First report of permineralised plants in the Stephanian of Arnao (Asturias, northwestern Spain)

CÉSARI, S. N.; ALVAREZ-VÁZQUEZ CARMEN ; MÉNDEZ-BEDIA ISABEL; ALVAREZ LAO, DIEGO; PABLO TURRERO; ARBIZU MIGUEL

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 440 p. 475 - 486

0031-0182

The first record of an anatomically preserved flora from Stephanian outcrops at Arnao beach (Asturias, Spain) ispresented. The stratigraphic section is part of a geological heritage site that preserves exceptional Devonian reefdeposits. The Carboniferous succession contains coal seams worked by one of the earliest mines in Spain and itsplant-fossil assemblages were reported in the 19th century but scarcely revised later. The new assemblagesrecovered in the beach, during extreme low tides, represent the first record of permineralised trunks in northwesternSpain. Large cordaitalean specimens are referred to a new species of Cordaixylon characterised bynon-septate pith, araucarian radial pitting of the tracheids and cross-fields with phyllocladoid pits. Part of theroot mantle of Psaronius is preserved in water-worn pebbles, indicating the presence of tree ferns in thepalaeoflora. The associated compression/impression assemblage includes lycophytes, sphenophytes, pteridospermsand pteridophytes. A comparison of the assemblage confirms its importance for reconstructing the LatePennsylvanian floral succession in the region.