Authors
Peter Wilf
Publication date
2000/2/1
Journal
Geological Society of America Bulletin
Volume
112
Issue
2
Pages
292-307
Publisher
Geological Soc America
Description
The warmest global temperatures of the Cenozoic Era occurred in early Eocene time, following a warming trend that started in late Paleocene time. The greater Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming is one of the best areas in the Rocky Mountains for paleobotanical investigation of the Paleocene-Eocene climatic transition. Intensive sampling has resulted in the recovery of an estimated 189 species of plant macrofossils from the Tiffanian, Clarkforkian, Wasatchian, and Bridgerian land mammal “ages.” The leaf morphologies and taxonomic affinities of these fossils were used in combination with other indicators to evaluate Paleocene-Eocene climates. Following cool humid conditions in the Tiffanian, the Clarkforkian was humid and subtropical, and several plant families with modern tropical affinities appeared. However, as in the Tiffanian, Clarkforkian floras had low diversity and were dominated by a …
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