The Tertiary of southeastern Australia: was it tropical?

Abstract

In the early pan of the Tertiary, Australia was not in tropical latitudes but the climate was warmer and wetter, and the vegetation was mainly rainforest. Most of the vegetation is considered subtropical or warm temperate, but there are a substantial number of tropical taxa present throughout the Tertiary. There is an overall decline in temperature throughout the Tertiary. The mid-Late Miocene was a turning point in the Australian Tertiary as it marks the demise of widespread rainforest and the beginning of the development towards aridity. Today, about one-third of Australia lies within tropical latitudes but a large proportion of this area is arid. Remnants of the once widespread rainforest are found in disjunct areas along the northern and eastern coastal strip, including Tasmania.