Late Cretaceous flora of James Ross Island (Antarctica) – preliminary report
Vol.1,No.2(2011)
Fossil plants from Late Cretaceous strata (Hidden Lake Formation and Santa Marta Formation) of James Ross Basin exposed in the northern part of the James Ross Island are preliminary described. Both formations contain plant mega fossils, petrified wood, and charcoalified mesofossils. Fossil plants from the Hidden Lake Formation are represented by leaf impressions of pteridophytes (Microphyllopteris, Delosorus, Lygodium), conifers (Elatocladus, Brachyphyllum, Pagiophyllum, Araucaria, Podozamites vel Lindleycladus), Bennettitales vel Cycadales (Zamites vel Dioonites sp.) and angiosperms (Cinnamomoides, Dicotylophyllum ssp., Proteophyllum, Juglandi-phyllum vel Dicotylophyllum). Fossil wood can be attributed to the very broadly defined morphogenus Antarctoxylon Poole & Cantrill.
flora; leaf impressions; pteridophytes; conifers; angiosperms; Late Cretaceous; James Ross Basin
Cantrill, D.J., Poole, I. (2005): Taxonomic turnover and abundance in Cretaceous to Tertiary wood floras of Antarctica: implications for changes in forest ecology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 215: 205–219.
Crame, J. A., Pirrie, D., Ridding, J. B. and Thompson, M.R.A. (1991). Campanian-Maastrichtian (Cretaceous) stratigraphy of the James Ross Island area, Antarctica. Journal of the Geological Society. London, 148: 1125-1140.
Crame, J. A., Pirrie, D. and Riding, J. B. (2006): Mid-Cretaceous stratigraphy of the James Ross Basin, Antarctica. In: J. E. Francis, D. Pirrie, J.A. Crame (eds.): Cretaceous-Tertiary High-Latitude Palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Geological Society Special Publications, 258, 7–19.
Del Valle, R.A., Elliot, D.H. and MacDonald, D.I.M. (1992): Sedimentary basins on the east flank of the Antarctic Peninsula: proposed nomenclature. Antarctic Science, 4: 477–478.
Dettmann, M.E., Thomson, M.R.A. (1987): Cretaceous palynomorphs from the James Ross Island area, Antarctica - A pilot study. Bulletin of the British Antarctic Survey 77: 13-59.
Eklund, H., Cantrill, D.J. and Francis, J.E. (2004): Late Cretaceous plant mesofossils from Table Nunatak, Antarctica. Cretaceous Research, 25: 211-228.
Elliot, D. H. (1988): Tectonic setting and evolution of the James Ross Basin, Northern Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America, Memoirs, 169: 541-555.
Falcon-Lang, H., Cantrill, D. J. (2000): Cretaceous (Late Albian) Coniferales of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Part. 1 Wood taxonomy: a quantitative approach. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 111: 1-17.
Hathway, B. (2000): Continental fift to back-arc basin: Jurassic-Cretaceous stratigraphical and structural evolution of the Larsen Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 157: 417-432.
Hayes, P., A., Francis, J. E., Cantrill, D. J. and Crame, J. A. (2006): Palaeoclimate analysis of Late Cretaceous angiosperm leaf floras, James Ross Island, Antarctica. In: Francis, J.E., Pirrie, J.E., Crame, J.A.: Cretaceous-Tertiary high-latitude palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 258, pp. 49-62.
Hill, R.S., Scriven, L.J. (1995): The angiosperm dominated woody vegetation of Antarctica: a review. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 86: 175-198.
Huber, B.T. (1998): Tropical paradise at the Cretaceous poles? Science, 282: 2199-2220.,
Keating, J.M. (1992): Palynology of the Lachman Crags Member, Santa Marta Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of north-west James Ross Island. Antarctic Science, 4: 279-292.
Macdonald, D.I.M., Butterworth, P.J. (1990): The stratigraphy, setting and hydrocarbon potential of the Masozoic sedimentary basins of the Antarctic Peninsula. In: St. John, B. (ed.), Antarctica as an Exploration Frontier, AAPG, Studies in Geology, 31: 101-125.
McArthur, J.M., Crame, J.A. and Thirlwall, M.F. (2000): Definition of Late Cretaceous stage boundaries in Antarctica using strontium isotope stratigraphy. Journal of Geology, 108: 623-640.
Poole, I., Cantrill, D.J. (2001): Fossil woods from Williams Point Beds, Livingston Island, Antarctica: a Late Cretaceous southern high latitude flora. Palaeontology, 44: 1081–1112.
Poole, I., Cantrill, D.J. (2006): Cretaceous and Cenozoic vegetation of Antarctica integrating the fossil wood record. In: Francis, J. E., Pirrie, D. and Crame, J. A. (eds): Cretaceous-Tertiary high-latitude palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 258, 63-81.
Rees, P.M., Smellie, J.L. (1989): Cretaceous angiosperms from an allegedly Triassic flora at Williams Point, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands. Antarctic Science, 1: 739-760.
Riding, J. B., Crame, J. A. (2002): Aptian to Coniacian (Early-Late Cretaceous) palynostratigraphy of the Gustav Group, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Cretaceous Research, 23: 739-760.
Svojtka, M., Nývlt, D., Murakami, M., Vávrová, J., Filip, J. and Mixa, P. (2009): Provenance and post-depositional low-temperature evolution of the James Ross Basin sedimentary rocks (Antarctic Peninsula) based on fission track analysis. Antarctic Science, 21: 593–607.
Whitham, A. G., Inneson, J. R. and Pirrie, G. D. (2006): Marine volcaniclastics of the Hidden Lake Formation (Coniacian) of James Ross Island, Antarctica: an enigmatic element in the history of a back-arc basin. In: Francis, J.E., Pirrie, D., Crame, J. A. (eds.): Cretaceous-Tertiary high-latitude palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 258, 21-47.,
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2020 Czech Polar Reports