Abstract
Fossil fruits document the former presence of Sloanea L. (Elaeocarpaceae) in Greenland and midlatitude North America during the early Tertiary. First described as Castanea ungeri by Heer in 1869 from the Paleocene of Greenland, the distinctive spiny fruits have since been discovered at several Paleocene to lower Eocene sites in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The fruits are 3–5‐valved capsules 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter, borne on long pedicels. Immature, unopened capsules show a single persistent style. The capsules open from the apex with valves separating to the lower 10% of the fruit. Each valve has a smooth inner surface with a pronounced median septum and is ornamented dorsally with closely spaced, erect spines, 4–8 mm long. The North American and Greenlandic fossils are classified together as Sloanea ungeri (Heer) comb. n., a species that extended from the Lower Paleocene (Puercan) to the Lower Eocene (Lost Cabinian) in the Rocky Mountain region. Fruits of Carpites lancensis Dorf from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Wyoming are less well preserved but also resemble those of Sloanea. These fossil occurrences document an earlier fossil record for the family Elaeocarpaceae in the Northern Hemisphere than is currently known from the Southern Hemisphere.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
