicado ubicarlos en familias, pues posiblemente representen miembros del grupo troncal. En el Paleógeno (65-32 ma) las familias, y aun géneros, que continúan viviendo en el país son más fácilmente reconocidos, pero grupos extintos o que hoy crecen en otras regiones siguen siendo comunes. Es en el Neógeno (32-1.8 ma) que desde un punto de vista de la morfológico/anatómico las plantas fósiles se parecen más a las que viven de forma natural actualmente en el país, pero muestran diferencias que en general permiten proponer nuevas especies. Si las plantas fósiles y actuales de México se relacionan morfo/ anatómicamente más solo en tiempos relativamente recientes, es de esperar que con los tipos de vegetación suceda algo similar. El registro fósil sugiere que a partir de comunidades
Reproductive structures of Rhamnaceae from the Cerro del Pueblo (Late Cretaceous, Coahuila) and Coatzingo (Oligocene, Puebla) Formations, Mexico
American Journal of Botany, Oct 1, 2007
Recently discovered fossil flowers from the Cretaceous Cerro del Pueblo and flowers and fruits fr... more Recently discovered fossil flowers from the Cretaceous Cerro del Pueblo and flowers and fruits from the Oligocene Coatzingo Formations are assigned to the Rhamnaceae. The Cretaceous flower, Coahuilanthus belindae Calvillo‐Canadell and Cevallos‐Ferriz, gen. et sp. nov., is actinomorphic with fused perianth parts forming a slightly campanulate to cupulate floral cup, with sepals slightly keeled and spatulate clawed petals. The Oligocene fossils include Nahinda axamilpensis Calvillo‐Canadell and Cevallos‐Ferriz, gen. et sp. nov. (characterized by its campanulate bisexual flower with stamens opposite, adnate to and enfolded by petals; and with the ovary ripening into a drupe), and a winged fruit assigned to Ventilago engoto Calvillo‐Canadell and Cevallos‐Ferriz, sp. nov. The flowers and drupe features indicate closer affinity to Zizipheae and/or Rhamneae, while the single samaroid fruit suggests the presence of Ventilagineae. However, the unique character combination in the fossil flowers precludes placing them in extant genera. Nevertheless, the history of the family is long and can be traced back to the Campanian. A detailed phylogenetic revision of the group that uses morphological characters from both extant and fossil plants is needed to better understand the significance of these records as well as other important fossils of the family.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Sep 3, 2021
Premise of study: "El Chango" is a recently discovered quarry that contains extremely well preser... more Premise of study: "El Chango" is a recently discovered quarry that contains extremely well preserved fossils. The Cenomanian age of the locality corresponds to a time when the global flora was transitioning from gymnosperm-to angiosperm-dominated, yet conifers predominate in this locality. These fossils thus provide a rare opportunity to understand the replacement of conifers by angiosperms as the dominant group of plants. Methods: We collected material from El Chango in annual expeditions (2010 to 2014). We selected the three most abundant and best preserved conifer morphotypes and conducted a total-evidence (i.e.,, including molecular and morphological data) phylogenetic analysis of a sample of 72 extant conifer species plus the three fossils. We use these results to inform our taxonomic decisions. We obtained four equally most-parsimonious trees (consistency index = 44.1%, retention index = 78.8%). Despite ambiguous relationships among some extant taxa, the three fossil conifers had the same phylogenetic position in all four mostparsimonious trees; we describe these species as new: Sequoiadendron helicalancifolium sp. nov. (Cupressaceae), and Microcachrys rhomboidea sp. nov. and Dacrydium bifoliosus sp. nov (Podocarpaceae). The ecosystem is interpreted as a coastal humid mixed forest. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to the understanding of Cenomanian equatorial regions, and support the hypothesis of a geographically and ecologically structured "rise of angiosperms", with conifers remaining dominant in brackish-water and angiosperms becoming dominant in freshwater-ecosystems. These fossils fill in gaps in the evolutionary history of lineages like Microcachrys, which we demonstrate occurred in the Northern hemisphere before becoming restricted to its current range (Tasmania).
