genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of two species of rainforest trees in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, in eastern Australia, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. The plant family Proteaceae was named after the shape-shifting god
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...
of Greek mythology. The genus name ''Eidothea'' refers to one of the three daughters of Proteus.
In 1883 German-Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller named fossil seeds '' Xylocaryon lockii'' from
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
age sediments excavated in old gold mining sites in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
; they match those of ''Eidothea'' and are thought to represent the modern plant.
''Eidothea'' is known from geographic areas separated by more than , the mountains of the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Queensland, the
Nightcap Range
The Nightcap Range is a mountain range located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in the area between Lismore and the New South Wales-Queensland border. It includes Mount Burrell and Mount Nardi as well as containing th ...
area of north-eastern
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and as the fossils from southern Victoria, much further to the south, underlining the fact that Australia's rainforests are tiny remnants of ancient rainforests that millions of years ago covered large parts of Australia. This makes them a particularly precious part of Australia's natural heritage.
Taxonomy
The family Proteaceae also includes more well known members such as the waratahs,
grevillea
''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...
s,
banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range ...
s,
macadamia
''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...
s and
protea
''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos'').
Etymology
The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...
s. Proteaceae is a very old family of flowering plants which probably originated while the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana was still undivided. Gondwana consisted of what are now the continents of Australia,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
, as well as smaller bits and pieces such as
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. Gondwana began splitting up over 120 million years ago and the fragments carried a diverse array of plants and animals with them, including a variety of lineages of the Proteaceae. ''Eidothea'' is the only relic of one of those early lineages that has barely survived in the rainforests of eastern Australia. Other lineages went on to diversify spectacularly, resulting in hundreds of descendant species.
''Eidothea'' lies within the subfamily
Proteoideae
Proteoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the plant family Proteaceae. The greatest diversity is in Africa, but there are also many species in Flora of Australia, Australia; a few species occur in South America, New Caledonia, and elsewhere.
...
, which contain such plants as ''
Protea
''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos'').
Etymology
The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...
'', ''
Leucadendron
''Leucadendron'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type.
Description
Species in the genus ''Leucadendron' ...
'', ''
Leucospermum
''Leucospermum'' is a genus of evergreen upright, sometimes creeping shrubs that is assigned to the Proteaceae, with currently forty-eight known species. Almost all species are easily recognised as ''Leucospermum'' because of the long protrudin ...
'', and most other South African Proteaceae, ''
Isopogon
''Isopogon'', commonly known as conesticks, conebushes or coneflowers, is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, and are endemic to Australia. They are shrubs with rigid leaves, bisexual flowers in a dens ...
Petrophile
''Petrophile'' is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the family Proteaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Commonly known as conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream fl ...
Eidothea hardeniana
''Eidothea hardeniana'', commonly named nightcap oak, is a species of tree, up to 40 m (130 ft) tall, of the plant family Proteaceae, which botanist Robert Kooyman recognised as a new species only recently in 2002. It is found only in ...
'' - natural occurrences known only in the
Nightcap National Park
The Nightcap National Park is a national park situated within the Nightcap Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in April 1983 and is situated north of . The national park is classed by the IUC ...
and in the adjacent
Whian Whian State Conservation Area
Whian Whian State Conservation Area is one of the protected areas of New South Wales, operated by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.Eidothea zoexylocarya'' - known from the slopes of
Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and ...
and nearby mountains, in the region around Cairns, in north-eastern Queensland.