Abstract
Western Liaoning is a unique region in China that bears diverse types of Jurassic plants, including leaves, fern rhizomes, and wood, providing significant proxy for vegetation and palaeoenvironment reconstruction of the well-known Yanliao Flora in East Asia. In particular, the silicified wood is very abundant in the fossil Lagerstätte of the Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in Beipiao, western Liaoning. Previous and recent systematic investigations documented a high diversity of the Jurassic wood assemblages. These assemblages are dominated by conifers, followed by cycads and ginkgoaleans. In total, about 30 species belonging to 21 genera of fossil wood have been recorded so far, which are represented by Cycadopsida, Ginkgopsida, Coniferopsida, and Gymnospermae incertae sedis. The evolutionary implications of several distinctive fossil wood taxa as well as palaeoclimate implications are summarized based on their anatomical structures and growth ring patterns. This work approaches the vegetation development and evolutionary significances of the wood taxa and their relatives, and provides clues for the further understanding of the diversity of the Jurassic Yanliao Flora in East Asia.
Highlights
IntroductionIn recent decades, increasing investigations that focused on wood taxonomy were carried out in the western Liaoning region (e.g., Ding et al 2000, 2016; Duan 2000; Zhang et al 2000a, 2006; Zheng et al 2001; Wang et al 2006; Jiang et al 2008, 2016; Jiang 2012)
Fossil floras are a significant record for the vegetation and for the palaeoenvironment reconstructions of the Mesozoic
We present a systematic overview of the fossil wood diversity in western Liaoning across the Middle to Late Jurassic transition, and discuss the evolutionary implications and palaeoclimate implications based on fossil wood taxa of several major gymnosperm groups
Summary
In recent decades, increasing investigations that focused on wood taxonomy were carried out in the western Liaoning region (e.g., Ding et al 2000, 2016; Duan 2000; Zhang et al 2000a, 2006; Zheng et al 2001; Wang et al 2006; Jiang et al 2008, 2016; Jiang 2012) These studies show that the Mesozoic wood taxa in western Liaoning are mainly represented by conifers, cycads, ginkgoaleans as well as other gymnosperms incertae sedis. Among these Mesozoic deposits, the Middle–Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation comprises a variety of plant fossils including leaf impressions and compressions, permineralized fern rhizomes and gymnosperm woods (Wang et al 2006). Recent isotopic dating of 40Ar/39Ar of volcanic rock reveals an average age of 160 Ma, pointing to late Middle Jurassic to early Late Jurassic interval, which puts the Tiaojishan Formation at a Middle to Late Jurassic transition interval, corresponding to Callovian–Oxfordian in age (Chang et al 2009)
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