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Peoecological evidence of Raphia in the Pre-Columbian Neotropics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Gerald R. Urquhart
Gerald R. Urquhart
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109–1048 USA and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002–0948, USA
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Abstract

Disjunctions between Africa and the Neotropics present a puzzle that is key to understanding the biogeography of the diverse floras and faunas of both continents. Many authors have proposed that Raphia taedigera Maur., the sole Neotropical representative of an otherwise African genus, has been introduced to the New World. Paleoecological data from a freshwater swamp in Nicaragua, which yielded R. taedigera pollen dating to 2800 ± 90 y before present (BP) and Raphia seed fragments from 2040 ± 60 BP are presented. These illustrate that Raphia taedigera arrived in the New World before trans-Atlantic trade by humans and thus arrived as a result of a natural phenomenon. The lack of differentiation of R. taedigera from the African sister taxon, R. vinifera, suggests recent separation of the two species (i.e. after the creation of the southern Atlantic Ocean by the splitting of West Gondwana). Other evidence supports dispersal of Raphia by ocean currents. The palm probably arrived from Africa by floating as an individual fruit or on a raft of vegetation. Thus, R. taedigera represents another example of trans-Atlantic dispersal, strengthening the link between the flora and fauna of Africa and the Neotropics.

Resumen

Las disyunciones entre el trópico africano y el Neotrópico presentan un enigma que es clave para entender la biogeograffa de las tan diversificadas floras y faunas de ambas regiones. Mushos autores han propuesto que Raphia taedigera Maur., única especie neotropical representante de un genero eminentemente africano, fue introducida en el Nuevo Mundo. Se presentan estudios paleoecológicos en pantanos de agua dulce de Nicaragua, los cuales mostraron polen de R. taedigera de 2800 ± 90 años de angigiüedad y fragmentos de una semilla de Raphia de 2040 ± 60 años. Estos ilustran el hecho que R. taedigera Ilegó al Nuevo Mundo como resultado de un fenómeno natural, previamente al intercambio trans-Atlantico por humanos. La ausencia de chracteres que segregen R. taedigera de R. vinifera, la especie africana más próxima, sugiere la reciente separación de las dos especies (es decir, despues de la formacion del Océano Atlántico tras la ruptura del Gondwana occidental). Otras evidencias apoyan la dispersión de Raphia por corrientes oceánicas. Probalamente Ilegó de Africa flotando, como frutas individuales o en una balsa de vegetación. Por tanto R. taedigera representa otro ejemplo de dispersi6n transáttentica, fortaleciendo la conexión entre las floras y faundas del tróipico africano y del Neótropico.

Keywords

AfricaArecaceaebiogeographyintroduced speciesNeotropicsNicaraguapaleo-ecologyPalmaepalynologyRaphia taedigera
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 13 , Issue 6 , November 1997 , pp. 783 - 792
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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