Late Triassic plant microfossils from Miers Bluff Formation of Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

A moderately diverse assemblage of plant microfossils has been recovered from the Johnsons Dock Member of the Miers Bluff Formation, Livingston Island, including spores, pollen, acritarchs, wood fragments and cuticles. Containing a total of c . 45 of miospore taxa, the palynoflora is dominated by no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Shu, Ouyang, Xi-Guang, Deng, Yan-Bin, Shen, Xiang-Shen, Zheng, Xiao-Han, Liu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2000
Subjects:
South Shetland Islands
New Zealand
Livingston Island
Miers
Johnsons
Miers Bluff
Johnsons Dock
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102000000274
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102000000274
Description
Summary:A moderately diverse assemblage of plant microfossils has been recovered from the Johnsons Dock Member of the Miers Bluff Formation, Livingston Island, including spores, pollen, acritarchs, wood fragments and cuticles. Containing a total of c . 45 of miospore taxa, the palynoflora is dominated by non-striate bisaccate pollen, but spores of pteridophytes and pollen of gymnosperms are proportionate in diversity. The palynoflora is similar in composition to those indicative of subzones C + D of the Alisporites Zone of Antarctica, and the upper Craterisporites rotundus Zone and the lower Polycingulatisporites crenulatus Zone of Australia as well as the upper Polycingulatisporites crenulatus Zone and Foveosporites moretonensis Zone of New Zealand, suggesting a Late Triassic (possibly Norian–Rhaetian) age. This determination is supported by the sporadic occurrence of Aratrisporites and Classopollis in the palynoflora as well as by the absence of striate bisaccate grains.

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