Fossil Plant Assemblages Research Articles

Upper Cretaceous woods from the Olmos Formation (late Campanian–early Maastrichtian), Coahuila, Mexico

The Olmos Formation was part of a system of deltas that existed in the southern portion of the Western Interior of North America during the Campanian-Maastrichtian. The paleofloristic composition from the northern portions of the Epicontinental Sea is relatively well known, but less intensive exploration in the south has precluded more detailed floristic comparison across the entire latitudinal span of the Sea. The Olmos Formation flora, with more than 100 different leaf morphotypes so far recognized and several wood types, has the most diverse Cretaceous fossil plant assemblage in Mexico and represents a valuable opportunity for comparative studies. • The fossil woods here described were collected in the Coahuila State, Mexico. The samples were studied using standard thin section technique and identified by comparison with fossil and extant material. • We described four new genera (Olmosoxylon, cf. Lauraceae; Coahuiloxylon, ?Anacardiaceae, ?Burseraceae; Muzquizoxylon, Cornaceae; and Wheeleroxylon, Malvaceae s.l.) and three xylotypes of angiosperms. • Some of the genera present in the Olmos Formation such as Javelinoxylon and Metcalfeoxylon have been described from geologic units in the USA (San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Big Bend National Park, Texas), suggesting similarity in the taxonomic composition of the floras that inhabited southern portions of the western margin of the Campanian-Maastrichtian Epicontinental Sea. Other species, however, have only been reported for the Olmos Formation, indicating some degree of local floristic differentiation among the assemblages that inhabited the southern portion of the Western Interior.

Upper Permian plant fossil assemblage of Bijori Formation: A case study of Glossopteris flora beyond the limit of Raniganj Formation

Plant fossils collected from the Bijori Formation of Satpura Gondwana Basin are described in detail from the type locality as well as from other exposures. The assemblage is dominated by glossopterid remains with few specimens of pteridophyte of Glossopteris flora viz. Santhalea bansloiensis, Neomariopteris sp., Trizygia speciosa and 20 species of Glossopteris viz., G. angustifolia, G. searsoliensis, G. tenuifolia, G. surangei, G. kamthiensis, G. utkalensis, G. syaldiensis, G. sp. cf G. zeilleri, G. stricta, G. bosei, G. intermittens, G. stenoneura, G. gopadensis, G. wilkinsonii, G. retifera, G. conspicua, G. mohudaensis, G. browniana, G. communis, G. indica, Vertebraria indica, dispersed seeds of Cordaicarpustype and equisetalean axes with or without nodes and internodes.

Lauraceae fossils from a volcanic Palaeocene oceanic island, Ninetyeast Ridge, Indian Ocean: ancient long‐distance dispersal?

AbstractAim Geological and fossil records are critical for historical biogeography studies. A plant fossil assemblage from a small, well‐dated, transient late Palaeocene island was re‐investigated with regard to regional geology and vicariance versus dispersal hypotheses.Location Deep Sea Drilling Program Leg 22, Site 214 on the Ninetyeast Ridge (NER) in the mid‐Indian Ocean region.Methods Leaf cuticular material was recovered from residues from a previous palynofloral study of Site 214 sediments during the 1970s and identified. The palynoflora was reassessed.Results The only leaf cuticular material recovered with stomata can be placed in crown‐group Lauraceae. It is confirmed that the palynoflora reflects the presence of a low‐diversity island flora in the late Palaeocene, comprising ferns and mostly herbaceous angiosperms with readily dispersible propagules, and perhaps austral podocarps. Other pollen taxa of almost certain local origin were arecoid palms and taxa related to Chloranthaceae. The strong overall similarity of the palynoflora to Australo‐Antarctic and New Zealand assemblages is also confirmed.Main conclusions Foliar fossils of Lauraceae demonstrate the occurrence of one of the world’s largest, most widely distributed woody plant families on a late Palaeocene island. The presence of plants on this island could be explained by vicariance via a vegetated Upper Cretaceous Kerguelen Plateau, in part because crown‐group Lauraceae may be at least this old. However, there are records of other taxa in the Kerguelen region that are anomalous with vicariance, plus evidence for a catastrophic biotic extinction event centred in the area in the latest Cretaceous. Plants were therefore most likely to have reached the island by means of dispersal. This suggests either the presence of presently unknown vegetated land nearby in the Kerguelen region in the late Palaeocene, or long‐distance dispersal, probably from the Australian region. The dispersal of viable seeds could have been facilitated by birds or perhaps by ocean‐surface drift with or without the assistance of ocean‐going animals. The fossils allow that even small, short‐lived islands could have acted as ‘stepping stones’ for biotic interchange between Australia and Africa, and perhaps other regions.

