In this review, Patagonian phytogeographical patterns are analysed from a global and evolutionary... more In this review, Patagonian phytogeographical patterns are analysed from a global and evolutionary perspective that takes into account aspects from the geology, climatology and plant evolution. The biomes contained within the different climatic belts are inferred through time for the southwestern Gondwana supercontinent on the basis of palaeogeographical reconstructions, climate-sensitive rocks and plant distribution. Some current plant components of Patagonia can be traced back to early Mesozoic times, to the Triassic and Jurassic mesophytic floras. The main features of the Cretaceous and Palaeogene Patagonian floras are described and compared with other Gondwanic areas that shared, at the time, more plant components than they do today. The Neogene floras are analysed in relation to the rise of the Andes and the global climatic cooling, which differentiated the Andean and the Extra-Andean regions, and ended in the modern cool-temperate Andean forest and the arid steppe.
ABSTRACT Implications of a new collection of lycophytes of the genera Haplostigma Seward and Pale... more ABSTRACT Implications of a new collection of lycophytes of the genera Haplostigma Seward and Paleostigma Kräusel and Dolianiti from southern Bolivia and northern Argentina are presented. Fragmented herbaceous stems of lycophytes preserved as compressions, impressions and casts come from the Middle and Late Devonian Pescado (Huamampampa), Los Monos and Iquiri formations at Mataral, Yesera, Angosto del Pescado and Balapuca. The interbedded shales and siltstones bearing the lycophytes were also examined for palynology. They yielded mostly terrestrial palynomorphs with Grandispora pseudoreticulata and other Eifelian to Givetian species and fewer microplanktonic species (i.e., acritarchs, prasinophytes, chitinozoans). At Yesera, diagnostic spores and elements of the microplankton suggest a Givetian-Frasnian up to early Famennian age for the Haplostigma beds. Moreover, presence of the same brachiopod taxon in the Haplostigma intervals at Yesera Dique (palynologically barren) and Yesera Centro supports their correlation. This new information supports terrestrial connections between these Bolivian and Argentine areas and other regions of South America in the Eifelian – Givetian Afrosouthamerican Subrealm, which extended up to the early Famennian.
ABSTRACT Globular phytoliths have been mainly assigned to palms, woody trees, and other monocotyl... more ABSTRACT Globular phytoliths have been mainly assigned to palms, woody trees, and other monocotyledon families from tropical regions. The lack of detailed descriptions of this phytolith morphology and its correct assignments to particular groups could lead to erroneous interpretations of phytolith records. In order to improve paleobotanical interpretations of phytoliths records, we analyzed the phytolith content and described the quantitative and qualitative characters of globular phytoliths of Arecaceae, Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae, Marantaceae, Orchidaceae, Strelitziaceae, and Zingiberaceae species from Argentina. Phytoliths were extracted by calcination and multivariate analyses were used to analyze their taxonomic relevance. Phytolith assemblages allowed the differentiation 1) among Zingiberales species; 2) among Arecaceae species; 3) between Orchidaceae, Arecaceae, and Bromeliaceae families; and 4) between Zingiberales and the rest of the groups. The study of distinguishing features of globular morphologies (such as size, roundness, reniformity, number of spines, spine length, and density of spines) allowed the discrimination between two Arecaceae subfamilies, and among Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae, and Zingiberaceae families. This work showed the importance of both analyses (phytolith assemblages and phytolith morphometric) in the identification of groups at different levels and represented the first detailed and comparative description of globular phytoliths of palms and other monocotyledons from Argentina.
A palaeoecological study of a standing Late Triassic forest containing 150 silicified stumps from... more A palaeoecological study of a standing Late Triassic forest containing 150 silicified stumps from the Río Blanco Formation of Mendoza province, Argentina is described. A mapped portion of the forest floor provides quantitative data—tree density, mean separation of ...
