Devonian Vertebrates From Colombia

Vertebrate remains are reported from the Emsian–Eifelian Floresta Formation and the Late Devonian (?Frasnian) Cuche Formation of north‐eastern Colombia. The material from the Floresta Formation is associated with a marine invertebrate fauna and includes an arthrodire and probably a rhenanid. Several vertebrate‐bearing localities are recorded from the Cuche Formation; vertebrates occur with plant remains and lingulid fragments. They include an acanthodian (Cheiracanthoides? sp.), a chondrichthyan (Antarctilamna? sp.), placoderms (Bothriolepis sp., Asterolepis? sp. and an undetermined groenlandaspidid or primitive brachythoracid arthrodire), a stegotrachelid actinopterygianand three sarcopterygians (a cosmine‐covered form tentatively referred to an osteolepidid, the porolepiform Holoptychiussp., and the rhizodontid Strepsodus? sp.). This assemblage suggests a Late Frasnian age and is surprisingly similar to Late Devonian vertebrate assemblages found in similar facies of Europe and North America, notwithstanding the presence of the Gondwanan chondrichthyan Antarctilamna?. key words: Vertebrata, Devonian, Colombia, South America, biostratigraphy, palaeobiogeography.     

The evolution of the Brachycytheride Ostracoda in the context of the breakup of Pangea

The ostracode Family Brachycytheridae is one of the most common taxa of Late Cretaceous shallow marine microfossils, and occurs in the marginal basins of Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, South and North America and the Caribbean region. Their migration pathways were controlled largely by the plate tectonic events associated with the breakup of Pangea and the formation of the North and South Atlantic Oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This study is an attempt to combine specific information on the plate tectonic events as evidenced by the timings of continental-scale structural movements, sea level dynamics (largely the product of mantle processes), the creation and destruction of migration pathways, and taxonomy of the group, and thus relate deep-seated Earth processes, surficial expression of these movements, and biological evolution. Although the Late Cretaceous Brachycytheridae are very widely distributed, their use for correlation has been hampered due to their conservative external morphology, with all of them having a posteriorly-sloped dorsal margin and a swollen ventrolateral carapace, and all of them were long assigned to a single genus, Brachycythere. In 2002, Puckett defined a new genus, Acuminobrachycythere, based on a distinctive clade of North American brachycytherids. It was also recognized at that time that the members of the family from Gondwana (mainly Africa and South America) were distinct in having a single (unsplit) second adductor muscle scar, whereas all of those from North America had a split second adductor. This tiny difference holds significant paleogeographic—and presumably evolutionary—information. Two new genera are therefore described herein, Sapucariella, which is restricted to Gondwana, and Tricostabrachycythere, which is an early, short-lived genus that occurred around the margins of Gondwana. Three new species are described and one is re-described. In all, there are six genera in the Family Brachycytheridae, which include Acuminobrachycythere, Brachycythere, Kaesleria (which is restricted to the Middle East), Opimocythere (which evolved in the Paleogene of North America and is the last of the Brachycytheridae), Sapucariella and Tricostabrachycythere. Taxonomic information is presented for 85 species, including new images of many of the type specimens. A summary of the breakup of Pangea is also presented, with precise paleogeographic reconstructions based on global magnetic anomalies.     

Late Devonian global ostracod palaeobiogeography

A global Late Devonian ostracod database is constructed, incorporating new materials from South China and Northwest China. Four palaeobiogeographical units (Cathaysia, North America, Europe and peri‐Gondwana) are recognized during the Frasnian and five palaeobiogeographical units (Cathaysia, North America, Europe, Siberia and Australia) in the Famennian. Three controlling factors (climatic zonation, geographical isolation and global sea‐level changes) are identified to have played roles in shaping the palaeogeographical regionalization of ostracod faunas in the Late Devonian. The ostracod palaeobiogeography in the Frasnian was mainly influenced by climatic zonation, while rapid changes in tectonic configuration in the Famennian drastically altered the global palaeobiogeography of ostracods. The palaeobiogeographical regionalization of ostracod faunas suggests that Laurussia and Gondwana continued to draw near during the Late Devonian, with the first collision occurring in Southern Central Europe in the Famennian. The South China plate drifted northward to the Kazakhstan plate away from the Australian plate, which gradually became isolated during the Famennian Stage.     

