Nothopegia

Nothopegia Latest News

Recently, a team of researchers discovered 24-million-year-old fossilized leaves resembling modern plant species of the Nothopegia genus from Makum Coalfield of Assam.   

About Nothopegia

• It is a genus of plants in the family Anacardiaceae.
• The native range of this genus is Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka.
• At present species of this genus are found in Western Ghats region.

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Key Findings of Nothopegiae

• These fossilized leaves, dating back around 24–23 million years to the late Oligocene epoch, were the world’s oldest known fossil record of a plant genus called Nothopegia.
• It is suggested that the ancient environment of northeast India once provided a perfect home for Nothopegia.
• The Himalayas began their dramatic rise due to tectonic movements, bringing with them sweeping changes in temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns.
• These geological convulsions cooled the northeast, rendering it inhospitable for many tropical plant species, including Nothopegia.
• The species survived in the climatically stable Western Ghats, making it a living relic of an ancient ecological past.
• Methodology used: Herbarium comparison, Cluster analysis, Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP)

Source: PIB