Premium
PARAPHYLLANTHOXYLON ALABAMENSE—A NEW SPECIES OF FOSSIL DICOTYLEDONOUS WOOD
Author(s) -
Cahoon Elizabeth J.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1972.tb10057.x
Subject(s) - cretaceous , cenomanian , sapindaceae , biology , anacardiaceae , euphorbiaceae , mesozoic , abundance (ecology) , botany , paleontology , ecology , structural basin
A new species of fossil wood, Paraphyllanthoxylon alabamense , is described from silicified logs collected in Macon and Elmore counties from the Tuscaloosa Group, Cretaceous, Cenomanian‐Turonian Stage. All of the logs examined from this area have the same general characteristics and are placed in the new species. Paraphyllanthoxylon alabamense shows many characteristics intermediate between the two previously described species but it is not identical with either of them. This wood is probably not identical with any living type but it resembles certain members of the Anacardiaceae, Buseraceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Sapindaceae. The large size and abundance of logs of Paraphyllanthoxylon alabamense suggest that it was a dominant Cretaceous forest tree.