Dispersal,vicariance, and the Late Cretaceous to early tertiary land mammal biogeography from South America to Australia

A review of paleontological, phyletic, geophysical, and climatic evidence leads to a new scenario of land mammal dispersal among South America, Antarctica, and Australia in the Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary epochs. New fossil land vertebrate material has been recovered from all three continents in recent years. As regards Gondwana, the present evidence suggests that monotreme mammals and ratite birds are of Mesozoic origin, based on both geochronological and phyletic grounds. The occurrence of monotremes in the early Paleocene (ca. 62 Ma) faunas of Patagonia and of ratites in late Eocene (ca. 41-37 m.y.) faunas of Seymour Island (Antarctic Peninsula) probably is an artifact of a much older and widespread Gondwana distribution prior to the Late Cretaceous Epoch. Except for South American microbiotheres being australidelphians, marsupial faunas of South America and Australia still are fundamentally disjunct. New material from Seymour Island (Microbiotheriidae) indicates the presence there of a derived taxon that resides in a group that is the sister taxon of most Australian marsupials. There is no compelling evidence that dispersal between Antarctica and Australia was as recent as ca. 41 Ma or later. In fact, the derived marsupial and placental land mammal fauna of Seymour Island shows its greatest affinity with Patagonian forms of Casamayoran age (ca. 51–54 m.y.). This suggests an earlier dispersal of more plesiomorphic marsupials from Patagonia to Australia via Antarctica, and vicariant disjunction subsequently. This is consistent with geophysical evidence that the South Tasman Rise was submerged by 64 Ma and with geological evidence that a shallow water marine barrier was present from then onward. The scenario above is consistent with molecular evidence suggesting that australidelphian bandicoots, dasyurids, and diprotodontians were distinct and present in Australia at least as early as the 63-Ma-old australidelphian microbiotheres and the ancient but not basal australidelphian,Andinodelphys, in the Tiupampa Fauna of Bolivia. Land mammal dispersal to Australia typically has been considered to be at a low level of probability (e.g., by sweepstakes dispersal). This study suggests that the marsupial colonizers of Australia included already recognizable members of the Peramelina, Dasyuromorphia, and Diprotodontia, at least, and entered via a filter route rather than by a sweepstakes dispersal.To whom correspondence should be addressed.     

Crustaceen-Koprolithen aus der Trias der westlichen Tethys (Lienzer Dolomiten, Österreich; Pragser Dolomiten,Italien) und vom Gondwana-Westrand (oberes Magdalenatal,Kolumbien, Südamerika)

We describe Triassic Crustacean microcoprolites from the western Tethyan realm (Lienz Dolomites, Southern Alps) and from the western shores of Gondwana (upper Magdalena valley, Colombia, South America). The Colombian fauna originates from the Norian Payandé Formation and represents the first discovery of microfossils in this formation. The Colombian fauna is highly diverse and shows close affinities to faunas of the western Tethyan and Mediterranean region but also to North American faunas. The form speciesPalaxius colombiensis andPalaxius groesseri are new, and forPalaxitts shastaensis the genusPayandea n. gen. is erected.Thoronetia quinaria is revised. It is shown, that crustacean microcoprolites are a good tool for supra-regional stratigraphic correlation. Possible migration paths are discussed.     

