Fossil Leaf Species From the Fox Hills Formation (Upper Cretaceous: North Dakota, Usa) and Their Paleogeographic Significance

A Late Cretaceous Coniferous Woodland From the San Juan Basin, New Mexico

“…This point of view seems to be problematic (as it was al− ready for Berry 1916) for the following reasons: (i) serrate and (apparently) integrimarginate leaves (otherwise identi− cal) are present in the same levels; (ii) variation between ser− rate and integrimarginate leaves has been documented in a contemporary species of similar leaf architecture, namely Helleborus lividus Aiton, 1789 (the type is serrate, while H. lividus var. integrifolius de Candolle, 1805 has no teeth; Saporta and Marion 1873); (iii) the serrate margin may roll down into the rock, wherefore the leaves appear as entire: such a situation has been described, e.g., for Rhamnus salici− folius Lesquereux in Hayden, 1868 from the Maastrichtian of North Dakota (Peppe et al 2007 Kvaček et al 2001).…”

The Fossil Flora of the Winthrop Formation (Albian-Early Cretaceous) of Washington State, USA. Part II: Pinophytina

“…To the diagnosis for the family given in Peppe et al (2007), we add the following leaf characters: lamina simple to deeply pinnatifid, to pinnate; oblong to elliptic; laminar segments attached by the whole width of their base; secondary veins simple, unbranched, of uniform thickness and diverging from the midvein at a highly obtuse to nearly perpendicular angle.…”

“…In accordance with Article 18.1 of the Code (McNeill et al 2006), we adopt the spelling of the family name, Nilsoniaceae, following Peppe et al (2007), and reject the assertion that the epithet of the type is an orthographic variant. Leaves of the Nilsoniaceae are common in middle Mesozoic floras and have been studied for more than 180 years.…”

“…The first group, which Peppe et al (2007) named the "brevis-type," was similar to the generic type, whereas a second group, which they named the "tenuinervis-type," had a thinner texture, was often entire or nearly entire with irregularly spaced lobes or pinnules, and lacked the transverse corrugations and the circinate vernation of the brevis-type. However, despite their disparate morphologies, both groups share cuticular characteristics, both can have resin bodies between their veins, and both have their laminar tissue attached to, and entirely covering the midvein-a character unique among cycads (Nathorst 1909;Seward 1917;Harris 1964;Watson and Cusack 2005).…”

Ptilophyllum muelleri(Ettingsh.) comb. nov. from the Oligocene of Australia: Last of the Bennettitales?

“…This is emphasized by records of two species from the Santonian-Campanian Pautû t flora of West Greenland (Boyd 1992). These specimens, or the poorly preserved examples of Zamites in the Coniacian-Campanian of western Canada (Bell 1957), appear to be the youngest records of Bennettitales in the Northern Hemisphere, given that Maastrichtian examples of Nilssonia from northwestern Russia (Vakhrameev 1991) and western Canada (Bell 1949) likely represent cycadaleans (Peppe et al 2007;Pott et al 2007). Unfortunately, pollen records are of little assistance in tracking the stratigraphic range and geographic distribution of the Bennettitales.…”