Fossil oculata pollen from Alaska

Abstract

Abstract Fossil pollen of the morphological type “oculata” have been encountered in sediments of Upper Cretaceous and Palaeocene age in Alaska. These Alaskan assemblages contain most of the species described by other authors in the United States, Canada, and the USSR. In addition, several new Alaskan species have been encountered. These taxa are evaluated here morphologically and biostratigraphically, with particular reference to pollen wall and aperture morphology, the Campanian‐Maastrichtian and Maastrichtian‐Palaeocene age boundaries, and regional distribution. All species are allocated to the genera Azonia Samoilovitch 1961, Wodehouseia Stanley 1961, and Singularia Samoilovitch 1961; and the genus Azonia is emended. Ten new species of Azonia and Wodehouseia are described: Azonia cribrata, A. parva, A. sufflata, Wodehouseia avita, W. bella, W. capil‐lata, W. edmontonicola, W. octospina, W. quad‐rispina, and W, vestivirgata. Three new subspecies are described: Azonia fabacea subsp. reticulata, A. fabacea subsp. rugulosa, and Wodehouseia fimbriata subsp. constricta. Seven new combinations are made also: Azonia calvata (Samoilovitch), A. hirsuta (Samoilovitch), A. jacutense (Samoilovitch), A, ob‐liquus (Chlonova), Wodehouseia asper (Samoilovitch), W. excelsa (Samoilovitch), and W. elegans (Samoilovitch).