A New Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Maastrichtian) Javelinoxylon Wood From Chihuahua, Mexico

IAWA Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 521-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Estrada-Ruiz ◽  
Hugo I. Martínez-Cabrera

We describe a new fossil wood from the San Carlos Formation (Coniacian- Maastrichtian) in Chihuahua, northern Mexico. This Malvaceae s.l. wood is diffuse porous, vessels are solitary and in radial multiples, simple perforation plates, small alternate intervessel pits, vessel-ray parenchyma pits that are rounded with reduced borders, septate and nonseptate fibers, homocellular and heterocellular rays, and storied rays and vessel elements. These features support its inclusion within the genus Javelinoxylon, Malvaceae s.l., which occurs in other Upper Cretaceous localities in northern Mexico (Olmos Formation) and Texas (Aguja and Javelina Formations). This San Carlos fossil wood is the earliest occurrence of storied structure in the fossil record and the earliest angiosperm record for the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.

IAWA Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Emilio Estrada-Ruiz ◽  
Hugo I. Martínez-Cabrera ◽  
Imelda P. García-Hernández

Abstract We describe two new fossil woods from the San Carlos Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Chihuahua State, Mexico. The first wood resembles the fossil genus Metcalfeoxylon in having solitary vessels, scalariform perforation plates, vessel-ray parenchyma pits of similar size as the intervessel pits, axial parenchyma apotracheal diffuse and diffuse in aggregates, and heterocellular multiseriate rays with long, uniseriate tails. The second wood is a new fossil genus, and it is characterized by having diffuse porous wood, vessels predominantly solitary, vessel outlines oval and tending to be of two diameter classes, simple perforation plates, minute alternate intervessel pits, vessel-ray parenchyma pits similar to intervessel pits in size and shape, vasicentric tracheids, non-septate fibers, homocellular rays, and exclusively uniseriate and biseriate rays. This combination of features supports its placement in Myrtales (?Myrtaceae), in a new fossil-genus named Lazarocardenasoxylon. These two new records provide more information about the floristic composition of the Late Cretaceous flora of the San Carlos Formation and its relationship with those from the southern USA. However, a definitive picture of the floristic relationship of these Cretaceous floras of northern Mexico and southern USA remains elusive.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imogen Poole ◽  
Hans G. Richter ◽  
Jane E. Francis

Sassafrasoxylon gottwaldii sp. nov. is a new taxon for fossil wood with a suite of features diagnostic of Sassafras Nees & Eberm. of the Lauraceae. The fossil wood described is from Late Cretaceous (Santonian- Maastrichtian) sediments of the northern Antarctica Peninsula region. This new species of Sassafrasoxylon Brezinová et Süss resembles the species of extant Sassafras in being distinctly ring-porous, having vessel elements with simple perforation plates and very occasional scalariform plates with relatively few bars in the narrowest latewood vessels, alternate intervascular pitting, marginal (initial) parenchyma bands and paratracheal vasicentric parenchyma in the latewood, multiseriate rays and oil and /or mucilage cells. The fossils were found as isolated pieces of wood and therefore it is not certain whether the parent plant was Sassafras-like in all characters. Consequently the fossils have been placed in an organ genus rather than in extant Sassafras. This is the oldest record of an organ with features closest to extant Sassafras and may suggest that Sassafras first appeared in Gondwana and later radiated into the Northern Hemisphere. The distribution of extant Sassafras in North America and East Asia may represent a relict of a geographically more widespread taxon in the past.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oris Rodriguez-Reyes ◽  
Peter Gasson ◽  
Carolyn Thornton ◽  
Howard J. Falcon-Lang ◽  
Nathan A. Jud

ABSTRACTWe report fossil wood specimens from two Miocene sites in Panama, Central America: Hodges Hill (Cucaracha Formation; Burdigalian, c. 19 Ma) and Lago Alajuela (Alajuela Formation; Tortonian, c. 10 Ma), where material is preserved as calcic and silicic permineralizations, respectively. The fossils show an unusual combination of features: diffuse porous vessel arrangement, simple perforation plates, alternate intervessel pitting, vessel–ray parenchyma pits either with much reduced borders or similar to the intervessel pits, abundant sclerotic tyloses, rays markedly heterocellular with long uniseriate tails, and rare to absent axial parenchyma. This combination of features allows assignment of the fossils to Malpighiales, and we note similarities with four predominantly tropical families: Salicaceae, Achariaceae, and especially, Phyllanthaceae, and Euphorbiaceae. These findings improve our knowledge of Miocene neotropical diversity and highlight the importance of Malpighiales in the forests of Panama prior to the collision of the Americas.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imogen Poole ◽  
Helmut Gottwald

