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A new species of Antarctoxylon: a contribution to the early angiosperm ecosystem of Antarctica during the late Cretaceous

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2013

Jakub Sakala  and
Radek Vodrážka
Jakub Sakala
Affiliation:
Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Radek Vodrážka*
Affiliation:
Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, 118 21 Prague, Czech Republic
*
rade@natur.cuni.cz
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Abstract

A new species of Antarctoxylon is described from the Coniacian Hidden Lake Formation of James Ross Island as A. mixai Sakala, sp. nov. This angiosperm fossil wood shows a unique combination of features in having indistinct growth ring boundaries, scalariform perforation plates with about 30 bars and rays both narrow (1–6-seriate) and very wide (up to 18-seriate). Its systematic affinities and exact living relative at the specific, generic or even familial level cannot be specified. Along with Weinmannioxylon nordenskjoeldii from James Ross Island and the angiosperm woods from the Williams Point on Livingston Island, this record provides further evidence of the earliest record of arboreal angiosperms in Antarctica.

Keywords

Coniacianfossil heteroxylous woodJames Ross Islandscalariform perforation plateswide rays
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , August 2014 , pp. 371 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

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