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Fossil Coniferous Wood from the Middle Jurassic of Liaoning Province, China ⁎ Hong-En Jiang A,B, David K

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Fossil Coniferous Wood from the Middle Jurassic of Liaoning Province, China ⁎ Hong-En Jiang A,B, David K Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 150 (2008) 37–47 www.elsevier.com/locate/revpalbo Fossil coniferous wood from the Middle Jurassic of Liaoning Province, China ⁎ Hong-En Jiang a,b, David K. Ferguson c, Cheng-Sen Li a,d, , Ye-Ming Cheng e a State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China b Academia Turfanica of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Turpan 838000, China c Institute of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstraβe 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria d Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing 100050, China e Geological Museum of China, Beijing 100034, China Received 20 April 2006; received in revised form 8 January 2008; accepted 15 January 2008 Available online 1 February 2008 Abstract Silicified coniferous wood was collected from the Lanqi Formation (late Middle Jurassic in age) at Shebudaigou Village, Liaoning Province, China. Three taxa are identified, namely Pinoxylon dacotense Knowlton, Xenoxylon phyllocladoides Gothan, and Araucariopitys sp. Based on these new data, and those of other fossil plants reported previously from the same formation, we consider the climate during the deposition of the Lanqi Formation was subtropical, humid and seasonal. In this respect the Lanqi flora differs from the coeval Shimengou and Longmen floras from North China. The Longmen flora was deposited during more humid, subtropical conditions, while the Shimengou Formation indicates that the climate was warm temperate and dry. Our data would suggest that the Late Jurassic climatic pattern was initiated as early as the late Middle Jurassic. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Lanqi Formation; Middle Jurassic; fossil wood; palaeoclimate; wood anatomy 1. Introduction bryophytes, ferns, cycads, ginkgos, and conifers (Table 1) from Beipiao. Later, a fern rhizome was discovered from the Mesozoic strata are well developed in the western part of same formation in Fuxin (Zhang and Zheng, 1991). Original- Liaoning Province, China. The Lanqi Formation, which belongs ly described as Millerocaulis liaoningensis Zhang et Zheng to the upper part of the Middle Jurassic, contains abundant (Osmundaceae), it was later transferred to Ashicaulis liaonin- and diverse plant fossils. Outcrops of the Lanqi Formation are gensis (Zhang et Zheng) Tidwell (Tidwell, 1994). Recently, two mainly located in Beipiao County, but they also occur spo- osmundaceous fern rhizome, Millerocaulis sinica Cheng et Li, radically in Fuxin County, an area adjacent to Beipiao. To date, and Millerocaulis preosmunda Cheng et al., were reported from 92 plant taxa have been recorded from the Lanqi Formation (see Beipiao (Cheng and Li, 2007; Cheng et al., 2007). Table 1) of which 91 are from Beipiao and one from Fuxin. The Lanqi Formation is the main stratigraphic unit containing Zhang and Zheng (1987) first reported 79 taxa (they listed 75 fossil wood in North China. In contrast to compression taxa, but there are actually 79 according to the original data) of plant fossils, the fossil wood has not been well studied yet. To date, seven species are known from Beipiao: Protopiceoxylon chaoyangense Duan, Araucarioxylon batuense Duan, Xenoxylon hopeiense Chang, X. latiporosum Gothan, Haplomyeloxylon ⁎ Corresponding author. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary tiaojishangense Zhang et Wang, Sahnioxylon rajmahalense Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 20, Nan xin cun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China. Tel.: +86 10 62836436; fax: +86 10 (Sahni) Bose et Sah, and Lixylon liaoningense Zhang et al. 62593385. (Duan, 2000; Ding et al., 2000; Zheng et al., 2005; Zhang et al., E-mail address: [email protected] (C.-S. Li). 2006; Wang, Y.D. et al., 2006a). 0034-6667/$ - see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2008.01.003 38 H.-E. Jiang et al. / Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 150 (2008) 37–47 Table 1 Table 1 (continued) Fossil floras of the Lanqi, Longmen, and Shimengou Formations of upper Class Lanqi Formation Longmen Shimengou Middle Jurassic in North China Formation Formation Class Lanqi Formation Longmen Shimengou Nilssonia Formation Formation qaidamensis Coniferopsida ⁎⁎Araucariopitys sp. Nilssonia tenuicaulis Araucarioxylon batuense Nilssonia sp. Brachyphyllum Nilssoniopteris obesum vittata Elatocladus ⁎⁎Pseudoctenis oleosa manchurica ⁎⁎Pterophyllum baotum Elatiescf.ovalis ⁎⁎Pterophyllum burejense Elatocladus sp. Elatocladus sp. Pterophyllum festum Haplomyeloxylon ⁎⁎Pterophyllum tiaojishangense liaoxiense ⁎⁎Pinoxylon dacotense Ptilophyllum