| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2003 |
| Authors: | F. Ervik, Knudsen J. T. |
| Journal: | Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |
| Volume: | 80 |
| Pagination: | 539-543 |
| Date Published: | May |
| Keywords: | Cyclocephala, floral scent, GC-MS, headspace, Nymphaea, pollination, Senegal, thermogenesis, – |
| Abstract: | Night-flowering water lilies (Nymphaeaceae) in South America are pollinated by Cyclocephala scarab beetles (Scar- abaeidae: Cyclocephalini) in a specialized relationship involving synchronized flowering movements, strong floral scent, food tissues, and heat-producing flowers. We report that a similar and closely related association exists in West Africa between Nymphaea lotus L. and Ruteloryctes morio Fabricius (Cyclocephalini). This finding strongly supports a late Early Cretaceous origin of a symbiosis between the night-flowering water lilies and pollinating Cyclocephalini beetles. We believe that this is the first unambiguous evidence of a plant-pollinator relationship of this age. |