Antarctic flora & fauna (was: New Zealand plants...)

[Ken Kinman]

Robin wrote:
     I suggest you try another route to give linkage of Nothofagus and relatives.
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My response:
     I think Robin is probably correct.  My own hunch is that Nothofagus is just a fairly old and very slowly evolving genus that was once quite widespread in Gondwanaland.  Its hardiness in tundra-like conditions would have allowed it to survive in Antarctica until a relatively late date.  I suspect that the listroderine weevils (often found in Nothofagus forests elsewhere) may have went extinct in Antarctica a little earlier than Nothofagus itself.
            ---- Cheers,
                      Ken Kinman