cf. Pinoxylon chaoyangense pectinoides (Syn. Protopiceoxylon Sahnioxylon chaoyangense) rajmahalense Tyrmia pachyphylla Pityocladus taizishanensis (Syn. Tyrmia pachyphyllus) ⁎⁎Pityophyllum lindstroemii Tyrmia petrophylloides Pityophyllum longifolium Pityophyllum Pityophyllum Tyrmia taizishanensis longifolium cf. longifolium Tyrmia valida Pityophyllum cf. Tyrmia sp. nordenskiöldi ⁎⁎Williamsonia? cf. Podozamites shebudaiensis distans ⁎⁎Williamsoniella sinensis Podozamites lanceolatus Podozamites Williamsoniella? lanceolatus exiliforma Podozamites sp. ⁎⁎Zamiophyllum Schizolepis dabangouensis buchianum ⁎⁎Xenoxylon hopeiense ⁎⁎Zamites gigas ⁎⁎Xenoxylon latiporosum Zamites tosanus ⁎⁎Xenoxylon Zamites sp. phyllocladoides Filicopsida Ashicaulis liaoningensis Yuccites decus ⁎⁎Cladophlebis acuta Cycadopsida ⁎⁎Anomozamites angulatus ⁎⁎Cladophlebis asiatica Cladophlebis ⁎⁎Anomozamites kornilovae asiatica Anomozamites cf. Cladophlebis cf. major gigantea Anomozamites sinensis Cladophlebis haiburnensis ⁎⁎Anomozamites thomasi Anomozamites Cladophlebis aff. thomasi scariosa Anomozamites ⁎⁎Cladophlebis ulanensis shansiensis Anomozamites sp. Cladophlebis spinellosus Bennetticarpus sp. Cladophlebis tarsus Ctenis ananastomosans Cladophlebis cf. ⁎⁎Ctenis chinensis tschagdamensis Ctenis leeiana Cladophlebis ⁎⁎Ctenis pontica vasilevskae ⁎⁎Ctenis sulcicaulis Cladophlebis sp. Cycadolepis nitens Clathropteris Cycadolepis speciosus pekingensis (Syn. Cycadolepis speciosa) ⁎⁎Coniopteris burejensis Coniopteris Cycadolepis spheniscus burejensis Cycadolepis szei ⁎⁎Coniopteris Coniopteris Cycadolepis sp. hymenophylloides hymenophylloides Jacutiella denticulata Coniopteris Lioxylon liaoningense spectabilis Nilssonia compta Coniopteris ⁎⁎Nilssonia liaoningensis tatungensis Nilssonia orientalis Nilssonia ex gr. Coniopteris cf. orientalis tatungensis Nilssonia ⁎⁎Coniopteris pterophylloides tyrmica H.-E. Jiang et al. / Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 150 (2008) 37–47 39 Table 1 (continued) Table 1 (continued) Class Lanqi Formation Longmen Shimengou Class Lanqi Formation Longmen Shimengou Formation Formation Formation Formation Dicksonia Equisetum aff. changheyingziensis multidentatus ⁎⁎Dicksonia charieisa ⁎⁎Equisetum naktongense ⁎⁎Eboracia lobifolia Eboracia lobifolia Equisetum sp.1 ⁎⁎Hausmannia Equisetum sp.2 shebudaiensis Neocalamites Marattia hoerensis haifanggouensis ⁎⁎Millerocaulis Neocalamites preosmunda nathorstii ⁎⁎Millerocaulis sinica Neocalamitessp. ⁎⁎Raphaelia stricta Unclear Allicospermum Todites denticulate Todites denticulate ovoidus Todites williamsonii Todites Carpolithus sp. Carpolithus sp. williamsonii Desmiophyllum Ginkgopsida Czekanowskia haixizhouense speciosa Taeniopteris sp. Czekanowskia Total species 92 27 39 stenophylla The authors of the original data in the table have been referred in the text. Czekanowskia ⁎⁎Fossils found from the Shebudaigou Village. sp. Ginkgo huttonis Ginkgo lepida In the present study we describe three species of coni- Ginkgo sibirica Ginkgo cf. sibirica fer wood, namely, Pinoxylon dacotense Knowlton, Xenoxylon Ginkgo cf. phyllocladoides Gothan, and Araucariopitys sp. The fossil wood whitbiensis specimens are silicified and display anatomical details. These Ginkgo sp. arborescent taxa are new for the Lanqi flora and enable in- Ginkgoites lepidus terpretions of the palaeoclimate during late Middle Jurassic in Ginkgoites tasiakouensis Ginkgoites sp. Northeast China. Ixostrobus groenlandicus Ixostrobus schmidtianus 2. Materials and methods Ixostrobus sp. Ixostrobus sp. ⁎⁎ Phoenicopsis speciosa The fossil wood was collected from sediments of the Lanqi Phoenicopsis ′ decorate Formation near the village of Shebudaigou (41° 43.9 N, 121° Phoenicopsis 03.8′ E), Changgao Town, Beipiao County, Liaoning Province enissejensis (Fig. 1). The Lanqi Formation is composed of intermediate lavas Phoenicopsis cf. and pyroclastic rocks, with intercalations of basic volcanic rocks taschkessiensis and tuffs. The fossiliferous beds, considered to be deposited in a Pseudotorellia longilancifolia lacustrine environment, consist of fine-grained sandstones and Pseudotorellia silty shales (Wang, Y.D. et al., 2006b; Cheng and Li, 2007). The qinghaiensis Lanqi Formation (=Tiaojishan Formation) lies between the Solenites vimineus Tuchengzi Formation (above) and the Haifanggou Formation Sphenarion (below) and is generally regarded as being late Middle Jurassic dicrae Sphenobaiera colchica in age based on the flora (Zhang and Zheng, 1987; Wang, Y.D. Sphenobaiera et al., 2006b; Cheng and Li, 2007). However, K–Ar isotopic ginkgooides dating has indicated that at least some of the volcanics of Sphenobaiera paucipartita the Lanqi Formation are as young as 156.3±8.5 Ma (Diao and Sphenobaiera Li, 1983), or 158 Ma (Wang, 1983), i.e. early Late Jurassic spectabilis Sphenobaierasp. (Gradstein and Ogg, 2004). Hepaticae ⁎⁎Hepaticites Pieces of large branches
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