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A New Fossil Fern Assignable to Gleicheniaceae from Late Cretaceous sediments of New Jersey
Author(s) -
Gandolfo Maria A.,
Nixon Kevin C.,
Crepet William L.,
Ratcliffe Gene E.
Publication year - 1997
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 - 10.2307/2446025
Subject(s) - fern , biology , stele , cretaceous , gymnosperm , taxon , paleontology , extant taxon , botany , rhizome , evolutionary biology
The recent discovery of well‐preserved charcoalified rhizomes, petioles, pinnules, sori, and spores from the Upper Cretaceous of New Jersey provides the basis for the description of a new gleicheniaceous fern, Boodlepteris turoniana . The fossils were collected from unconsolidated sediments of Turonian age (° 90 MYBP, million years before present; Raritan/Lower Magothy Formation, Potomac Group). These deposits are rich in angiosperms, but also have a limited representation of fern and gymnosperm remains. Fossil specimens from this locality are particularly remarkable in that minute detail, including anatomical features, are often preserved. Some Boodlepteris specimens have cell by cell preservation that reveals the nature and structure of the stele in rhizomes and petioles, and others show minute details of the sori borne on fertile pinnae. Although these specimens are not in organic connection, there are sufficient structural and anatomical details preserved to confidently suggest that they belong to the same taxon. Cladistic analysis of the fossils, both separately and as a reconstruction, support assignment of Boodlepteris to the extant family Gleicheniaceae.