[Taxacom] Where (and when) angiosperms originated

[Kenneth Kinman]

Dear All,
       I've been studying the literature on angiosperm origins, and there is apparently a very long period of time between the origin of angiosperms and the origin of crown group angiosperms.  I have concluded that where angiosperms originated is probably also a totally different place.
       Crown group angiosperms probably originated in Gondwana, most likely in Australia since so many basal families occur in the forests of northern Queensland (which in the past were even closer to New Caledonia).  However, where the first angiosperms originated is a totally different question.  My hypothesis is that the first angiosperms perhaps split from their probable sister group Caytoniales as far away as Laurasia, rather than Gondwana (perhaps in the Permian, if not earlier).
      Of course, the larger numbers of records of putative angiosperm pollen (and Caytonia fossils) in Europe and eastern North America could be due to more intensive research in those areas, so an origin in Africa shouldn't be ruled out.  What route they took to Australia could depend on when that expansion took place.  Papers by Dettmann suggested that they got to Australia through Antarctica.  In any case, there is no evidence that angiosperms originated in Australia, but there is plenty of evidence that crown group angiosperms did originate in Australia (far from where the earliest angiosperms originated).
                         -------------Ken Kinman