Abstract
A fragment of an araucarian ovuliferous cone, araucarian leaves and podocarpaceous wood are described from Upper Cretaceous strata exposed at Cape Lamb, Vega Island, Antarctica. The wood fragment and the reproductive cone come from the middle part of the early Maastrichtian K2 unit whereas the leaves referred to a new species, Araucaria antarctica, were recovered from the younger (mid?) Maastrichtian K3 unit (Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation). These are the first plant megafossils to be described in detail for this locality and represent components of a Late Cretaceous forest community growing under cold-temperate conditions. The findings reported herein highlight the potential value of the fossiliferous sequence exposed on Vega Island, which has not yet been fully investigated, and provide insights into the diversity and structure of the high latitude, Late Cretaceous conifer-dominated floras.
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