During its journey from Gondwana to Asia, India experienced dramatic latitudinal and climatic changes that caused massive extinctions in its biota. However, biogeographical and paleontological studies suggested that some ancient Gondwanan taxa survived these vicissitudes and dispersed "out-of-India" into South Asia, after India collided with the Asian continent in the Early Tertiary. To corroborate or refute these suggestions, independent estimates for the time of origin of such groups are needed. Here we present molecular evidence in support of the "out-of-India" hypothesis for Crypteroniaceae. Maximum parsimony and likelihood analyses of rbcL sequences suggested that Crypteroniaceae should be restricted to Crypteronia, Axinandra, and Dactylocladus and that Crypteroniaceae, so defined, are sister to a clade formed by three small S African taxa (Oliniaceae, Penaeaceae, and Rhynchocalycaeae) and the monotypic S American Alzateaceae. Three molecular dating approaches (maximum likelihood under a molecular clock, Langley-Fitch, and penalized likelihood) were used to infer the age of Crypteroniaceae using both paleobotanical and geologic calibrations. Comparisons among these three methods revealed significant lineage effects in rbcL sequences. Our results argue for an ancient Gondwanan origin of Crypteroniaceae in the Early to Middle Cretaceous, followed by diversification on the rafting Indian plate in the Early Tertiary and subsequent dispersal to SE Asia. These findings are congruent with recent molecular dating estimates in vertebrates that similarly point to a central role for India in importing Gondwanan elements into Asia.

Key words: biogeography, Crypteroniaceae, molecular dating, Myrtales, penalized likelihood