... CHRISTOPHER M. BERRY * ,* , EDUARDO MOREL , JAIRO MOJICA and CARLOS VILLARROEL ... larger ver... more ... CHRISTOPHER M. BERRY * ,* , EDUARDO MOREL , JAIRO MOJICA and CARLOS VILLARROEL ... larger version (30K): [in this window] [in a new window], Figure 2. Location map of the two fossil localities mentioned in this report: (1) Puerto Arepas; (4) Quebrada Potrero Rincón. ...
Fossil plants are described from the upper part of the Devonian Lolén Formation, Sierra de la Ven... more Fossil plants are described from the upper part of the Devonian Lolén Formation, Sierra de la Ventana, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the area of Estancia Las Acacias. The sequence is composed mainly of dark grey shales, and fossils were found in a single horizon where thin interlayered beds of fine reddish-brown micaceous sandstones appear where the environment of marine deposition became more shallow. The age of the Lolén Formation is presently established on the basis of brachiopods, these being characteristic elements of the Malvinokaffric realm from the Gondwana Lower Devonian (Emsian). The fossil plants are remarkably preserved given that they are in rocks that have undergone intense deformation. The plants are identified as Haplostigma sp. and Haskinsia cf. H. colophylla, and suggest a Middle Devonian age (Givetian) for the fossil-bearing levels. Haskinsia, identified on the basis of leaf morphology, is the first well-delimited Middle Devonian lycopsid genus described from Argentina, and the record from the most southerly palaeolatitude. During the Middle Devonian, Haskinsia was distributed in tropical, warm temperate and high southern latitude, ?cool temperate zones.
... is consistent both with one based on brachiopods from exposures to the west of Tarabuco (Rach... more ... is consistent both with one based on brachiopods from exposures to the west of Tarabuco (Racheboeuf & Branisa, 1985; Benedetto, Sanchez & Brussa, 1992) and on brachiopods and graptolites (Davila & Rodriguez, 1967). In summarizing all palaeontological evi-dence, Berry ...
En esta contribución se realizó la revisión de la paleoflora de la Formación Nestares, aflorante ... more En esta contribución se realizó la revisión de la paleoflora de la Formación Nestares, aflorante en ambas márgenes del Río Limay, en las inmediaciones del dique de Alicurá, sector noroccidental del Macizo Nordpatagónico, provincias de Río Negro y Neuquén, Argentina. Se midió un perfil sedimentológico, se identificaron cuatro estratos fosilíferos y su estudio permitió la determinación sistemática de 18 taxones, 12 previamente descriptos para esta localidad= Neocalamites carrerei Zeiller) Halle, Marattia muensteri (Goeppert) Zeiller, Goeppertella diazii Arrondo y Petriella, Kurtziana brandmayri Frenguelli, K. cacheutensis (Kurtz) Frenguelli, Taeniopteris sp., Otozamites albosaxatilis Herbst, O. ameghinoi Kurtz, O. bechei Brongniart, O. hislopii (Oldham) Feistmantel, Ptilophyllum acutifolium Morris en Grant, Elatocladus confertus (Oldham y Morris) Halle y seis nuevos= Equisetites frenguellii Orlando, Archangelskya protoloxsoma (Kurtz) Herbst, Sagenopteris nilssoniana (Brongniart) Ward, Nilssonia taeniopteroides Halle, O. bengalensis Oldham y Morris y Elatocladus planus (Feistmantel) Seward. A estos registros se le adicionan otros seis taxones previamente estudiados como Cladophlebis mendozaensis (Geinitz) Frenguelli, C. oblonga Halle, Gleichenites cf. sanmartini Halle emend. Herbst, Scleropteris vincei Herbst, Araucarites phillipsi Carruthers, Podozamites elongatus (Oldham y Morris) Halle, conformando una lista actualizada para la unidad de 24 taxones. La similitud composicional con otras paleofloras del Jurásico Temprano de la Argentina permite asignar a esta tafoflora una edad sinemuriana. Palabras clave. Paleobotánica. Formación Nestares. Jurásico Temprano. Provincias del Neuquén y Río Negro. Argentina.
