PONE-D-22-26695FIRST EVIDENCE OF A MONODOMINANT (ENGLERODENDRON, AMHERSTIEAE, DETARIOIDEAE, LEGUMINOSAE) TROPICAL MOIST FOREST FROM THE EARLY MIOCENE (21.73 MA) OF ETHIOPIAPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Pan,

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PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: This manuscript describes an exciting association of fossil leaflets of Englerodendron mulugeta sp. nov., from the Early Miocene of Ethiopia. The work is important for providing evidence of a monodominant tropical moist forest. I applaud the authors for compiling large and valuable images/datasets of cuticular and pollen information. I particularly like the quality of the SEM images of the pollen.

I have carefully reviewed the manuscript (see marked pdf), and here I provide some points:

The tiff files of figures 1 & 2 I was able to download are not of the best resolution. I had difficulty seeing some characters mentioned in the diagnosis and detailed description. I also would like to see additional closeups of some of the leaflets (e.g., twisted pulvinus, secondary and higher order venation.) Since this is the flora's most dominant taxon, there should be plenty of images. It looks like this "Legume 1 = Englerodendron mulugeta sp. nov" has been informally described/figured in other articles. However, the reader of this paper should see all the relevant images given that a new species is being erected.

The images of the fossil cuticles of the new species appear blurry in the Tiff file. Please consider new photos of the fossil cuticles at 10um to facilitate the comparisons with living taxa.

I have a few concerns regarding the monodominance of the forest, and I like that the authors stated, "it is possible that the forest at the time of Level A was on its way to monodominance". Although the percentages of the fossil leaflets are relatively large, they don't appear to be entirely the dominant taxon when compared with the few data available from tropical Africa (Table 3, Peh mono1-3). Considering that the leaflets were counted as leaves needs additional treatment in the statistical analyses.

It would be nice if the coauthors added a new figure plotting "Percent Dominant Taxon" against the stratigraphic levels.

Reviewer #2: This manuscript describes Englerodendron mulugeta sp. nov., a Detarioid legume from the early Miocene of Ethiopia based on abundant leaflets recovered from the Mush Valley site. The authors compare the fossil leaves with extant species of Detarioideae to support their taxonomic assessment and provide evidence of fossilized pollen that may correspond to the same or closely related species. The high abundance of leaves and pollen throughout the 50–60kyr sequence of the Mush Valley site are interpreted as evidence of a monodominant forest community dominated by a tree species belonging to a linage in which ecological dominants are common.

The manuscript is clear, the methodology is sound and the results are well-supported. I recommend this paper for publication. There are only three minor suggestions that I consider the authors should address:

1. Please revise the international code of botanical nomenclature for correct epithet assignation. Is ‘mulugeta’ treated as a latinized noun in apposition? The reference that the authors provide for this epithet is “he who rules”, which sounds more like an adjective instead. If this is the case (adjective), the adequate spelling should be “mulugetum”. If naming in honor of Dr. Mulugeta Fesesha it should be “mulugetanum”.

2. Figure 1 – The quality of images is quite poor and therefore the species description and morphological comparisons are hard to follow. The little detail that was visible is consistent with the species description, but I suggest that the authors include better images and/or consider including an illustration of the type specimen. Particularly the fine venation is impossible to figure out.

3. Even though the authors include a Table with detailed morphological comparison between the fossils and living species of Detarioideae, I encourage the authors to include a supplementary figure with leaves of the species they compared the fossils with, as a means to provide stronger evidence for their taxonomic assessment.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Attachments

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Submitted filename: PONE-D-22-26695_reviewer.pdf

FIRST EVIDENCE OF A MONODOMINANT (ENGLERODENDRON, AMHERSTIEAE, DETARIOIDEAE, LEGUMINOSAE) TROPICAL MOIST FOREST FROM THE EARLY MIOCENE (21.73 MA) OF ETHIOPIA

PONE-D-22-26695R1

Dear Dr. Pan,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Gongle Shi, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: