Contributors: State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy; Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (NIGPAS-CAS); Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing Branch -Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing Branch; Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS); The Open University Milton Keynes (OU); Géosciences Rennes (GR); Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des sciences de l'environnement de Rennes (OSERen); Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE); Georg-August-University of Göttingen = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; 423862824, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; NE/P013805/1, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; 90946, Volkswagen Foundation; 41688103, 41772014, National Natural Science Foundation of China; FE 1240/2-1, National Natural Science Foundation of China; XDB26000000, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 2017359, Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Abstract: International audience ; During the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum [MMCO, ~14 to 17 million years (Ma) ago], global temperatures were similar to predicted temperatures for the coming century. Limited megathermal paleoclimatic and fossil data are known from this period, despite its potential as an analog for future climate conditions. Here, we report a rich middle Miocene rainforest biome, the Zhangpu biota (~14.7 Ma ago), based on material preserved in amber and associated sedimentary rocks from southeastern China. The record shows that the mid-Miocene rainforest reached at least 24.2°N and was more widespread than previously estimated. Our results not only highlight the role of tropical rainforests acting as evolutionary museums for biodiversity at the generic level but also suggest that the MMCO probably strongly shaped the East Asian biota via the northern expansion of the megathermal rainforest biome. The Zhangpu biota provides an ideal snapshot for biodiversity redistribution during global warming.
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