Fossil wood of Dryobalanops from Pliocene deposits of Indonesia

Abstract

The present paper gives a detailed account of anatomical features of petrified wood showing affinities with the modern genus Dryobalanops Gaertn.f. of the family Dipterocarpaceae. The fossil wood was found as a big tree trunk in volcanic sediments near Bogor, West Java (Indonesia). The distribution of extant Dryobalanops is restricted to tropical evergreen rain forests of Malaysia and Indonesia (Sumatra & Borneo). Today it is absent in the natural forests of Java, although the broad climatic setting has not changed much since Pliocene times. Reasons for its absence in the island are discussed.