The Miocene Lincang leaf assemblage is used in this paper as proxy data to reconstruct the palaeoclimate of southwestern Yunnan (SW China) and the evolution of monsoon intensity. Three quantitative methods were chosen for this reconstruction, i.e. Leaf Margin Analysis (LMA), Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP), and the Coexistence Approach (CA). These methods, however, yield inconsistent results, particularly for the precipitation, as also shown in European and other East Asian Cenozoic floras. The wide range of the reconstructed climatic parameters includes the Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) of 18.5-24.7°C and the Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) of 1213-3711. mm. Compared with the modern Lincang climate (MAT, 17.3°C; MAP, 1178.7. mm), the Miocene climate is slightly warmer, wetter and has a higher temperature seasonality. A detailed comparison on the palaeoclimatic variables with the coeval Late Miocene Xiaolongtan flora from the eastern part of Yunnan allows us to investigate the development and interactions of both South Asian and East Asian monsoons during the Late Miocene in southwest China, now under strong influence of these monsoon systems. Our results suggest that the monsoon climate has already been established in southwest Yunnan during the Late Miocene. Furthermore, our results support that both Southeast Asian and East Asian monsoons co-occurred in Yunnan during the Late Miocene.

A new species of Cucubalus is described based on two fossil seeds recovered from the upper Pliocene Sanying Formation in northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The seeds are characterized by a reniform to circular outline in shape, and sinuous and discontinuous rugulae made of rod-like elements radiating from the hilum region to the dorsal margin. The combination of these characteristics shows their close resemblance to the extant genus Cucubalus in the Caryophyllaceae. A morphological principal coordinates (PCO) analysis further supports the assignment to this genus. Cucubalus is a monotypic genus today, but the late Pliocene fossil seeds have been described as a new species, Cucubalus prebaccifer Huang, Liu et Zhou, sp. nov. This newly documented Cucubalus fossil, representing the first fossil record of this genus, implies that the genus has existed in northwestern Yunnan, southwestern China, at least since the late Pliocene. It provides important information on the past biodiversity and biogeography of both the genus Cucubalus and the fossil-scant family Caryophyllaceae.

A new species of Cucubalus is described based on two fossil seeds recovered from the upper Pliocene Sanying Formation in northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The seeds are characterized by a reniform to circular outline in shape, and sinuous and discontinuous rugulae made of rod-like elements radiating from the hilum region to the dorsal margin. The combination of these characteristics shows their close resemblance to the extant genus Cucubalus in the Caryophyllaceae. A morphological principal coordinates (PCO) analysis further supports the assignment to this genus. Cucubalus is a monotypic genus today, but the late Pliocene fossil seeds have been described as a new species, Cucubalus prebaccifer Huang, Liu et Zhou, sp. nov. This newly documented Cucubalus fossil, representing the first fossil record of this genus, implies that the genus has existed in northwestern Yunnan, southwestern China, at least since the late Pliocene. It provides important information on the past biodiversity and biogeography of both the genus Cucubalus and the fossil-scant family Caryophyllaceae.

The late Miocene Xianfeng flora of Yunnan Province, southwestern China, was chosen to reconstruct the paleoclimate and the intensity of the Asian monsoon. Three available quantitative climate reconstruction methods from fossil plants, i.e. Leaf Margin Analysis (LMA), the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP), and the Coexistence Approach (CA) were used in this study. MATs (mean annual temperatures) resulting from these three approaches (i.e., LMA: 17.2 ± 2.38°C; CLAMP: 15.43 ± 1.25°C; CA: 17.2-21.7°C) appear to have been higher than the present (14.9°C), suggesting a much warmer climate in the late Miocene. Both the growing season precipitation (GSP) from CLAMP (1908.7 ± 217.7. mm) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) from CA (1206.0-1613.0. mm) estimates are higher than modern values (1003.2. mm (GSP) and 1038. mm (MAP) respectively) indicating a more humid climate during the late Miocene. By comparing these with climates reconstructed from neighboring late Miocene floras, we conclude that the general late Miocene climate appears warmer and more humid than present conditions in southwestern China. Furthermore, the evident differences in estimated monthly temperatures between the summer and winter, and precipitations between the humid and dry seasons indicate the existence of seasonality, though not as strong as that of today. Difference in precipitation of dry season indicates a marked strengthening in the winter monsoon since the late Miocene. A new monsoon intensity index has also been defined based on precipitation seasonality to investigate the intensity of the Asian monsoon.

Pinus prekesiya Xing, Liu et Zhou sp. nov. was described as a new species on the basis of two well preserved ovulate cones from the upper Miocene of central Yunnan, southwestern China. It is the first fossil record of three dimensionally preserved Pinus ovulate cones from China. Morphological comparisons with 15 previously published Cenozoic cones and seven related extant pine species reveal that the fossil cones are identified as a new species, P. prekesiya sp. nov., which belongs to subsection Pinus of subgenus Pinus. The new species shows a combination of characters of P. kesiya and P. yunnanensis, but has a closer affinity with P. kesiya which occurs in the humid region of Yunnan and therefore suggests a more humid climate in central Yunnan during the late Miocene than today. The general cooling trend during the late Neogene and topographic change due to the dramatic Tibetan uplift might have caused a vicariant origin of P. kesiya and P. yunnanensis from the ancestral P. prekesiya.

No description available.