Lagerstroemia L. from the middle Miocene Siwalik deposits, northern India: Implication for Cenozoic range shifts of the genus and the family Lythraceae

Fossil leaves of Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) are described from the Siwalik deposits (middle Miocene) of Kathgodam, Uttarakhand, India. The fossil records of the Lythraceae indicate its worldwide distribution in the Cenozoic. The family had its widest distribution during the Miocene but became less widespread during the Pliocene, followed by range expansion during the Quaternary. The present leaf fossil, along with the previous fossil records of Lagerstroemia, indicates that the genus followed the same pattern of expansion and retraction as the entire family Lythraceae suggesting that both the genus and the family adapted in similar ways. The fossil plant assemblage from the Lower Siwalik deposits indicates warm and humid climate with plenty of rainfall in the region during the depositional period.