Dilemma of late Palaeozoic mixed floras in Gondwana

During Carboniferous and Permian Periods the plant fossil assemblages of northern and southern hemispheres were distributed in four floral provinces and each flora had its own characteristics. Pteridosperms were dominant in the Euramerian floras of Europe and America; cordaitales and equisetales along with Angaridium/ Angaropteris represent the Angara flora of Russia, Russian federation and Far East provinces; Gigantopteris flora characterizes the Cathaysian province of China, Japan and south-east Asian countries; and Glossopteris flora are present in Southern Hemispheric land masses of Gondwana which includes India, Australia, Africa, South America and Antarctica. Well defined floral provinces quite often show the intermixing of different floristic elements exemplifying the presence of mixed floras. The occurrence of mixed floras suggests that they have two modes of distribution. One distribution pattern shows mixed floras along the marginal basins of the Tethyan region during the Middle and Late Permian. Another pattern is evident in the Gondwana floras where Glossopteris floras contain a number of extra-Gondwanic elements. Likewise, some Euramerian, Cathaysian and Angaran floras show the possible presence of glossopterid related elements having comparative morphological features as part of the flora. Mixed floral elements of northern and southern floras have been examined in detail and it is suggested that in all probability the so-called elements of the mixed floras had their ancestry or affiliation with Carboniferous floras, and during the early Permian they duped due to severity of climatic conditions but developed again during Late Permian when climate became more hospitable for their development. The Cathaysian and Euramerian forms discovered with Gondwanan forms in the mixed floras of Tethyan region, i.e. Hazro, Saudi Arabia, New Guinea, Oman, Jordan, Kashmir, central Tibet and southern Tibet, belong to Middle and Upper Permian sequences and during this time the warm humid and temperate climate helped to revive the northern hemispheric forms which had their endurance in a relatively similar climate of the Late Carboniferous. The morphological conservatism/flexibility, radiation, relationship and analogous features of mixed floral elements have been examined and attempts are made to sort out their disputed presence in different floral provinces.

An autochthonous glossopterid flora with latest Permian palynomorphs and its depositional setting in the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone of the southern Karoo Basin, South Africa

The discovery of a plant-fossil assemblage, situated ∼ 70 m below the vertebrate-defined Permian–Triassic boundary, allows for the characterization of part of the Late Permian landscape in the southern Karoo Basin. The megafloral and microfloral assemblages are preserved in association with an O-horizon above a weakly developed palaeosol, exposed in both New and Old Wapadsberg Pass, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Stable-isotope geochemical evidence indicates that pedogenesis occurred under conditions of a high regional water table, and the palaeosol was entombed by overbank or avulsion deposits in an aggradational landscape that includes tuffite. The low-diversity macroflora contains gymnospermous ( Glossopteris) and sphenopsid ( Phyllotheca, Trizygia) elements that include vegetative (axial, leaf) and reproductive (strobilar) remains. Glossopteris leaves are microphyllous and may reflect the taxon's physiological response to purported climate perturbation or wetland edaphic conditions, and exhibit a range of plant–animal interactions. Palynological residues contain sphenophyllalean cuticles, and the microfloral assemblage is consistent with a low-diversity glossoperid-dominated woodland with a sphenopsid understory. Extrabasinal elements include representatives of peltasperms ( Alisporites), corystosperms ( Falcisporites), and conifers ( Lueckisporites). Pollen conforming to Lunatisporites pellucidus is present in the assemblage and is considered an indicator taxon for the latest Permian to Early Triassic. When compared to palynological assemblage zones in Australia, the Wapadsberg Pass flora is assigned a Late Changhsingian age and, therefore, represents the youngest autochthonous, Glossopteris-dominated flora to be reported from Gondwana. These results extend a palynostratigraphic framework across the Southern Hemisphere that complements other zonations presently applied to the Karoo Basin succession.

