New plant association from the Upper Cretaceous in James Ross Basin, Antarctica

ARI IGLESIAS

AMEGHINIANA

ASOCIACION PALEONTOLOGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2016 vol. 53 p. 358 - 374

0002-7014

I present a diverse previously unrecorded assemblage of leaves, cuticle, seeds and fruits from early?mid Campanian marine sediments, representing the first well-preserved macrofloristic record found in the Santa Marta Formation (north of James Ross Island, Antarctica). This new flora is diverse and consistent with the presence of forests under temperate and frost free climate; taxa include: a cycad (Zamiaceae), conifers (Araucaria, Araucarites, Brachyphyllum, and Pagiophyllum), several ferns (including Pteridaceae and ?Schizaeaceae) and angiosperms (including ?Cunoniaceae and Lauraceae). This record helps further our understanding of the vegetation of continental areas in the Antarctic Peninsula during the Late Cretaceous.