COVER ILLUSTRATION: Superbly preserved leaf surface details of the fossil Dryobalanops rapa tree from Borneo, showing individual cells and pores. In this issue, Wang et al. report the discovery of Plio-Pleistocene leaves from Brunei Darussalam of this endangered, giant dipterocarp species, which is still extant in the rapidly disappearing peat swamps of northern Borneo (see “Fossils of an endangered, endemic, giant dipterocarp species open a historical portal into Borneo's vanishing rainforests”). The leaves preserve in situ cuticles, allowing a comprehensive analysis of microscopic and macroscopic characters supporting the identification. The finding represents a rare paleobotanical record from the Asian wet tropics and the first fossil evidence of any living endangered tropical tree species, highlighting how paleobotanical records can inform conservation efforts by revealing the antiquity of threatened species and their associated ecosystems.

(Photo credit: Teng-Xiang Wang.)