Vegetation Response to Early Holocene Warming as an Analog for Current and Future Changes

Temperatures in southwestern North America are projected to increase 3.5-4 degrees C over the next 60-90 years. This will precipitate ecological shifts as the ranges of species change in response to new climates. During this shift, rapid-colonizing species should increase, whereas slow-colonizing species will at first decrease, but eventually become reestablished in their new range. This successional process has been estimated to require from 100 to over 300 years in small areas, under a stable climate, with a nearby seed source. How much longer will it require on a continental scale, under a changing climate, without a nearby seed source? I considered this question through an examination of the response of fossil plant assemblages from the Grand Canyon, Arizona, to the most recent rapid warming of similar magnitude that occurred at the start of the Holocene, 11,700 years ago. At that time, temperatures in southwestern North America increased about 4 degrees C over less than a century. Grand Canyon plant species responded at different rates to this warming climate. Early-successional species rapidly increased, whereas late-successional species decreased. This shift persisted throughout the next 2700 years. I found two earlier, less-extreme species shifts following rapid warming events around 14,700 and 16,800 years ago. Late-successional species predominated only after 4000 years or more of relatively stable temperature. These results suggest the potential magnitude, duration, and nature of future ecological changes and have implications for conservation plans, especially those incorporating equilibrium assumptions or reconstituting past conditions. When these concepts are extended to include the most rapid early-successional colonizers, they imply that the recent increases in invasive exotics may be only the most noticeable part of a new resurgence of early-successional vegetation. Additionally, my results challenge the reliability of models of future vegetation and carbon balance that project conditions on the basis of assumptions of equilibrium within only a century.

Позднемеловая флора из вулканогенных образований северного Приохотья (Охотско-Чукотский вулканогенный пояс)

Assemblage of fossil plants from the Gydra, Yum and Kananyga Formations (the Villigha and Toomahni Rivers interfluve, Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt) are joined in the Aleeki flora. The systematic description of main species is given and floristic and phytostratigraphical analysis of this flora is carried out. New species Lobifolia alikensis Golovn. et Shczep. is described. The Aleeki flora is typical flora of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt. It contain few angiosperms and significant amount relic elements among ferns (Hausmannia, Lobifolia), cycadophytes (Heilungia), czekanowskiales (Phoenicopsis) and ginkgoales (Sphenobaiera, Ginkgo ex gr. sibirica). In consequence of its stratigraphical position the Aliky flora is slightly younger than the Chingandzha flora (the Turonian-Coniacian) and it is compositionally similar with the Chaun flora (Coniacian). On this basis the age of the Aleeki flora is estimated as the Coniacian. The common taxa of the Aleeki and Chingandzha floras are Coniopteris tschuktschorum, Asplenium dicksonianum, Cladophlebis inaequipinnulata, Birisia sp., Ginkgo ex gr. adiantoides, G. ex gr. sibirica, Sequoia, Metasequoia, Menispermites, Dalembia and Trochodendroides. The common genera of the Aleeki and Chaun floras are Coniopteris, Asplenium, Arctopteris, Cladophlebis, Ginkgo, Sphenobaiera, Heilungia, Phoenicopsis, Picea, Sequoia, Metasequoia, Menispermites, Dalembia and Trochodendroides. Besides that the Aleeki flora contains some species, which were believed as endemic of the Chaun flora: Tchaunia lobifolia, Cladophlebis grandis and Araucarites subacutensis. The Aleeki and Chaun floras are now considered as contemporaneous regional floras, which were distributed in the northern part of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt.

