Angiosperm fossil woods from the Upper Cretaceous of Western Antarctica (Santa Marta Formation)

PUJANA, R.R.; RAFFI, M.E.; OLIVERO, E.B.; IGLESIAS, A.

CRETACEOUS RESEARCH (PRINT)

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Manchester; Año: 2018 vol. 90 p. 349 - 362

0195-6671

We identified six fossil- species of angiosperms based on fossil woods from two small collections from theBeta Member (lower Campanian) of the Santa Marta Formation on James Ross Island: 1) Para-phyllanthoxylon antarcticum sp. nov., a new species of Paraphyllanthoxylon (Angiosperm incertae sedis)which represents the first Antarctic record of that fossil-genus; three previously known Antarctic fossil-species, but from new localities, 2) Laurelites jamesrossii (Laurales), 3) Hedycaryoxylon tambourissoides(Monimiaceae) and 4) Eucryphiaceoxylon eucryphioides (Cunoniaceae ); 5) Weinmannioxylon tricho-spermoides sp. nov., a new species of Weinmannioxylon (Cunoniaceae); 6) and Cretaceoxylon hetero-punctatum gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil-genus and fossil-species with uncertain affinity, but with similarwood anatomy and vessel-ray parenchyma pits to the Santalales and Malpighiales. The richness ofangiosperm woody species is increased for the Late Cretaceous of Antarctica. The fossil woods are used tointerpret ancient forests composition and to make some climatic inferences during the Campanian of theAntarctic Peninsula.