A NEW SPECIES OF WINGED FRUIT FROM THE MIOCENE OF ECUADOR - TIPUANA-ECUATORIANA (LEGUMINOSAE)

Tipuana ecuatoriana sp. nov. (Leguminosae; Dalbergieae), is described from winged fruits collected in Miocene sediments of the Loja and Nabo n Basins of Ecuador. Extensive comparisons with families that include genera with similar samaroid fruits or disperal units led to recogniti on of legume affinities for the fossil. Based upon the texture of the fruit, the position of the style remnant, and the venation of the frui t wing, the fossil conforms to the extant monotypic genus, Tipuana, na tive to subtropical Bolivia and northwest Argentina, but widely cultiv ated in the subtropics. Tipuana, and thus the Dalbergieae as presently recognized, were present in South America prior to the establishment of permanent land connection between North and South America.