The remarkably diverse plant communities of the Neotropics are the result of diversification driven by multiple biotic (for example, speciation, extinction and dispersal) and abiotic (for example, climatic and tectonic) processes. However, in the absence of a well-preserved, thoroughly sampled and critically assessed fossil record, the associated processes of dispersal and extinction are poorly understood. We report an exceptional case study documenting patterns of extinction in the grape family (Vitaceae Juss.) on the basis of fossil seeds discovered in four Neotropical palaeofloras dated between 60 and 19 Ma. These include a new species that provides the earliest evidence of Vitaceae in the Western Hemisphere. Eight additional species reveal the former presence of major clades of the family that are currently absent from the Neotropics and elucidate previously unknown dispersal events. Our results indicate that regional extinction and dispersal have substantially impacted the evolutionary history of Vitaceae in the Neotropics. They also suggest that while the Neotropics have been dynamic centres of diversification through the Cenozoic, extant Neotropical botanical diversity has also been shaped by extensive extinction over the past 66 million years.

新热带地区极其多样化的植物群落是多种生物（例如，物种形成、灭绝和扩散）和非生物（例如，气候和构造）过程驱动的多样化的结果。然而，由于缺乏保存完好、彻底采样和严格评估的化石记录，人们对扩散和灭绝的相关过程知之甚少。我们报告了一项特殊的案例研究，根据在 60 至 19 Ma 之间发现的四种新热带古植物区系中发现的化石种子，记录了葡萄科 (Vitaceae Juss.) 的灭绝模式。其中包括一个新物种，它提供了西半球葡萄科的最早证据。另外八个物种揭示了该科主要分支以前的存在，而这些分支目前在新热带地区不存在，并阐明了以前未知的扩散事件。我们的结果表明，区域灭绝和扩散对新热带地区葡萄科的进化历史产生了重大影响。他们还认为，虽然新热带地区在整个新生代一直是多样化的动态中心，但现存的新热带植物多样性也受到了过去 6600 万年的广泛灭绝的影响。