First record of Rellimia Leclercq & Bonamo (Aneurophytales) from Gondwana, with comments on the earliest lignophytes

Abstract The lignophytes (Embryophytes that possess a bifacial cambium) evolved during the Devonian period and include seed plants. Their advent was a major event in the history of life and had a profound impact on terrestrial environments. Recent reinvestigations of a Devonian locality, Dechra Aït Abdallah in Central Morocco, led to the discovery of a rich assemblage of fossil plants and Tentaculita. This paper focuses on a single specimen of the lignophyte Rellimia Leclercq & Bonamo. Rellimia (Aneurophytales) is a monospecific genus reported from a large number of Middle Devonian localities from western Europe (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany and Scotland) and America. Its fertile organs are highly distinctive and borne helically on branches. They consist of a basal stalk that dichotomizes once near the base, the resulting branches dividing pinnately and bearing elongated sporangia terminally on ultimate divisions. According to the late Emsian age indicated by our sample of Tentaculita, this Moroccan specimen is to date the earliest representative of both the genus and the lignophytes. If confirmed, this occurrence suggests a possible origin of the Aneurophytalean lignophytes in Gondwana and their rapid and widespread colonization in the Middle Devonian towards Laurussia.

Incised channel fills containing conifers indicate that seasonally dry vegetation dominated Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands

Research Article| October 01, 2009 Incised channel fills containing conifers indicate that seasonally dry vegetation dominated Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands Howard J. Falcon-Lang; Howard J. Falcon-Lang * 1Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK *E-mail: h.falcon-lang@es.rhul.ac.uk. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar W. John Nelson; W. John Nelson 2Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Scott Elrick; Scott Elrick 2Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Cindy V. Looy; Cindy V. Looy 3Department of Integrative Biology, University of California–Berkeley, 3060 Valley Life Science Building, Berkeley, California 94720-3140, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Philip R. Ames; Philip R. Ames 4Peabody Energy, Evansville, Indiana 47715, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William A. DiMichele William A. DiMichele 5Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 20560, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Howard J. Falcon-Lang * 1Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK W. John Nelson 2Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA Scott Elrick 2Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA Cindy V. Looy 3Department of Integrative Biology, University of California–Berkeley, 3060 Valley Life Science Building, Berkeley, California 94720-3140, USA Philip R. Ames 4Peabody Energy, Evansville, Indiana 47715, USA William A. DiMichele 5Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 20560, USA *E-mail: h.falcon-lang@es.rhul.ac.uk. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 09 Feb 2009 Revision Received: 12 May 2009 Accepted: 26 May 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (10): 923–926. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30117A.1 Article history Received: 09 Feb 2009 Revision Received: 12 May 2009 Accepted: 26 May 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Howard J. Falcon-Lang, W. John Nelson, Scott Elrick, Cindy V. Looy, Philip R. Ames, William A. DiMichele; Incised channel fills containing conifers indicate that seasonally dry vegetation dominated Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands. Geology 2009;; 37 (10): 923–926. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30117A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The idea that the Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands were temporally dominated by rainforest (i.e., the Coal Forest) is deeply ingrained in the literature. Here we challenge two centuries of research by suggesting that this concept is based on a taphonomic artifact, and that seasonally dry vegetation dominated instead. This controversial finding arises from the discovery of a new middle Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) fossil plant assemblage in southeast Illinois, United States. The assemblage, which contains xerophytic walchian conifers, occurs in channels incised into a calcic Vertisol below the Baker Coal. These plants grew on seasonally dry tropical lowlands inferred to have developed during a glacial phase. This xerophytic flora differs markedly from that of the typical clubmoss-dominated Coal Forest developed during deglaciation events. Although preserved only very rarely, we argue that such xerophytic floras were temporally as dominant, and perhaps more dominant, than the iconic Coal Forests, which are overrepresented in the fossil record due to taphonomic megabias. These findings require the iconography of Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands to be redrawn. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Evidence for a western extension of the Angaran phytogeographic province in the Early Permian

