First Lower Cretaceous record of Podocarpaceae wood associated with dinosaur remains from Patagonia, Neuquén Province, Argentina

GNAEDINGER, SILVIA; CORIA, RODOLFO; KOPPELHUS, EVA; CASADÍO, SILVIO; TUNIK, MAISA; CURRIE, PHILIP

CRETACEOUS RESEARCH (PRINT)

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 p. 228 - 239

0195-6671

The first Podocarpaceae wood record is described from the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian, Early Cretaceous), Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The specimen was recovered directly associated with a middle caudal vertebra of a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur. Podocarpoxylon prumnopityoides sp. nov. is proposed based on features that include the presence of abietinoid-type tracheid radial pitting, and podocarpoid and some dacrydioid cross-field pits, diffuse axial parenchyma and low rays. These combination of anatomicalcharacters is comparable to both Prumnopitys Phil. and Podocarpus Pers., and by type pits in cross-fields resembles some members of the extant Prumnopitys Phil. This is the first unequivocal record of the Family Podocarpaceae in the Valanginian of South America and confirms the hypothesis that the divergence of the ?Podocarpoid- dacrydioid? clade from ?Prumnopityoid? clade occurred earlier than Early Cretaceous.