In this review, Patagonian phytogeographical patterns are analysed from a global and evolutionary... more In this review, Patagonian phytogeographical patterns are analysed from a global and evolutionary perspective that takes into account aspects from the geology, climatology and plant evolution. The biomes contained within the different climatic belts are inferred through time for the southwestern Gondwana supercontinent on the basis of palaeogeographical reconstructions, climate-sensitive rocks and plant distribution. Some current plant components of Patagonia can be traced back to early Mesozoic times, to the Triassic and Jurassic mesophytic floras. The main features of the Cretaceous and Palaeogene Patagonian floras are described and compared with other Gondwanic areas that shared, at the time, more plant components than they do today. The Neogene floras are analysed in relation to the rise of the Andes and the global climatic cooling, which differentiated the Andean and the Extra-Andean regions, and ended in the modern cool-temperate Andean forest and the arid steppe.
ABSTRACT Implications of a new collection of lycophytes of the genera Haplostigma Seward and Pale... more ABSTRACT Implications of a new collection of lycophytes of the genera Haplostigma Seward and Paleostigma Kräusel and Dolianiti from southern Bolivia and northern Argentina are presented. Fragmented herbaceous stems of lycophytes preserved as compressions, impressions and casts come from the Middle and Late Devonian Pescado (Huamampampa), Los Monos and Iquiri formations at Mataral, Yesera, Angosto del Pescado and Balapuca. The interbedded shales and siltstones bearing the lycophytes were also examined for palynology. They yielded mostly terrestrial palynomorphs with Grandispora pseudoreticulata and other Eifelian to Givetian species and fewer microplanktonic species (i.e., acritarchs, prasinophytes, chitinozoans). At Yesera, diagnostic spores and elements of the microplankton suggest a Givetian-Frasnian up to early Famennian age for the Haplostigma beds. Moreover, presence of the same brachiopod taxon in the Haplostigma intervals at Yesera Dique (palynologically barren) and Yesera Centro supports their correlation. This new information supports terrestrial connections between these Bolivian and Argentine areas and other regions of South America in the Eifelian – Givetian Afrosouthamerican Subrealm, which extended up to the early Famennian.
ABSTRACT Globular phytoliths have been mainly assigned to palms, woody trees, and other monocotyl... more ABSTRACT Globular phytoliths have been mainly assigned to palms, woody trees, and other monocotyledon families from tropical regions. The lack of detailed descriptions of this phytolith morphology and its correct assignments to particular groups could lead to erroneous interpretations of phytolith records. In order to improve paleobotanical interpretations of phytoliths records, we analyzed the phytolith content and described the quantitative and qualitative characters of globular phytoliths of Arecaceae, Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae, Marantaceae, Orchidaceae, Strelitziaceae, and Zingiberaceae species from Argentina. Phytoliths were extracted by calcination and multivariate analyses were used to analyze their taxonomic relevance. Phytolith assemblages allowed the differentiation 1) among Zingiberales species; 2) among Arecaceae species; 3) between Orchidaceae, Arecaceae, and Bromeliaceae families; and 4) between Zingiberales and the rest of the groups. The study of distinguishing features of globular morphologies (such as size, roundness, reniformity, number of spines, spine length, and density of spines) allowed the discrimination between two Arecaceae subfamilies, and among Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae, and Zingiberaceae families. This work showed the importance of both analyses (phytolith assemblages and phytolith morphometric) in the identification of groups at different levels and represented the first detailed and comparative description of globular phytoliths of palms and other monocotyledons from Argentina.
A palaeoecological study of a standing Late Triassic forest containing 150 silicified stumps from... more A palaeoecological study of a standing Late Triassic forest containing 150 silicified stumps from the Río Blanco Formation of Mendoza province, Argentina is described. A mapped portion of the forest floor provides quantitative data—tree density, mean separation of ...