Abstract A newly described Early Permian fossil plant assemblage in the Mt. Dall conglomerate in the Farewell terrane (Alaska Range, USA) is analyzed from a paleobiogeographic perspective. These data constitute the youngest paleontological dataset yet discovered in this terrane, represent the terrane's only predominantly terrestrial fossil assemblage, and are the only plant macrofossil remains of Early Permian age within a > 1500 km radius today. A suite of multivariate statistical analyses comparing the Mt. Dall paleoflora to similar age (Asselian–Artinskian) collections from the Angaran, Euramerican, and Cathaysian Permian phytogeographic provinces reveals that the Mt. Dall paleoflora has a paleobiogeographic affinity with Sub-Angaran plant fossil assemblages collected from Mongolia and the Primorye region of southeastern Russia. The paleoflora has dual importance in the construction and testing of hypotheses for which there are geographically and temporally few controls. First, these data may be used in association with other faunal and floral remains to test models of the assembly of Alaska, which seek, in part, an understanding of the paleogeographic and lithological origins of accreted terranes. That the Mt. Dall paleoflora indicates mixed Eurasia–North America paleobiogeographic affinity among individual taxa and plots in multivariate space with mid-latitude assemblages on northern Pangea may suggest deposition in that latitudinal belt. Second, contrary to the well-sampled fossil plant-bearing Permo-Carboniferous of the paleotropics and the northeastern temperate Pangean regions (Angaraland), terrestrial biome structure and vegetation type of northwestern Pangea are poorly known. This lack of understanding is due to the paucity of paleofloral collections from this region in this time period and the paleogeographic uncertainty of their position along the ancient active margin of Laurentia. The Mt. Dall paleoflora's phytogeographic affinity to paleobotanical collections from the northeastern Pangea therefore suggests that the Angaran province extended meridionally westward in the Early Permian into what is now northern North America.

Oligocene-Miocene CO2 fluctuations, climatic and palaeofloristic trends inferred from fossil plant assemblages in central Europe

Oligocene-Miocene CO2 fluctuations, climatic and palaeofloristic trends inferred from fossil plant assemblages in central Europe

Re-evaluation of Halle’s fertile pteridosperms from the Permian floras of Shanxi Province, China

In 1927, T. G. Halle published an extensive synthesis of the Permian fossil plant assemblages from China’s Shanxi Province that included five genera and species of seed plant that either had ovules in organic attachment or closely and repeatedly associated with foliage. These fertile pteridosperms were the subject of a later publication (1929) that provided additional information on each species, but since that time only Nystroemia pectiniformis Halle has been subjected to detailed investigation based on the original materials. Reinvestigation of the remaining four species has yielded additional examples and new information for each species, and has confirmed the pteridospermalean affinity for three of the four species. Alethopteris norinii Halle shows organic attachment of a pollen organ similar to Wittleseya (Newberry) Halle and is reinterpreted as a microsporangiate medullosan pteridosperm. Emplectopteris triangularis Halle and Sphenopteris tenuis (Schenk) Halle both bear numerous ovules attached directly to the leaf laminae, with Emplectopteris conforming with the gross-organisation of callistophytalean pteridosperms and S. tenuis being interpreted as a derived lagenostomalean pteridosperm. However, discovery of the counterpart to the key specimen of Pecopteris wongii Halle that Halle interpreted as bearing ovules demonstrates this species to be a sterile marattialean frond that agrees with its assignment to Pecopteris. In addition, two further specimens are demonstrated to be fertile organs of previously unknown pteridosperms; Norinosperma shanxiensis gen. et sp. nov. bears cardiocarpalean ovules abaxially on the proximal portions of the frond with ovules positioned directly on the veins of a leaf lamina; Norinotheca shanxiensis gen. et sp. nov. bears large pollen organs abaxially and singly on the vein of the leaf lamina. Collectively Halle’s pteridosperms remain important today as they are some of the few specimens that actually demonstrate organic connection of fertile organs to foliage, helping to characterise the morphology and organisation of this seed plant group. These species also demonstrate the persistence of seed plant families and genera in the Permian of China that became regionally extinct at the end of the Carboniferous in Euramerica, and show that pteridosperms remained an important component of Permian as well as Carboniferous floras globally.

The Middle Eocene flora of Csordakút (N Hungary)

The Middle Eocene flora of Csordakút (N Hungary)The Middle Eocene fossil plant assemblage from Csordakút (N Hungary) comprises plant remains preserved exclusively as impressions. Algae are represented by abundant remains of Characeae, including both vegetative fragments and gyrogonites. Remains of angiosperms comprise Lauraceae (Daphnogenesp.), Fagaceae (cf.Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis), Ulmaceae (Cedrelospermumdiv. sp.), Myricaceae (Myricasp.,Comptoniadiv. sp.), Leguminosae (leaves and fruit), Rhamnaceae (?Zizyphus zizyphoides), Elaeocarpaceae (Sloanea nimrodi, Sloaneasp. fruit), Smilacaceae (Smilaxdiv. sp.). The absence of gymnosperms is indicative of a floristic similarity to the coeval floras of Tatabánya (N Hungary) and Girbou in Romania.Sloanea nimrodi(Ettingshausen) Kvaček & Hably, a new element for the Hungarian fossil record indicates a floristic relation to the Late Eocene flora of Kučlin (Bohemia).

