A paradigm to be discarded: Geological and paleoecological data falsify the HAFFER & PRANCE refuge hypothesis of Amazonian speciation

Abstract

All geological data from Amazonian landfoms imply continuous humid weathering throughout late Tertiary and Quatemary times, with all claims for arid land processes shown to be in error. Sand dunes exist only where thick deposits of sand prevent stable vegetative cover. A ground tmth survey shows that proposed dune fíelds in the Pantanal do Mato Grosso do not in fact exist and that dunes in Pantanal Setentrional continue to be active. AI1 available Amazonian pollen data, without exception and including new data, imply biome stability: no pollen data suggest increased coverage of savanna in glacial times, claims to the contrary being demonstrably in error.