L. Alejandro Giraldo

Colombian botanist and paleobiologist🇨🇴

I like plants, insects, and plant-eating insects. PhD candidate at @GeoscPSU

Check:

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

I have a pretty cool story for this #FossilFriday, just published in @NewPhyt -> https://t.co/OsJajjTtc8. TL;DR: Insect lineages tracked gum trees (plants in the genus Eucalyptus) for 52 million years, from the Eocene of Argentine Patagonia to modern-day Australia! A thread 1/n🧵

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

@barix10 @NewPhyt Mil gracias, mi Bari! Abrazo grande!

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

I have a pretty cool story for this #FossilFriday, just published in @NewPhyt -> https://t.co/OsJajjTtc8. TL;DR: Insect lineages tracked gum trees (plants in the genus Eucalyptus) for 52 million years, from the Eocene of Argentine Patagonia to modern-day Australia! A thread 1/n🧵

[KewGIS @KewGIS]

Great to see that our paper in @plantspplplanet making the front cover. One of the more unusual images to make the front cover of a scientific journal https://t.co/jLhJ7fHHo0 @KewScience

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

This was only possible with the help of fantastic mentors and coauthors. Peter Wilf (@RadioGondwana), Michael P. Donovan (at @FieldMuseum), Robert M. Kooyman (at @mqnatsci @BotanicSydney @mobotgarden) and Maria A. Gandolfo @Maria_Gandolfo). @PSUEMS @PPaleofloras @mefpatagonia

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

So there you go! A story of insect lineages tracking their plant host for 52 million years across the Southern Hemisphere. A story of how the fossil record can help in discovering living biodiversity. The past as a key to the present. 22/n

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

But what about the insects that were eating the plants? Did they track their plant food through time and space?

I tried answering this question by comparing the insect herbivore damage found on the Eucalyptus leaves from Laguna del Hunco with that of extant Eucalyptus spp. 8/n

[L. Alejandro Giraldo @Plantlejandro]

Several plant fossils from Laguna del Hunco show this biogeographic pattern: their closest living relatives are naturally distributed in Australasia. This is true for ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. Eucalyptus is just one example. 7/n