Abstract
Berane Basin in Montenegro has been known for rich paleoflora of diverse geological ages. The remains of paleovegetation of various ages were preserved by the lake occurring in this area from Late Oligocene to Early Pliocene. Therefore, the shifts in vegetation during the Miocene period may be easily followed by studying the paleofloras collected at the Berane Basin. The first and only known remains of aquatic (floating) plants were collected in 1995 at the locality Rosulje (Berane Basin) in the Early Miocene sediments. According to the morphoanatomical characteristics of leaves such as shape of lamina, veins, venation, presence of central disk or position of petiola, the specimens were identified as Nelumbo protospeciosa SAP., a widely distributed form during the Tertiary of Eurasia. No other plants or accompanying vegetation were recorded at the Rosulje site, so presence of Nelumbo protospeciosa was insufficient for determining the habitat, vegetation or climate during its existence. Therefore the paleoenvironmental reconstruction also included analysis of the already published Early Miocene flora from the locality Luge-Haremi (Berane Basin) and eco-climatic characteristics of recent Nelumbo species. At last was concluded that Nelumbo, which had leaves at least 30 cm in diameter, used to inhabit open, well-insolated sites, probably under the influence of the subtropical/Mediterranean-type climate.
Highlights
The Berane Basin in Montenegro is widely known for the large amount of fossil plants collected at the site
This is the first record of genus Nelumbo in the Berane Basin and in contrast to other plant fossils, which were mostly preserved in marl, Nelumbo protospeciosa was represented by compressions and impressions of leaves and rhizomes in clay-based sediment
Several species of Nelumbo/Nelumbium leaves from Tertiary period were recorded in Europe: Nelumbium buchii ETT.; Nelumbium nymphaeoides ETT.; Nelumbium casparianum HEER; Nelumbium provinciale SAP.; Nelumbium protospeciosum SAP.; Nelumbo hungarica TUZSON; Nelumbium weylandii DOTZLER
Summary
The Berane Basin in Montenegro is widely known for the large amount of fossil plants collected at the site. There are over 20 known sites with fossil plants, belonging to Lower (e.g. Luge, Haremi, Bunar T.J, Petnjk, Budimlja etc.), Middle (Jasikovac) and Upper Miocene and Pliocene (e.g. Popovići, Mašte). As an addition to the existing collection of fossil plants, remains of aquatic Nelumbo protospeciosa were collected inside the lignite mine Rosulje at Budimlja (Berane Basin) in 1995 (Fig. 8; Pl. 1). This is the first record of genus Nelumbo in the Berane Basin and in contrast to other plant fossils, which were mostly preserved in marl, Nelumbo protospeciosa was represented by compressions and impressions of leaves and rhizomes in clay-based sediment
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