A note on the biostratigraphic application of Permian plant fossils of the Normandien Formation (Beaufort Group, Northeastern Main Karoo Basin), South Africa

Two new assemblages (farms Christina and Moorfield) of plant fossils belonging to the Glossopterid flora are described from the northeastern part of the Main Karoo basin, within the Late Permian Normandien Formation, Beaufort Group, Karoo Supergroup. The Normandien Formation comprises three sandstone members (lower Frankfort, Rooinek, upper Schoondraai) each overlain by an argillaceous interval. Two informal plant fossil assemblage zones are distinguished in the field: a “Christina assemblage zone” defined by Morphotype Pnc1, Morphotype Pnc2, Morphotype Pnc3 and Morphotype Pnc7, between the Frankfort and Rooinek sandstones; a younger “Moorfield assemblage zone” between the Rooinek and Schoondraai sandstones, defined by Morphotype Pnm1 , Morphotype Pnm2, Morphotype Pnm3, Rigbya arberioides and Sphenophyllum speciosum. These two proposed plant fossil assemblage zones enable subdivision of the Dicynodon therapod assemblage zone coincident with the Normandien Formation, and the two plant fossil zones have been successfully mapped out over a large area.

The plant fossils from the Kaizara Formation (Callovian, Jurassic) of the Tetori Group in the Izumi district, Fukui Prefecture, Central Japan

The Middle Jurassic (Bathonian to Callovian) Kaizara flora is proposed herein for the plant fossil assemblage in the Kaizara Formation, Kuzuryu Subgroup, Tetori Group. In addition to Otozamites crassipinnatus sp. nov., twelve species are reported, including species of Equisetales, uncertain order of pteridosperms, Cycadeoideales, Cycadales, and Coniferales. Some species have very thick lamina, implying that the climate might include dry periods. All species found in the Kaizara flora are new to the Tetori Group. Therefore, the Tetori-type flora is restricted to post-Callovian stages in the Tetori Group.

A New Dragonfly Family from the Upper Cretaceous of France

The new aeshnopteran family Enigmaeshnidae is proposed for Enigmaeshna deprei gen. et sp. nov., the first fossil insect collected as imprint in the Earliest Cenomanian clay of the Puy-Puy quarry at Tormay-Charente (Charente-Maritime, SW France). The bed bearing E. deprei was previously known for its highly diversified fossil plant assemblage. Although this taxon belongs to the much derived clade Aeshnodea, it is characterized by several unique hind wing venation characters, never found in other Aeshnoptera, viz. part of MAb distal of the trigonal planate very long, and presence of five posterior branches of AA directed towards posterior wing margin.

Application of the Wagner's Parsimony Method in fossil plant assemblages from the Cretaceous of Europe

Wagner's Parsimony Method, a grouping method used in phylogeny and synecology, is applied for the first time to taxon lists of fossil plant assemblages from the Albian–Cenomanian of Europe. When compared to a “classical” Correspondence Analysis, WPM allows for a higher resolution, using taxa named in “cf.” or “aff.” and points out both clusters and gradients. WPM results in a tree in which localities order according to their species content and minimizes the number of changes of character states (presence/absence), whereas Correspondence Analysis plots the localities along axes and maximizes the inertia (“variance” explaining most differences between localities). Close relationships exist between the plant palaeobiocenoses and palaeobiotopes, the latter being inferred from taphonomical data (especially the salinity and the clastic size). The space/time working scale can be very fine, up to the landscape ecology level.

