New approach for the study of paleofloras using geographical information systems applied to Glossopteris Flora

Abstract

This paper introduces a methodology which makes possible the visualization of the spatial distribution of plant fossils and applies it to the occurrences of the Gondwana Floristic Province present on the eastern border of the Brazilian portion of the Paraná Basin during the Neopaleozoic. This province was chosen due to the existence of a large number of publications referring to their occurrence, so that a meta-analysis of their distribution could be based on ample information. The first step was the construction of a composite database including geographical location, geology, and the botanical systematics of each relevant fossil. The geographical locations were then georeferenced for translation into various maps showing various aspects of the distribution of the fossils. The spatial distribution of the fossil-housing outcrops shows that these are distributed along the area of deposition studied. Although some genera persisted for long periods of time, others lasted for only short intervals. As time passed, the fossil composition underwent a gradual change from the Late Carboniferous (Itararé Group) to the Late Permian (Rio do Rasto Formation), with the number of genera represented decreasing from 45 in the Itararé Group to 11 in the Rio do Rasto Formation. KEYWORDS:Geographic Information Systems; Gondwana Floristic Province; Paraná Basin; Floristic Maps. RESUMO: O presente artigo introduz a uma metodologia na qual será possível a visualização da distribuição espacial de fitofósseis. Tal metodologia será aplicada a ocorrências da Província Florística do Gondwana presente na borda leste da porção brasileira da Bacia do Paraná durante o Neopaleozóico. Essa província foi escolhida tendo em vista que nela há grande número de publicações referentes às suas ocorrências. Isso torna possível a meta-análise de sua distribuição

A large cockroach from the mesosaur-bearingKonservat-Lagerstätte(Mangrullo Formation), Late Paleozoic of Uruguay

“…2). These plants show affinities to species that are components of the Phyllotheca - Gangamopteris flora (Piñeiro, 2006; Christiano-de Souza et al., 2014); Calamites , Paracalamites , Schizoneura , Annularia , Cordaites , Sphenophyllum leafs, along to occasional permineralized trunks of Equisetales and Lepidondendrales (e.g., Stigmaria , Lepidodendron , and Walkia ) (J Broutin, pers. comm., 2018) are preliminarily recognized.…”

Facies, Depositional Environment and Reservoir Quality of an Early Cambrian Carbonate Ramp in the Tarim Basin, NW China

“…Interpretation: Mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sedimentation is related to paleo-environ mental conditions, such as paleoclimate and eustatic sea level change [38]. According to paleoclimate data reported by [39], siliciclastic sedimentation likely prevailed during the relatively hot and humid period, then palaeoclimatic conditions became more arid, favoring the deposition of carbonate [40] and evaporitic sediments [41]. This finding indicates that the early sedimentary period of the Xiaoerbulake Formation could have been a hot and humid climate in which siliciclastic sedimentation predominated.…”

Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 2: How to measure and analyse past plant biodiversity

“…Traditionally, floristic patterns were recognised non-metrically, based mainly on the experience of palaeobotanists who had studied a large number of floras (e.g., Gothan 1925Gothan , 1954Vakhrameev et al 1978;Meyen 1987;Mai 1995;Vakhrameev 2006). In essence their approach was to recognise nested sets of floristic units (phytochoria) similar to those used with living floras, in descending order of rank kingdom (or realm), area, province and district (terms anglicised as in Meyen 1987): examples of such studies were by Chaloner and Lacey (1973), Chaloner and Meyen (1973), Meyen (1987), Wnuk (1994), Iannuzzi and Rösler (2000), Mosseichik (2010) and Christiano- de-Souza et al (2014). As pointed out by Raymond et al (1985b), however, palaeobotanical phytochoria are conceptually different from those defined on today's vegetation because of the incompleteness of the fossil record.…”