Fossil angiosperm wood and its host deposits from the periphery of a dominantly effusive ancient volcano (Doupovské hory Volcanic Complex, Oligocene-Lower Miocene, Czech Republic): systematics, volcanology, geochronology and taphonomy

Abstract

A variety of fossil woods occur on the northern margin of the Doupovské hory Volcanic Complex in the northwestern part of the Czech Republic. The woods were buried by three different processes reflecting three different settings. First, a large area between the towns of Kadaň and Klášterec is covered by an up to 100 m thick sequence of lahar and debris avalanche deposits. These flows and avalanches gathered wood of Liriodendron, Lauraceae, Platanus, Cercidiphyllum, ?Craigia and Styracaceae from both the volcanic complex slopes and adjacent plains. Second, a rich assemblage of fossil woods with thermophilous elements such as Lauraceae and palms was preserved on the northern volcanic complex periphery by a Strombolian eruption of a monogenic cone. Third, a shallow lake formed to the side of the volcanic complex, where Platanus trunks were fossilized in the travertine. The wood of Liriodendron has never been previously recorded in the localities representing volcanic complex foothills, but is common in the local lahar deposits. This distribution leads us to hypothesize that Liriodendron forests dominated higher topographic levels of the Doupovské hory Volcanic Complex, reaching, but probably not exceeding 1000 m a.s.l.

First record of Styracoxylon (Styracaceae) from Southern Hemisphere: Arroyo Feliciano Formation (Upper Pleistocene), Entre Ríos, Argentina

“…Bruinsmia (Sakala et al, 2010). The presence of tyloses, vascular tracheids and mixed scalariform and simple perforation plates, observed in the fossil material, were also…”

“…The characters such as laticeferous tubes, axial parenchyma in bands and exclusively solitary vessels present in Sapotaceae differ from the fossil specimen (Tortorelli, 1956;Metcalfe and Chalk, 1950 Dickison and Phend (1985). Nevertheless, Halesia has vessels with angular to circular in outline, mostly opposite intervessel pits and absent tylosis, with some species lacking crystals (Dickison and Phend, 1985;Sakala et al, 2010). Styrax Section Pamphilia (= genus Pamphilia sensu Perkins, 1907) sensu Wallnöfer (1997) Prismatic crystals are almost restricted to the chambers of axial parenchyma.…”

“…and assigned within the family Betulaceae by Prakash et al (1971). This last fossil genus was recently reviewed by Sakala et al (2010), who redescribed the species of this genus: Coryloxylon nemejcii and C.…”

“…1): Styracoxylon (Burgh 1978), with affinity to Styrax, and Coryloxylon (Prakash et al, 1971;Sakala et al, 2010), which was created for fossil wood related to Corylus sp. and assigned within the family Betulaceae by Prakash et al (1971).…”

Slope Dependent Morphometric Analysis as a Tool Contributing to Reconstruction of Volcano Evolution

“…The subvolcanic rocks are exposed on a small area in the central part of the DHVC Haloda et al, 2010). The activity terminated in the Early Miocene when several small monogenic volcanoes were formed on the northern periphery of the complex (Sakala et al, 2010). …”