Neogene flora and vegetation development of the Pannonian domain in relation to palaeoclimate and palaeogeography

A survey of the Neogene flora and vegetation pattern of the Pannonian domain based on selected fossil plant assemblages is given. The paper aims to reveal the complex interrelation of tectonic-palaeogeographic evolution, climate, flora and vegetation development through the Neogene of the Pannonian domain. Flora and vegetation patterns are based on well-documented and studied fossil plant assemblages (macrofloras, primarily leaves). There are time intervals well-represented in the fossil record, e.g. the Pannonian or the Sarmatian and others with relatively few localities, e.g. the Badenian. A general but slow cooling trend is definitely observable after the Early Miocene as reflected by both quantitative climate reconstructions and floristic change, i.e. decrease of diversity, slow disappearance of thermophilous and exotic elements, as well as decrease in the variety of vegetation types. A significant decline of coldest month temperatures (as compared to warmest month temperatures) must have played a defining role in forming flora and vegetation through the Neogene. As compared to climate estimates for the Middle/Late Miocene fossil floras, warmer climate conditions are indicated by the Ipolytarnóc flora and vegetation comprising an extremely high number of thermophilous taxa as well as complex vegetation structure. The Early and Middle Miocene fossil assemblages bear a significant relevance to the tectonic pattern of the Pannonian domain. A transitional character in both flora and vegetation is indicated by the Karpatian Magyaregregy locality. Knowledge of the Badenian flora and vegetation is limited to the Middle Badenian Nógrádszakál assemblage indicating cooler climate conditions which contrasts with global climate change. In contrast to the relatively poor azonal vegetation of Nógrádszakál and most Pannonian localities, the more diverse Sarmatian and Pliocene floras display a strong relation to each other — attributable to palaeogeographic constraints.

Permineralized Seed Plants from the Late Permian of Southern China: A New Species of Cardiocarpus

A new species of permineralized ovule is reported from a previously undocumented diverse fossil plant assemblage preserved in volcaniclastic tuff from the Late Permian Xuanwei Formation at the Huopu coal mine in Guizhou Province, China. The ovule is large and platyspermic, with 180° rotational symmetry. It has a pronounced commissure that distally divides the integument into two valves. The integument comprises a two‐part sarcotesta, a sclerotesta also divided into two parts, and an endotesta that is unusually thick in the central part of the ovule and at the apex. Fusion of the nucellus to the integument occurs only at the chalaza, and the nucellar apex is small, consisting of a proximal pollen chamber and a distally extending tubular projection. A single vascular bundle enters the base of the ovule and divides in the major plane at the boundary of the inner and outer sarcotesta to form two integumentary bundles, one to each side of the ovule, with the nucellar bundle continuing to the base of the nucellus, where it forms a small vascular cup. The gross morphology and the pattern of vascularization of the ovule fit the circumscription of the morphogenus Cardiocarpus Brongniart, to which the ovule is here assigned, but are distinct from previously recognized morphospecies leading to the erection of Cardiocarpus huopuensis sp. nov. In C. huopuensis sp. nov., tissues of the outer sarcotesta are rarely preserved and where present occur external to a zone of poorly preserved cells that suggests exfoliation of the outer sarcotesta through ontogeny. Although the identity and, hence, affinity of the parent plant for C. huopuensis sp. nov. are unknown, previous evidence shows ovules of this kind to be produced by either a coniferophyte or a seed fern (pteridosperm).

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High-latitude settings are sensitive to climatically driven palaeoenvironmental change and the resultant biotic response. Climate change through the peak interval of Cretaceous warmth, Late Cretaceous cooling, onset and expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet, and subsequently the variability of Neogene glaciation, are all recorded within the sedimentary and volcanic successions exposed within the James Ross Basin, Antarctica. This site provides the longest onshore record of Cretaceous-Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks in Antarctica and is a key reference section for Cretaceous-Tertiary global change. The sedimentary succession is richly fossiliferous, yielding diverse invertebrate, vertebrate and plant fossil assemblages, allowing the reconstruction of both terrestrial and marine systems. The papers within this volume provide an overview of recent advances in the understanding of palaeoenvironmental change spanning the mid-Cretaceous to the Neogene of the James Ross Basin and related biotic change, and will be of interest to many working on Cretaceous and Tertiary palaeoenvironmental change.