Climate's role in the distribution of the Cretaceous terrestrial Crocodyliformes throughout Gondwana

A high diversity of terrestrial crocodyliform species has been found in the continental Cretaceous deposits of Gondwana. They are widespread in the sedimentary basins of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Morocco, Cameroon, Niger, Malawi, Madagascar and Pakistan, from alluvial, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. A peculiar aspect of these terrestrial crocodyliforms is that only some of them are cosmopolitan. They comprise distinct groups as the basal Notosuchia, baurusuchids, sphagesaurids and Sebecian peirosaurids. There is a distribution pattern of the terrestrial Crocodyliformes faunas throughout the Cretaceous. The oldest are composed of the small and probably omnivorous Notosuchia and Araripesuchus, found in Early Cretaceous deposits. In the Late Cretaceous this fauna was enriched by the medium-sized to large-size baurusuchids, sphagesaurids, peirosaurids and larger Araripesuchus which present specializations as active terrestrial predators. The distribution analysis of the terrestrial Crocodyliformes from Early and Late Cretaceous palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic maps indicates that temperature was the principal influence on their Gondwanan distribution. Although expressed seasonality, aridity is a limiting factor for the distribution of extant crocodilians. The Cretaceous basal Notosuchia, baurusuchids, sphagesaurids, Araripesuchus, Sebecian peirosaurids, are found in arid climatic belts during Early and Late Cretaceous. To live in a hot and arid climate they have presumably developed ecological strategies that allowed such habits. The aridity or seasonal warm and cyclic dry and wet climate periods plays a role, that have not yet been analyzed, that may explain the domain of bizarre Crocodyliformes in Gondwana during the Cretaceous.     

A Gigantic Sarcopterygian (Tetrapodomorph Lobe-Finned Fish) from the Upper Devonian of Gondwana (Eden,New South Wales,Australia)

Edenopteron keithcrooki gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Famennian Worange Point Formation; the holotype is amongst the largest tristichopterids and sarcopterygians documented by semi-articulated remains from the Devonian Period. The new taxon has dentary fangs and premaxillary tusks, features assumed to be derived for large Northern Hemisphere tristichopterids (Eusthenodon, Hyneria, Langlieria). It resembles Eusthenodon in ornament, but is distinguished by longer proportions of the parietal compared to the post-parietal shield, and numerous differences in shape and proportions of other bones. Several characters (accessory vomers in the palate, submandibulars overlapping ventral jaw margin, scales ornamented with widely-spaced deep grooves) are recorded only in tristichopterids from East Gondwana (Australia-Antarctica). On this evidence Edenopteron gen. nov. is placed in an endemic Gondwanan subfamily Mandageriinae within the Tristichopteridae; it differs from the nominal genotype Mandageria in its larger size, less pointed skull, shape of the orbits and other skull characters. The hypothesis that tristichopterids evolved in Laurussia and later dispersed into Gondwana, and a derived subgroup of large Late Devonian genera dispersed from Gondwana, is inconsistent with the evidence of the new taxon. Using oldest fossil and most primitive clade criteria the most recent phylogeny resolves South China and Gondwana as areas of origin for all tetrapodomorphs. The immediate outgroup to tristichopterids remains unresolved – either Spodichthys from Greenland as recently proposed, or Marsdenichthys from Gondwana, earlier suggested to be the sister group to all tristichopterids. Both taxa combine two characters that do not co-occur in other tetrapodomorphs (extratemporal bone in the skull; non-cosmoid round scales with an internal boss). Recently both ‘primitive’ and ‘derived’ tristichopterids have been discovered in the late Middle Devonian of both hemispheres, implying extensive ghost lineages within the group. Resolving their phylogeny and biogeography will depend on a comprehensive new phylogenetic analysis.     