Palaeofloristic studies of the Antarctic Peninsula region are important in furthering our understanding of (i) the radiation and rise to ecological dominance of the angiosperms in the Southern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous and (ii) the present day disjunct austral vegetation. Investigations of Upper Cretaceous and Early Tertiary sediments of this region yield a rich assemblage of well-preserved fossil dicotyledonous angiosperm wood which provides evidence for the existence, since the Late Cretaceous, of temperate forests similar in composition to those found in present-day southern South America, New Zealand and Australia. This paper describes two previously unrecognised morphotypes, which can be assigned to the Monimiaceae sensu lato, and represents the first record of this family in the wood flora of Antarctica. Specimens belonging to the first fossil morphotype have been assigned to Hedycaryoxylon SÜss (subfamily Monimioideae) because they exhibit anatomical features characteristic of Hedycaryoxylon and extant Hedycarya J.R.Forst. &amp; G.Forst. and Tambourissa Sonn. Characters include diffuse porosity, vessels which are mainly solitary with scalariform perforation plates, opposite to scalariform intervascular pitting, paratracheal parenchyma, septate fibres and tall (>3 mm), wide multiseriate rays with a length: breadth ratio of approximately 1: 4. Specimens belonging to the second morphotype have been assigned to Atherospermoxylon KrÄusel, erected for fossil woods of the Monimiaceae in the tribe Atherospermeae (now Atherospermataceae) in that they exhibit anatomical features similar to Atherospermoxylon and extant Daphnandra Benth., Doryphora Endl. and Laurelia novae-zelandiae A.Cunn. These characters include diffuse to semi-ring porosity, scalariform perforation plates with up to 25 bars, septate fibres, relatively short (<1 mm) rays with a length: breadth ratio of between 1: 4 and 1: 11.


IAWA Journal ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa E.T.M. Ashworth ◽  
Gracielza Dos Santos

Secondary xylem characteristics were compared in four species of Phoradendron Nutt. (Viscaceae) native to California. All have extremely short, thick-walled vessel elements with simple perforation plates. They also share high vessel density, radial vessel arrangement, thick-walled fibres, and multiseriate, heterocellular rays. The fibres show considerable intrusive growth. Features of the vessel elements (i.e. vessel dimensions, arrangement, type of wall sculpturing) and calcium oxalate crystals in the ray parenchyma cells are useful diagnostic traits to separate species. Grooved vessel walls are shared by the morphologically similar P. villosum and P. macrophyllum. Differences between these two species may reflect contrasting drought response strategies pursued by respective hosts. Vulnerability and mesomorphy ratios of the wood of P. californicum are higher than those of P. pauciflorum and P. macrophyllum. Phoradendron pauciflorum has the most xeromorphic wood of the four species studied.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jonathas S. Bittencourt ◽  
Pedro L. C. R. Vieira ◽  
Raphael M. Horta ◽  
André G. Vasconcelos ◽  
Natália C. A. Brandão ◽  
...  

We report new data on the geology and the fossil record of the Sanfranciscana Basin in sites to the north of the traditionally explored localities within Minas Gerais. The strata in the new explored area are formed by distinct lithologies, encompassing pelitic rocks with caliche levels and metric bodies of cross-bedded sandstone towards the top, similar to the fluviolacustrine beds of the Areado Group in the southern portions of the basin. Also similar to other regions of the São Francisco Craton, the deposits of the Sanfranciscana Basin studied herein lie discordantly to the rocks of the Bambuí Basin. We preliminarily report neopterygian fish scales, little informative archosaurian bones and an association of the ostracods Ilyocypris- Fossocytheridea. This ostracod association is registered for the first time in the Cretaceous of the Sanfranciscana Basin. The ostracods have been collected from the lacustrine, vertebrate-bearing rocks cropping out in Lagoa dos Patos and Coração de Jesus. The cytherideid Fossocytheridea assigns a minimal Aptian age to its bearing rocks. Its association with Ilyocypris was also reported in Upper Cretaceous oligohaline paleoenvironments in Brazil and Argentina, indicating similar depositional conditions to the strata reported in this paper. The putative affinities of the specimens of the Sanfranciscana Basin with F. ventrotuberculata, and their association with Ilyocypris, raise the hypothesis of a younger age for some levels of that basin in northern Minas Gerais, perhaps ranging into the Late Cretaceous. Keywords: Ostracoda, Archosauria, Areado Group, Cretaceous, Gondwana


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11544
Author(s):  
Stephen F. Poropat ◽  
Matt A. White ◽  
Tim Ziegler ◽  
Adele H. Pentland ◽  
Samantha L. Rigby ◽  
...  

