A new species of Antarctoxylon : a contribution to the early angiosperm ecosystem of Antarctica during the late Cretaceous

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Sakala, Jakub, Vodrážka, Radek
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2013
• Subjects: Geology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Oceanography; Ross Island; Livingston Island; Hidden Lake; Williams Point; Williams, Point; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Antarctica; James Ross Island
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s095410201300076x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S095410201300076X

Abstract A new species of Antarctoxylon is described from the Coniacian Hidden Lake Formation of James Ross Island as A . mixai Sakala, sp. nov. This angiosperm fossil wood shows a unique combination of features in having indistinct growth ring boundaries, scalariform perforation plates with about 30 bars and rays both narrow (1–6-seriate) and very wide (up to 18-seriate). Its systematic affinities and exact living relative at the specific, generic or even familial level cannot be specified. Along with Weinmannioxylon nordenskjoeldii from James Ross Island and the angiosperm woods from the Williams Point on Livingston Island, this record provides further evidence of the earliest record of arboreal angiosperms in Antarctica.