Late Aptian angiosperm pollen grains from Patagonia: Earliest steps in flowering plant evolution at middle latitudes in southern South America

LLORENS, M.; PEREZ LOINAZE, V.S.

CRETACEOUS RESEARCH (PRINT)

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 57 p. 66 - 78

0195-6671

The angiosperm pollen record from the Anfiteatro de Tico and Punta del Barco formations (BaqueroGroup) is reported. The relevance of these floras is that they are accurately dated as late Aptian, and oneof the oldest floras southern South America with fossil angiosperms. Twelve samples were studied,showing Clavatipollenites and Retimonocolpites as dominant types. A new species, Jushingipollis ticoensissp. nov., is proposed. A doubtful angiosperm pollen grain, Lethomasites sp., is also identified anddescribed. A multivariate analysis of similarities between different Early Cretaceous angiosperm pollenassemblages suggests that the Baquero Group assemblages have great similarities with other coeval unitsfrom Argentina, Australia and United States, which were located in a similar paleolatitude.