Ficoxylon fusiforme (Moraceae), a New Species from the Upper Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone, Southern Egypt

Abstract

A new species of Ficoxylon Kaiser (Moraceae) is described from the Upper Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone, Aswan area, southern Egypt. The new species, Ficoxylon fusiforme, is the third report of a Cretaceous wood attributed to Ficoxylon worldwide. The two other Cretaceous records, F. cretaceum Schenk and ?F. sp. of Krausel, are also from Egypt. Ficoxylon species are common in the Tertiary, from the Palaeocene to the Pliocene. An emended generic diagnosis is proposed for Ficoxylon, which was erected in 1880 with few details. The new species is compared with the 18 currently recognized species of Ficoxylon/Ficus; it is distinguished by a combination of characters: predominantly solitary, few, relatively wide vessels; axial parenchyma bands 3–8 cells wide; 2–7 seriate, spindle-shaped, closely spaced, and slightly heterocellular rays; thin-walled, nonseptate fibers. Comments are made on the Egyptian fossil remains of Moraceae and on all Egyptian Cretaceous wood taxa reported to date. Preliminary biogeographic and climatic implications are given.