... CHRISTOPHER M. BERRY * ,* , EDUARDO MOREL , JAIRO MOJICA and CARLOS VILLARROEL ... larger ver... more ... CHRISTOPHER M. BERRY * ,* , EDUARDO MOREL , JAIRO MOJICA and CARLOS VILLARROEL ... larger version (30K): [in this window] [in a new window], Figure 2. Location map of the two fossil localities mentioned in this report: (1) Puerto Arepas; (4) Quebrada Potrero Rincón. ...
Fossil plants are described from the upper part of the Devonian Lolén Formation, Sierra de la Ven... more Fossil plants are described from the upper part of the Devonian Lolén Formation, Sierra de la Ventana, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the area of Estancia Las Acacias. The sequence is composed mainly of dark grey shales, and fossils were found in a single horizon where thin interlayered beds of fine reddish-brown micaceous sandstones appear where the environment of marine deposition became more shallow. The age of the Lolén Formation is presently established on the basis of brachiopods, these being characteristic elements of the Malvinokaffric realm from the Gondwana Lower Devonian (Emsian). The fossil plants are remarkably preserved given that they are in rocks that have undergone intense deformation. The plants are identified as Haplostigma sp. and Haskinsia cf. H. colophylla, and suggest a Middle Devonian age (Givetian) for the fossil-bearing levels. Haskinsia, identified on the basis of leaf morphology, is the first well-delimited Middle Devonian lycopsid genus described from Argentina, and the record from the most southerly palaeolatitude. During the Middle Devonian, Haskinsia was distributed in tropical, warm temperate and high southern latitude, ?cool temperate zones.
... is consistent both with one based on brachiopods from exposures to the west of Tarabuco (Rach... more ... is consistent both with one based on brachiopods from exposures to the west of Tarabuco (Racheboeuf & Branisa, 1985; Benedetto, Sanchez & Brussa, 1992) and on brachiopods and graptolites (Davila & Rodriguez, 1967). In summarizing all palaeontological evi-dence, Berry ...
En esta contribución se realizó la revisión de la paleoflora de la Formación Nestares, aflorante ... more En esta contribución se realizó la revisión de la paleoflora de la Formación Nestares, aflorante en ambas márgenes del Río Limay, en las inmediaciones del dique de Alicurá, sector noroccidental del Macizo Nordpatagónico, provincias de Río Negro y Neuquén, Argentina. Se midió un perfil sedimentológico, se identificaron cuatro estratos fosilíferos y su estudio permitió la determinación sistemática de 18 taxones, 12 previamente descriptos para esta localidad= Neocalamites carrerei Zeiller) Halle, Marattia muensteri (Goeppert) Zeiller, Goeppertella diazii Arrondo y Petriella, Kurtziana brandmayri Frenguelli, K. cacheutensis (Kurtz) Frenguelli, Taeniopteris sp., Otozamites albosaxatilis Herbst, O. ameghinoi Kurtz, O. bechei Brongniart, O. hislopii (Oldham) Feistmantel, Ptilophyllum acutifolium Morris en Grant, Elatocladus confertus (Oldham y Morris) Halle y seis nuevos= Equisetites frenguellii Orlando, Archangelskya protoloxsoma (Kurtz) Herbst, Sagenopteris nilssoniana (Brongniart) Ward, Nilssonia taeniopteroides Halle, O. bengalensis Oldham y Morris y Elatocladus planus (Feistmantel) Seward. A estos registros se le adicionan otros seis taxones previamente estudiados como Cladophlebis mendozaensis (Geinitz) Frenguelli, C. oblonga Halle, Gleichenites cf. sanmartini Halle emend. Herbst, Scleropteris vincei Herbst, Araucarites phillipsi Carruthers, Podozamites elongatus (Oldham y Morris) Halle, conformando una lista actualizada para la unidad de 24 taxones. La similitud composicional con otras paleofloras del Jurásico Temprano de la Argentina permite asignar a esta tafoflora una edad sinemuriana. Palabras clave. Paleobotánica. Formación Nestares. Jurásico Temprano. Provincias del Neuquén y Río Negro. Argentina.
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