Phytogeographic, stratigraphic, and paleoclimatic significance of Pseudofrenelopsis capillata sp nov from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation, Brazil

Author(s)

Sucerquia, Paula Andrea ^{[1, 2]} ; Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Mary E. C. ^[1] ; Mohr, Barbara A. R. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geociencias, BR-05508080 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Dept Geol, BR-50740530 Recife, PE - Brazil

^[3] Museum Nat Hist, Collect, D-10115 Berlin - Germany

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY; v. 222, p. 116-128, NOV 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Coniferales are represented during the Early Cretaceous in northern South America both by macrofossils and palynomorphs of the families Araucariaceae and Cheirolepidiaceae. Fossils of Cheirolepidiaceae are often abundant in coastal deposits: plants of this family are considered to have grown under semiarid to arid climate conditions because of characteristic anatomical features which include several adaptations to aridity and/or salinity. Here histologically preserved specimens of Pseudofrenelopsis from laminated limestones of the Crato Formation (Araripe Basin, NE Brazil) were studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. A new species Pseudofrenelopsis capillata sp. nov. is described which seems to have grown exclusively at the Early Cretaceous (sub)paleoequatorial area of South America and may be therefore endemic. The new taxon may have grown in a riparian environment along the borders of a large lake as a minor constituent of the surrounding vegetation. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/02884-5 - Paleophytogeography and stratigraphy of Early Cretaceous conifers from paleoequatorial region of Brazil and Colombia based on morphotaxonomic aspects
• Grantee: Paula Andrea Sucerquia Rendón
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate