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Climatic reconstruction of two Pliocene floras from Mexico

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Abstract

The role that climate plays in influencing the physiognomy of modern and fossil plant communities is widely acknowledged and forms the basis for several palaeoclimate proxies. In this work, both univariate Leaf Margin Analysis and multivariate Climate/Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) were used for the climatic reconstruction of two fossil localities of the Atotonilco El Grande Formation. Using the predominantly North American and Asian calibration data set PHYSG3BRC, supplemented with new African material, results from two sites, Los Baños (present position 20°18′18″N, 98°42′44.4″W) and Sanctorum (20°18′18.5″N and 98°46′52.2″W), indicate that during the Pliocene a mesothermal climate existed with mean annual temperatures between 12 and 22°C, with the most likely being approximately 15°C, and a mean annual temperature range of 21°C. A distinct seasonal variation in rainfall is evident with a mean annual relative humidity of 60–70%. Differences between the sites can be explained by differences in depositional regime and spatial heterogeneity in the predominantly Quercus-dominated woodland. The continuous subsequent uplift of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the resulting development of a rain shadow, and the eventual disappearance of a palaeolake appear to have caused a transition to the modern xerophytic shrub vegetation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Elizabeth Kennedy and Dieter Uhl for their thoughtful, helpful and constructive comments during the review process. The first author is grateful for financial support from the Dirección General de Asuntos de Personal Académico (DGAPA-UNAM) IN100102-2 and IN108706. The third author thanks the Palaeontological Science Trust (PAST) and the South African NRF for fieldwork funding and financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, UNAM, Batallón 5 de mayo s/n Col. Ejército de Oriente, México, DF, 09230, México

    Maria Patricia Velasco-de León

  2. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Earth, Planetary Space and Astronomical Research, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK76AA, UK

    Robert A. Spicer

  3. Bernard Price Institute of Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

    David C. Steart

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  1. Maria Patricia Velasco-de León
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  2. Robert A. Spicer
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Correspondence to Robert A. Spicer.

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Velasco-de León, M.P., Spicer, R.A. & Steart, D.C. Climatic reconstruction of two Pliocene floras from Mexico. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 90, 99–110 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-010-0022-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-010-0022-4

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