Abstract The identification of Myrtaceae pollen to species level in fossil records has challenged palynologists due to the similarity of pollen grains produced by species in this family. Here, we present a pollen morphological study of the Myrtaceae species found in a specific region of southeastern Australia, the islands of the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait, and apply this to fossil pollen records from the same region to confirm its utility in differentiating Myrtaceae pollen to type level. We examined 23 species of Myrtaceae, belonging to 6 genera, and were able to identify 11 distinct types. The observed Myrtaceae pollen taxa can be confidently separated to genus level, apart from Euryomyrtus, which is indistinguishable from Leptospermum. Specifically, separation to species level is most achievable within the genus Melaleuca, as well as Kunzea and Calytrix, which are each represented by a single species. Conversely, Eucalyptus could only be separated into major types, while Leptospermum species could not be clearly separated, although differences in exine patterns exist. We also demonstrate that our pollen morphological types can be applied to Holocene and Pleistocene fossil records from the Furneaux Group. We recommend that studying the Myrtaceae of a specific area is more helpful in identifying fossil Myrtaceae pollen from that area than using general Myrtaceae pollen morphological descriptions or keys that are not site- or region-specific.

中文翻译：

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特定区域的桃金娘科花粉研究可有效地将桃金娘科花粉化石分为物种或类型

摘要 由于桃金娘科物种产生的花粉粒的相似性，在化石记录中将桃金娘科花粉鉴定到物种水平一直是一个挑战。在这里，我们对在澳大利亚东南部巴斯海峡的 Furneaux 群岛岛屿发现的桃金娘科物种进行了花粉形态学研究，并将其应用于同一地区的花粉化石记录，以确认其在区分桃金娘科花粉方面的效用键入级别。我们检查了桃金娘科的 23 种，属于 6 属，并能够识别出 11 种不同的类型。除了与 Leptospermum 无法区分的 Euryomyrtus 之外，观察到的桃金娘科花粉类群可以自信地分离到属水平。具体而言，在千层属内最可实现物种水平的分离，以及 Kunzea 和 Calytrix，它们每个都由一个物种代表。相反，桉树只能分为主要类型，而细叶植物则无法明确区分，尽管外壁模式存在差异。我们还证明了我们的花粉形态类型可以应用于 Furneaux 群的全新世和更新世化石记录。我们建议研究特定区域的桃金娘科比使用一般桃金娘科花粉形态描述或非地点或区域特定的关键字更有助于识别该地区的桃金娘科花粉化石。我们还证明了我们的花粉形态类型可以应用于 Furneaux 群的全新世和更新世化石记录。我们建议研究特定区域的桃金娘科比使用一般桃金娘科花粉形态描述或非地点或区域特定的关键字更有助于识别该地区的桃金娘科花粉化石。我们还证明了我们的花粉形态类型可以应用于 Furneaux 群的全新世和更新世化石记录。我们建议研究特定区域的桃金娘科比使用一般桃金娘科花粉形态描述或非地点或区域特定的关键字更有助于识别该地区的桃金娘科花粉化石。