North Gondwanan floral elements in lower to middle cretaceous sediments of the Southern Alps (Southern Switzerland, Northern Italy)

Abstract

Some early Cretaceous floral assemblages of the Southern Alps (southern Switzerland, northern Italy) contain typical North Gondwanan elements such as Dicheiropollis etruscus, “ Reticulatasporites” jardinus, Reyrea sp., Elaterosporites sp., Elaterocolpites sp., Elateroplicites sp., and Galeocornea sp. This is the northernmost known occurrence of these sporomorphs. Their presence provides new data for the reconstruction of early Cretaceous floral provinces and palaeogeography. Comparison of sporomorph assemblages from different regions of the Northern Gondwana and the Southern Laurasia provinces gives evidence for climatic evolution during the middle Cretaceous.