Late Devonian - Early Carboniferous vertebrate microremains from the Carnic Alps, northern Italy

Vertebrate microremains from the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous of the Carnic Alps are predominantly chondrichthyan, with minor placoderm and actinopterygian remains. The faunas are sparse and, with very few exceptions, occur only in conodont-rich pelagic limestones (Pramosio Limestone) representative of the palmatolepid-bispathodid conodont biofacies. Phoebodont and jalodont chondrichthyans, also reflecting open-ocean environments, predominated during the Famennian, and eventually symmoriids seem to predominate during the Early Carboniferous. The presence of Siamodus in this assemblage gives a new locality for this genus known from few regions in the world and allows confirming its stratigraphical range (limpidus Zone) and its relation to deep-water environments. The Late Devonian vertebrate faunas are tropical and cosmopolitan, having much in common with coeval taxa from the North-Gondwanan margins and Asian terranes. Composition of the vertebrate faunas is consistent with the Carnic Alps terrane having occupied a position intermediate between Gondwana and Laurussia, as hypothesized by various authors, but because of sparsity of the taxa represented and the pronounced cosmopolitan nature of both the conodont and vertebrate faunas, the data are not compelling.     

Late Carboniferous postglacial brachiopod faunas in the Southwestern Gondwana margin

The glaciomarine sediments related to the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) have an excellent stratigraphic record in Argentina, particularly those associated to the Late Carboniferous glacial episode identified along the southwestern margin of South America: Bolivia (Tarija Basin), west central Argentina (Calingasta-Uspallata Basin) and Patagonia (Tepuel-Genoa basins). The aim of this contribution is mainly a biostratigraphy update of the carboniferous brachiopod faunas that occur in the earliest postglacial interval (late Serpukhovian–Bashkirian) in the west central Argentina (i.e., Levipustula and Aseptella-Tuberculatella/Rhipidomella-Micraphelia faunas) and its regional correlation with those equivalents in the nearby basins. Components of these faunas are recognized from the Bolivia to Argentine Patagonia and their compositional variations appear to be controlled principally by a paleolatitudinal factor. The affinities showed by the postglacial faunas of the Calingasta-Uspallata Basin and the faunal assemblages that integrate the Lanipustula and Tuberculatella biozones in Patagonia differ from the significant contrast proposed by other authors, based on the paleogeographical position of Patagonia in the Late Paleozoic. Paleoecological studies focused on the paleoenvironmental controls related with the glacial dynamic are suggested to understand the complex relationship between these postglacial faunas.     

Hyobranchial skeleton and hypobranchial muscles of rhipidistians

The hyobranchial skeleton of the porolepiform rhipidistian Laccognathus panderi Gross is described. The double composition of the ceratohyal in crossopterygians is proposed. The urohyal of porolepiforms, like that of Latimeria, consists of cartilaginous axial and membranous peripheral portions. The differences between porolepiforms and osteolepiforms in the structure of the hyobranchial skeleton, particularly, in the shape of the urohyal are attributable to different arrangements of the hypobranchial muscles. Porolepiforms and coelacanths have retained the coracomandibularis muscle inherited from early gnathostomes, whereas the same muscle of osteolepiforms was transformed into the geniohyoideus muscle. This transformation is accounted for by functional changes in the hyobranchial apparatus.     

Spore assemblages from the Lower Devonian Xujiachong Formation from Qujing,Yunnan, China

Abstract: The Lower Devonian Xujiachong Formation from the vicinity of Qujing City, Yunnan, China is interpreted as a terrestrial‐fluviatile‐lacustrine sequence. It contains important nonmarine biotas including plants, fish and invertebrates. The plants are particularly interesting as they include many endemic taxa. Dispersed spore assemblages have been recovered from the upper part of this formation. The spores are well preserved and of moderate thermal maturity. They are systematically described and four new species erected: Aneurospora xujiachongensis sp. nov., Chelinospora ouyangii sp. nov., Camptozonotriletes? luii sp. nov. and Leiozonospora xichongensis sp. nov. One new combination is proposed: Aneurospora conica (Ouyang and Lu) comb. nov. This is a rare report of a Lower Devonian dispersed spore assemblage from the South China Plate. Indeed, few dispersed spore assemblages of this age are known outside of Euramerica and Northern Gondwana. It is suggested that the Xujiachong Formation spore assemblages can all be equated to the polygonalis‐emsiensis Spore Assemblages Biozone (PE SAB) of Richardson and McGregor (1986) indicating an early (but not earliest) Pragian to ?earliest Emsian age. However, caution is urged, because biostratigraphical interpretation is difficult owing to distinct differences between dispersed spore assemblages from South China and Euramerica/Northern Gondwana. This almost certainly reflects palaeophytogeographical variation and regional endemism among early land plant floras on widely separated land masses. Palynofacies analysis supports a nonmarine origin for the deposits of the Xujiachong Formation, with the very rare marine palynomorphs that were encountered interpreted as reworked.     

