Araucariaceae macrofossil record from South America and Antarctica

PANTI, C.; PUJANA, R. R.; ZAMALOA, M.C.; ROMERO, E.J.

ALCHERINGA

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 36 p. 1 - 22

0311-5518

Araucariaceae fossils are abundant in the Patagonia of South America and on Seymour (Marambio) and King George (25 de Mayo) Islands of Antarctica. The macrofossil record is represented by 119 woods, leaves, ovuliferous scales, cones, one seed and seedlings placed in 48 morphospecies. Despite Araucariaceae fossil pollen is known since the Triassic, the oldest reliable macrofossil records in South America and Antarctica are those from the Early Jurassic. In the Early Cretaceous, the family reached its widest distribution, with records from northern South America, cones and leaves from Colombia and Brasil. In the Late Cretaceous the abundance of Araucariaceae starts to decline. In the Cenozoic, all the fossils derived from Patagonia and Antarctica, probably reflect a genuine contraction in the family´s distribution.