The Rhaetian flora of Rögla, northern Scania, Sweden

Abstract

Abstract: Rögla is the northernmost locality yielding Mesozoic plant fossils in Scania, southern Sweden, and is one of the northernmost Rhaetian assemblages in Europe. The assemblage consists of over 500 specimens collected 50–60 years ago, of which 139 yielded identifiable plant remains referable to 15 plant species; another 19 specimens are tentatively assigned to four species because of their fragmentary preservation. The flora includes sphenophytes, ferns, cycads, bennettitaleans, seed ferns of uncertain alliance, conifers and some leaf remains that are tentatively assigned to ginkgophytes based on their epidermal anatomy. The species‐level composition of the assemblage is consistent with a Rhaetian age and is similar to well‐known floras from nearby Höganäs and Bjuv, except for the absence of cycads belonging to Nilssonia, which are very common in most other Scanian floras. The fossil assemblage is interpreted to derive from multi‐storey vegetation occupying moist habitats on a coastal plain. Strong affinities are evident with the coeval floras of Jameson Land, Greenland, reinforcing the concept of a distinctive North Atlantic floristic sub‐province at the close of the Triassic.