Early Permian brachiopod faunas from Peninsular India: Their Gondwanan relationships

The Early Permian (Late Asselian? to Aktastinian?) brachiopod faunas of Peninsular India are revised in terms of current taxonomy. Genera such as Semilingula, Arctitreta, Etherilosia, Strophalosia, Aulosteges, Bandoproductus, Cyrtella, Neospirifer, Crassispirifer, Tomiopsis and Gilledia confirm the Gondwanan aspect of the faunas and a close relationship, at the generic level, to the Early Permian brachiopod faunas of Western Australia. Peninsular Indian Early Permian brachiopod faunas belong to a complex of Gondwanan and peri‐Gondwanan faunas from Oman and the Pamirs in the West to Australasia in the east. This distribution implies relative freedom of migration for the faunas along the northern margin of Gondwana during the Early Permian.     

Late Devonian non-marine Naiadites devonicus nov. sp. (Bivalvia: Pteriomorphia) from the Waterloo Farm Lagerstätte in South Africa

This study defines a new bivalve species, Naiadites devonicus nov. sp., of Famennian (Late Devonian) age. The material was excavated from the non-marine deposits of the Waterloo Farm Lagerstätte in South Africa, which form part of the Witpoort Formation (Witteberg Group, Cape Supergroup) of the Cape Fold Belt region. The type material of Naiadites devonicus nov. sp. is preserved in metamorphosed, clayey to silty mudstones of a coastal estuarine to lagoonal facies, deposited along the shoreline of the Agulhas Sea, in a high-palaeolatitude Gondwanan setting. The new bivalve species is the stratigraphically oldest representative of the genus Naiadites Dawson. It is a faunal element of a high-latitude palaeoecosystem, immediately preceding the Hangenberg extinction event at the end of the Late Devonian.     

Late devonian facies inter-relationships in bordering areas of the North Atlantic and their palaeogeographic implications

Late Devonian faunal and facies relationships are examined in seven around the North Atlantic — in eastern North America, Greenland, western Europe and northwest Africa. A shallow marine (“littoral”) environment, characterized by the genus Cyrtospirifer, is distinguished from a deeper water (“bathyal”) goniatite-conodont milieu on the one hand, and from the “Old Red Sandstone” terrestial facies bearing plant an d fresh-water fish remains on the other.Current or source directions indicate that an “Acadian Divide” existed, separating west-flowing drainage systems in North America from those flowing to the east on the Afro-European side. All species of the osteolepid Latvius, and the majority of species of Glyptopomus are found on the eastern flank. Conversely, the earliest amphibian, Ichthyostega, may have been confined to the western side of the divide.Palaeogeographic reconstruction places northwest Africa fairly close to the Catskill Delta in the Late Devonian, thus accounting for the presence of an “American fauna” in the former. North—south migration of littoral faunas along the Afro-European shores was, however, apparently inhibited.     