The Upper Cretaceous ‘upper’ Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia is world famous for hosting Dinosaur Stampede National Monument at Lark Quarry Conservation Park, a somewhat controversial tracksite that preserves thousands of tridactyl dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithopods and theropods. Herein, we describe the Snake Creek Tracksite, a new vertebrate ichnoassemblage from the ‘upper’ Winton Formation, originally situated on Karoola Station but now relocated to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History. This site preserves the first sauropod tracks reported from eastern Australia, a small number of theropod and ornithopod tracks, the first fossilised crocodyliform and ?turtle tracks reported from Australia, and possible lungfish and actinopterygian feeding traces. The sauropod trackways are wide-gauge, with manus tracks bearing an ungual impression on digit I, and anteriorly tapered pes tracks with straight or concave forward posterior margins. These tracks support the hypothesis that at least one sauropod taxon from the ‘upper’ Winton Formation retained a pollex claw (previously hypothesised for Diamantinasaurus matildae based on body fossils). Many of the crocodyliform trackways indicate underwater walking. The Snake Creek Tracksite reconciles the sauropod-, crocodyliform-, turtle-, and lungfish-dominated body fossil record of the ‘upper’ Winton Formation with its heretofore ornithopod- and theropod-dominated ichnofossil record.


2021 ◽  
Vol 755 ◽  
pp. 149-190
Author(s):  
Andy S. Gale ◽  
John W.M. Jagt

Fossils assigned to the predominantly deep-sea asteroid family Benthopectinidae Verrill, 1894 are described and their affinities reappraised. Detailed comparative morphology of ambulacrals, adambulacrals and marginal ossicles has revealed that only some extinct taxa fall within the morphological range of the modern representatives of the family. These include Jurapecten hessi Gale, 2011, J. infrajurensis sp. nov. (both Jurassic), J. dhondtae sp. nov. (Upper Cretaceous) and Nearchaster spinosus (Blake, 1973) comb. nov. (Lower Oligocene). A new Late Cretaceous genus, Punkaster gen. nov. (P. spinifera gen. et sp. nov. and P. ruegenensis gen. et sp. nov.), appears to be a highly derived benthopectinid. A possible benthopectinid is described from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of China. Other described records are distantly related to, but convergent in gross morphology with, benthopectinids. Thus, Plesiastropecten hallovensis Peyer, 1944 is here referred to the Jurassic spinulosidan family Plumasteridae Gale, 2011 and Xandarosaster hessi Blake, 1984 is interpreted as Spinulosida Perrier, 1884 incertae sedis. The mid-Cretaceous Alkaidia sumralli Blake & Reid, 1998 is reassigned to the Forcipulatida (Zorocallina). The “fossil benthopectinid” of Spencer & Wright in Moore (1966) is shown to belong to the goniopectinid genus Chrispaulia Gale, 2005, of which two new Cretaceous species are described, C. wrightorum sp. nov. and C. spinosa sp. nov. Finally, we consider Henricia? venturana Durham & Roberts, 1948 to be an indeterminate asteroid.


1983 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
José Newton Cardoso Marchiori

 This paper describes the wood anatomy of Cassia corymbosa Lam. (Leguminosae Caesalpinioideae), a small ornamental shrub with yellow flowers, commonly named int the State of Rio Grande do Sul as "Fedegoso".The most important anatomical characteristics observed was the presence of short vessel elements with small diameter and simple perforation plates, rays of Heterogeneous II type, libriform non-septate fibers, and scanty paratracheal axial parenchyma axial parencgyma.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 20190657 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Augusta Maccracken ◽  
Ian M. Miller ◽  
Conrad C. Labandeira

Mite houses, or acarodomatia, are found on the leaves of over 2000 living species of flowering plants today. These structures facilitate tri-trophic interactions between the host plant, its fungi or herbivore adversaries, and fungivorous or predaceous mites by providing shelter for the mite consumers. Previously, the oldest acarodomatia were described on a Cenozoic Era fossil leaf dating to 49 Myr in age. Here, we report the first occurrence of Mesozoic Era acarodomatia in the fossil record from leaves discovered in the Upper Cretaceous Kaiparowits Formation (76.6–74.5 Ma) in southern UT, USA. This discovery extends the origin of acarodomatia by greater than 25 Myr, and the antiquity of this plant–mite mutualism provides important constraints for the evolutionary history of acarodomatia on angiosperms.


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