First reliable Miocene fossil winged fruits record of Engelhardia in Asia through anatomical investigation.

Fossil genera with similar features to the winged fruits of the living Lesch. ex Blume (e.g., G. Saporta) have been widely reported in Cenozoic fossil floras of the Northern Hemisphere. However, fossil winged fruits of with detailed anatomical structures have only been found in the upper Eocene of North America. This study reports the first fossil winged fruits with detailed anatomical structures in East Asia from the Miocene Erzitang Formation of Guangxi, South China. The anatomical and morphological features of the new fossils, including the unique structure of secondary septa, clearly distinguish them from other fossil genera and show unambiguously their attribution to the genus . This discovery suggests that had reached its modern distribution during the Miocene and the climate of the Guiping Basin in Guangxi during the Miocene was similar to that of present-day tropical and subtropical regions in Asia.