A New Sciadopityaceous Seed Cone From the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

A sciadopityaceous seed cone, Sciadopityostrobus kerae, gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a permineralized specimen from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Coniacian) of Hokkaido, Japan. The peel method was applied for anatomical observations. The seed cone consists of a cone axis receiving numerous cone scale complexes that are arranged helically. Each complex generally has five inverted ovules that are oriented adaxially. The cone is similar to those of living Sciadopitys verticillata with respect to its peltate cone scale complex, with free apices of both bract and ovuliferous scale, trichomes on the bract, and a trifurcated ovuliferous scale strand. In the fossil, the bract and ovuliferous scale strands fuse with each other in the basal part of the cone scale complex, while S. verticillata bract and ovuliferous scale strands are derived separately from the vascular cylinder and remain separate throughout their length. The present specimen is one of the oldest records of structurally preserved cones that can be assigned to the family Sciadopityaceae.

New gymnosperm wood fossils, a seed-ovule structure, and a new generic affinity to Cedroxylon canoasense Rau from the Permian and Triassic–Jurassic of Southern Brazil

“…As already pointed by Crisafulli & Dutra (2011), the herein described seed characters allow a general comparison with those found in the Araucariaceae representatives, like that from the Jurassic Cerro Cuadrado Formation, Argentine Patagonia (Stockey, 1975(Stockey, , 1977(Stockey, , 1978Stockey & Taylor, 1978), Rajmahal Series, India (Araucarites mittrii from Bohra & Sharma, 1980), and other genera of Coniferales sensu lato (e.g. Nipaniostrobus Rao, 1943), and Sciadopitys (Saiki, 1992), from the Cretaceous of Japan. With A. mittrii it shares the presence of two nucellar cavities found in some specimens.…”

Combined LM and SEM study of the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) palynoflora from the Lavanttal Basin, Austria: Part II. Pinophyta (Cupressaceae, Pinaceae and Sciadopityaceae)

“…-The earliest Sciadopitys-like macrofossils, cones and leaves, which show clear relationships to the extant species, are found in Upper Cretaceous sediments of Japan (Ogura, 1932;Ohsawa et al, 1991;Saiki, 1992). Sciadopitys fossils are much more common in the Cenozoic, especially in the Eocene-Pliocene of Europe, where numerous macrofossil, mainly leaves with cuticles and cones and wood fragments, have been found (Schneider, 1992;Mai, 1995;Figueiral et al, 1999;Philippe, 2002;Dolezych & Schneider, 2006;Manchester et al, 2009).…”

A Taxodiaceous Seed Cone from the Triassic of Antarctica

“…Among permineralized seed cones, Sciadopityostrobus kerae Saiki (1992) from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan, shares the largest number of characteristics with Parasciadopitys. It has a similar seed-scale complex with five-lobed ovuliferous scales and five recurved ovules per scale.…”