A new Miocene vertebrate assemblage from the Río Yuca Formation (Venezuela) and the northernmost record of typical Miocene mammals of high latitude (Patagonian) affinities in South America

Geological explorations of the basal beds of the Río Yuca Formation (Tucupido region, Portuguesa State, western Venezuela) resulted in the recognition of a new vertebrate assemblage that includes eight taxa: the toxodont cf. Adinotherium, a Peltephilidae armadillo, the freshwaters fishes Platysilurus and Phractocephalus, the caiman Purussaurus, an indeterminate dolphin, turtles, and the previously recognized sloth Pseudoprepotherium venezuelanum. When compared with the higher latitudes faunas of Argentina and Chile, the presence of cf. Adinotherium and peltephilids in the Rio Yuca Formation is consistent, but not conclusive, with a Santacrucian to Frisian SALMA age. The associated fauna, as well recent apatite fission track analysis, indicates that the Río Yuca assemblage is more likely younger in age, specifically Middle to Late Miocene. So far, the Miocene localities of the northern part of South America have provided a less prolific fossil record compared to the southern part of the continent (e.g., Santacrucian and Friasian faunas of Patagonia), but the present work documents the surprising occurrence of two taxa (Peltephilidae and Nesodontinae) common in southern high latitude faunas of South America, implying the persistence of the Santacrucian-Friasian genus Adinotherium in younger strata from northern South America, and that peltephilids were much more widespread during the Miocene than previously recognized. The presence of these common Patagonian taxa (Peltephilidae and Nesodontinae) in Río Yuca also supports the hypothesis of prior researchers for the existence of biogeographical connections between the northern and southern portions of South America during the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene, which facilitated faunal interchange between the two regions. Finally, the biogeographical affinities of the freshwater fishes and the giant caiman (Purussaurus) indicate close relationships of the Tucupido region with the ancestral distribution of the Orinocoan–Amazonian drainage system.     

Small Celastraceae and Polygonaceae twigs from the Upper Cenozoic (Ituzaingó Formation) of the La Plata Basin,Argentina

Two new wood types from the Late Cenozoic of the Ituzaingó Formation, La Plata Basin, Northeast Argentina add to our knowledge of South American Cenozoic plants. The materials were preserved by siliceous cellular permineralization, and they were prepared for microscopic examination by surface polishing and in thin sections. The anatomy of these new species was described. The relationship and comparison with the nearest living relatives (NLRs) are discussed. Maytenoxylon perforatum Franco gen. and sp. nov. is described as the first fossil wood referable to Celastraceae from South America. This new fossil species is related to extant Maytenus Molina. The other fossil twig, Ruprechtioxylon breae Franco sp. nov., has features of the Polygonaceae family and particularly resembles the extant specie Ruprechtia laxiflora Meisn. The occurrence of these fossil woods in south-eastern South America suggests that a relatively warm and dry to seasonally dry climate prevailed over this region of Gondwana during the Upper Cenozoic. It also provides new evidence for the hypothesis of the more wide distribution of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) during the Upper Cenozoic.     

Early Cambrian organophosphatic brachiopods from the Xinji Formation,at Shuiyu section,Shanxi Province,North China

Abundant and diverse small shelly fossils have been reported from Cambrian Series 2 in North China, but the co-occurring brachiopods are still poorly known. Herein, we describe seven genera, five species and two undetermined species of organophosphatic brachiopods including one new genus and new species from the lower Cambrian Xinji Formation at Shuiyu section, located on the southern margin of North China Platform. The brachiopod assemblage comprises one mickwitziid (stem group brachiopoda), Paramickwitzia boreussinaensis n. gen. n. sp., a paterinide, Askepasma toddense Laurie, 1986, an acrotretoid, Eohadrotreta cf. zhenbaensis Li and Holmer, 2004, a botsfordiid, Schizopholis yorkensis (Holmer and Ushatinskaya in Gravestock et al., 2001) and three linguloids, Spinobolus sp., Eodicellomus cf. elkaniiformis Holmer and Ushatinskaya in Gravestock et al., 2001 and Eoobolus sp. This brachiopod assemblage suggests a late Age 3 to early Age 4 for the Xinji Formation and reveals a remarkably strong connection with coeval faunas from East Gondwana, particularly the Hawker Group in South Australia. The high degree of similarity (even at species level) further supports a close palaeogeographic position between the North China Platform and Australian East Gondwana during the early Cambrian as indicated by small shelly fossil data.     

