''Neorites'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

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 plants in the family Proteaceae. The sole species ''Neorites kevedianus'', commonly called fishtail oak or fishtail silky oak, is a tall tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the wet tropics rainforests of north eastern

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 ...

, Australia.

Taxonomy and naming

Queensland botanist Lindsay Smith named the species in 1969, based on a specimen collected near Kuranda in 1955 by Queensland forestry officers Kevin J. White and H. Edgar Volck. Smith coined the species name from the first names of the finders. Peter H. Weston and Nigel Barker refined the classification of the Proteaceae in 2006, incorporating molecular data. Here, ''Neorites'' emerged as closely related to the genera ''

Orites ''Orites'' is a genus of 9 known species, 7 endemic to Australia (4 of which occur in Tasmania) and 2 in South America; 1 in the Chilean Andes and 1 in Bolivia. Species This listing was sourced from the ''Australian Plant Name Index'' and ot ...

'' and '' Roupala''. They thus placed the three genera in the subtribe ''Roupalinae'', conceding that the next closest relatives of this group is unclear. This group lies within the subfamily

Grevilleoideae The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genera and about 950 species. Genera include ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and '' Macadamia''. Description The ...

. Clock dating with molecular and fossil data indicated ancestors of ''Neorites'' and the South American genus ''Roupala'' may have diverged in the mid- Oligocene around 30 million years ago, and that this lineage in turn separated from the ancestors of ''Orites'' in the late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

around 36 million years ago. A compound-leaved fossil species has been recovered from the middle

Golden Grove site in Adelaide that closely resembles ''Neorites kevedianus''. Although abundant at this site, it has not been recovered elsewhere.

Description

''Neorites kevedianus'' is a tree reaching in height. The new growth is covered in brownish fur.

Distribution and habitat

''Neorites kevedianus'' is native to north Queensland, where it is found in rainforest on volcanic soils at altitudes from above sea level.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6994112 Proteaceae Monotypic Proteaceae genera Endemic flora of Queensland Wet Tropics of Queensland