Botanical sciences, Aug 15, 1996
Resumen. La historia de la vegetación d e México es conoc ida principalmente con base en extrapol... more Resumen. La historia de la vegetación d e México es conoc ida principalmente con base en extrapolacion es basadas en la flora actual y/o conocimiento paleobotánico realizado en otros países. Mientras que .los macrofósiles comprueban que en el pasado, como e n la act ualidad, la flora de México tuvo relación co n las de otras partes del mundo, su estudio evidencia que durante e l Cretácico ésta tenía afinidad con las floras boreales, aunque varias de las plantas encontradas en estos sedimentos tienen relacion es filogenéticas cercanas con plantas que ahora crecen de manera natural en e l he misferio sur. En e l Terciario la relación con las fl oras borea les se m a ntuvo, sugiri e ndo que, si bien algunas plantas se originaron e r;i Gondwana, algunos de sus géneros o especies pudieron difere nciarse y aun tener un a importante radiación en el hemisfe rio norte, con en e l caso de ciertas Anarcardiaceae y posibl e me nte a lgunas Leguminosae. Dentro de esta última familia , Lysiloma sugiere qu e taxa endém icos que hoy caracterizan a la vegetación d e México tienen una larga historia, pues son conocidos del Oligoceno. Otra planta dentro de la familia. Reinweberia, señala la presencia de plantas que fueron endém icas d e lo qu e hoy es e l territorio nacional pero que se exti ngui eron, por lo que puede pe nsarse qu e la vegetación d e Méx ico desde hace ti e mpo ti e ne un carácte r distintivo. Los macrofósiles de angiospermas sugieren que sólo rec ie ntemente , posiblem e nte no h ace más d e 10 millones de años, se estab lec ie ron los tipos d e vege tac ión que hoy reco noce mos, a unqu e en e l pasado pudi e ron e xistir formas semejantes. Palabras clave: fós il es, histori a, Méx ico, plantas, vegetación . Abstract. Th e history of Mexican ve ge ta tion is mainly known through extrapo lations based on its extant flora and/or pal e obotani ca l work done in other countries. Whil e mac rofossils corroborate that_ in the past, as in the present, the Mexican flora had re lationships with those of other a reas, its study revea ls that during th e Cretaceous it had affiniti es with the boreal floras, th o ug h, sorne of the d esc rib ed pl a nts have close filogenetic relationships with plants now growing naturally in th e southern h e misph e re. During the Tertiary the relationship with the boreal floras co ntinu ed, suggesting that if sorne taxa originated in Gondwana, at least sorn e of their genera and species cou ld diffe rentiate and radiate in the north e rn hemisphere , as suggested by sorne Anacardiaceae and perhaps oth er Leguminosae. A legum e, L)'Siloma, suggest that endemic ta xa that c haracte rize the extant Mexican vege tation have a long history, since th ey a re known from Ol igocene sedime nts. Another plant of the sam e family, Reim11ebe1ia, algo suggest that during th e Terti a ry Lhere were endemic plants that becam e extinct, and unde rscores th e fact that for a long tim e the Mex ican vegetation have hada distinct compos ition. T he mac rofossils of angiosp e rms sugges t that only rece ntly, pe rhaps no more that 10 mi Ili o n yeras ago, the vetation typ es recog nized today we re es tablish e d, a lathough, those of the past co uld be similar.
Leaf architecture of Anacardiaceae
Descripción: ANACARDIACEAE IS A MODERATELY LARGE FAMILY. IT INCLUDES 74 GENERA AND APPROXIMATELY ... more Descripción: ANACARDIACEAE IS A MODERATELY LARGE FAMILY. IT INCLUDES 74 GENERA AND APPROXIMATELY 600 SPECIES. THE FAMILY HAS AN EXTENSIVE FOSSIL RECORD THAT DATES BACK AT LEAST TO THE MAASTRICHTIAN (UPPER ...
La vegetación de México y su historia
Ciencias, May 10, 2009
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Secretaría General, Torre de Rectoría, piso 7, México DF... more Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Secretaría General, Torre de Rectoría, piso 7, México DF Del. Coyoacán, CP 04510. Todos los derechos reservados 2011. Esta página puede ser reproducida con fines no lucrativos, siempre y cuando no se mutile, se cite la ...
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, Oct 1, 1996
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Aug 1, 2014
A wood type preserved in Oligocene sediments of Coayuca de Andrade, Puebla, Mexico, is described ... more A wood type preserved in Oligocene sediments of Coayuca de Andrade, Puebla, Mexico, is described and compared to Loxopterygium Hook. f. (Anacardiaceae). Among the characters that sustain this assignment are growth rings are marked by 2-3 rows of flattened latewood fibers. The vessel elements are circular to oval, predominantly solitary and radial multiples of 2 and 3. The perforation plates are simple, intervascular pits are alternate, oval and polygonal, with lenticular apertures, some of them are coalescent. Axial parenchyma is paratracheal scanty. Rays correspondent to the heterogeneous Kribs type IIB and one to two radial canals occur in multiseriate rays. These same characteristics are important to distinguish it from the extant species in the genus and support the recognition of a new species, Loxopterygium andradensii Méndez-Cárdenas et al. The presence of this new species in the Cenozoic of Mexico confirms the importance of Anacardiaceae in the flora and vegetation of low latitude North America, reinforcing the idea that some elements of the Neotropical flora were in North America before the Plio-Pleistocene Great Biotic exchange and that at some point it was important for the diversification of some taxa.
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Papers by Sergio RS Cevallos-Ferriz