The Bohemo‐Iberian regional chronostratigraphical scale for the Ordovician System and palaeontological correlations within South Gondwana

The Bohemo‐Iberian regional scale for South Gondwana, involving the ‘Mediterranean Province’, comprises five regional stages (Arenigian, Oretanian, Dobrotivian, Berounian and Kralodvorian) plus the global Tremadocian and Hirnantian. The predominance of shallow‐water taxa in those high‐latitude faunas imposes serious difficulties for correlating the regional succession with the formal global chronostratigraphy because of the almost total absence of the key graptolites and conodonts defining the base of the standard series, stages and stage slices. Instead, the abundant benthic faunas (trilobites, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms) of South Gondwanan origin largely dominated in the area from the middle Darriwilian to the late Katian. The poleward faunal migration of originally Avalonian, Baltic, Laurentian and even Asiatic taxa during the Boda Event of global warming progressively ends with the endemicity in the region, where the ensuing benthic assemblages were severely affected by the Hirnantian glaciation. The regional scale significantly improves the precision of correlations between Ordovician strata from SW and central Europe, North Africa and a large part of the Middle East. An updated record of palaeontological data from areas where Mediterranean faunas remain practically unknown, or are still poorly investigated, is also included. Palaeobiogeographical relationships based on the distribution of faunas across South Gondwana are suggested as an improvement for positioning many territories in modern palaeogeographical reconstructions and offer a constructive approach to problems related to the pre‐Variscan and pre‐Alpine orogenic puzzles.     

Biogeography of the Monimiaceae (Laurales): a role for East Gondwana and long‐distance dispersal,but not West Gondwana

Aim The biogeography of the tropical plant family Monimiaceae has long been thought to reflect the break‐up of West and East Gondwana, followed by limited transoceanic dispersal. Location Southern Hemisphere, with fossils in East and West Gondwana. Methods We use phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from 67 of the c. 200 species, representing 26 of the 28 genera of Monimiaceae, and a Bayesian relaxed clock model with fossil prior constraints to estimate species relationships and divergence times. Likelihood optimization is used to infer switches between biogeographical regions on the highest likelihood tree. Results Peumus from Chile, Monimia from the Mascarenes and Palmeria from eastern Australia/New Guinea form a clade that is sister to all other Monimiaceae. The next‐deepest split is between the Sri Lankan Hortonia and the remaining genera. The African Monimiaceae, Xymalos monospora, then forms the sister clade to a polytomy of five clades: (I) Mollinedia and allies from South America; (II) Tambourissa and allies from Madagascar and the Mascarenes; (III) Hedycarya, Kibariopsis and Leviera from New Zealand, New Caledonia and Australia; (IV) Wilkiea, Kibara, Kairoa; and (V) Steganthera and allies, all from tropical Australasia. Main conclusions Tree topology, fossils, inferred divergence times and ances‐tral area reconstruction fit with the break‐up of East Gondwana having left a still discernible signature consisting of sister clades in Chile and Australia. There is no support for previous hypotheses that the break‐up of West Gondwana (Africa/South America) explains disjunctions in the Monimiaceae. The South American Mollinedia clade is only 28–16 Myr old, and appears to have arrived via trans‐Pacific dispersal from Australasia. The clade apparently spread in southern South America prior to the Andean orogeny, fitting with its first‐diverging lineage (Hennecartia) having a southern‐temperate range. The crown ages of the other major clades (II–V) range from 20 to 29 Ma, implying over‐water dispersal between Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar and the Mascarenes. The endemic genus Monimia on the Mascarenes provides an interesting example of an island lineage being much older than the islands on which it presently occurs.