New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts
Morphology and palaeoenvironmental context of Fouldenia
staminosa, a fossil flower with associated pollen from the Early
Miocene of Otago, New Zealand
Jennifer M. Bannister
Department of Botany
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
jmb@clear.net.nz
Daphne E. Lee
Department of Geology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
J. Ian Raine
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
P.O. Box 30 368
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Abstract A new genus and species, Fouldenia
staminosa, are proposed for an angiosperm flower with associated
pollen bearing anthers found in Early Miocene finely laminated
lacustrine diatomite at Foulden Hills, Otago. This is the first New
Zealand record of a Miocene flower with in situ pollen and
among few such records worldwide. The pollen is closely similar to Rubipollis
oblatus, of unknown affinity, known from Late Oligocene to Early
Miocene strata elsewhere in New Zealand and Australia, but differs in
being spheroidal to subprolate. In spite of the relatively good
preservation of both the flower and its pollen it has not been possible
to assign this species to an extant genus or even family. The highly
diverse angiosperm pollen flora from the same bedding plane in the
diatomite indicates that Fouldenia grew in a dry, warm
temperate to subtropical climate.
Keywords angiosperm flower macrofossil; anthers;
pollen; Early Miocene; diatomite; palaeoecology; Otago; New Zealand
B04050; Received 8 December 2004; accepted 4 March 2005; Online
publication date 28 June 2005
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2005, Vol. 43: 515–525
0028–825X/05/4302–0515 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005
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