Abstract An ongoing re-investigation of the early Miocene Saldanha Bay (South Africa) palynoflora, using combined light and scanning electron microscopy (single grain method), is revealing several pollen types new to the African fossil record. One of the elements identified is Loranthaceae pollen. These grains represent the first and only fossil record of Loranthaceae in Africa. The fossil pollen grains resemble those produced by the core Lorantheae and are comparable to recent Asian as well as some African taxa/lineages. Molecular and fossil signals indicate that Loranthaceae dispersed into Africa via Asia sometime during the Eocene. The present host range of African Loranthaceae and the composition of the palynoflora suggest that the fossil had a range of potential host taxa to parasitise during the early Miocene in the Saldanha Bay region.

中文翻译：

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来自非洲的第一批桑椹科化石

摘要 使用组合光学和扫描电子显微镜（单粒方法）对早期中新世萨尔达尼亚湾（南非）孢粉菌群进行的重新调查正在揭示非洲化石记录中新的几种花粉类型。确定的元素之一是桑花粉。这些谷物代表了非洲首次也是唯一的桑椹科化石记录。化石花粉粒类似于核心桑叶产生的花粉粒，可与最近的亚洲和一些非洲分类群/谱系相媲美。分子和化石信号表明，在始新世的某个时候，桑椹科通过亚洲扩散到非洲。目前非洲桑寄生科的寄主范围和孢粉菌群的组成表明，该化石在中新世早期萨尔达尼亚湾地区有一系列潜在的寄主类群寄生。