Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ

Kvaček, Jiří, 2013, Fricia Nobilis From The Turonian Of The Czech Republic Reinterpreted As An Ovuliferous Cone Of A Cupressoid Conifer, Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 69 (3 - 4), pp. 123-128 : 124-125

Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ

Pl. 1, figs 1–6; Pl. 2, figs 1-4

1885 1917 1938 1968

Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ , p. 8, pl. 3, figs 1–3, 6, 11. Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ, Seward , p. 505.

Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ, Domin , p. 117.

Fricia nobilis VELENOVSKÝ, Němejc , p. 253, 256, pl. 29.

L e c t o t y p e. NMP F 340 designated here, pl. 1, figs 1, 4, 6.

E p i t y p e. NMP F 1444, designated here, pl. 1, figs 2, 5.

T y p e l o c a l i t y. Praha – Bílá Hora district.

T y p e h o r i z o n. Bílá Hora Formation, Turonian, Late Cretaceous.

O c c u r r e n c e. Praha – Bílá Hora , Praha – Prosek, Nové Strašecí.

M a t e r i a l. NMP F 338, F 339, F 3735 – F 3738.

E m e n d e d d i a g n o s i s. Isolated ovoid ovuliferous cones, cone scales helically arranged on robust main axis. Each cone scale massive, cylindrical having polygonal, usually hexagonal smooth fasetes (escuatcheons). Seeds curved, Seletya type, numerous, arranged irregularly in two or more irregular rows on the surface of the whole cone scale cylinder .

D e s c r i p t i o n. The lectotype F 340 exhibits ovoid ovuliferous cone 68 x 32 mm. Its axis is 0.9-1.1 mm broad bearing about 60 helically arranged cone scales (pl. 1, fig. 1). The massive axis shows helically arranged circular scars from detached cones-scales showing centrally located limonitized vascular bundle. Each massive cylindrical ovuliferous cone scale is 11-14 mm long and about 3-5 mm broad. It is narrow at the base (4 mm in diameter), widening towards the apex (12–14 mm in diameter). The facete (escuatcheon) is difficult to observe, because it is usually tightly embedded in the sediment. In one place it had been previously remooved by Velenovský. It shows a smooth hexagonal facete (escuatcheon) (pl. 1, fig. 4). The inner surface of the cone scale shows a number of small pits which are arranged in irregular rows (pl. 1, figs 1, 4). Two seeds in situ with limonitized integuments are filled with sediment (pl. 1, fig. 6). The seeds are ovoid (2–3 x 3–3.5 mm). Terminally they show fragmentary micropyle. Further details are not preserved. The epitype F 1444 as the best preserved specimen (pl. 1, fig. 2) and shows an ovoid, cylindrical cone (30 x 60 mm) and massive axis bearing about 50 cone scales. The cone scales are relatively small (4 x 10 mm) bearing number of fragmented curved Seletya type seeds. The seeds are small 1.5 x 3.5 mm. Although not usually complete, they show clearly curved campylotrpous locules (pl. 1, fig. 5). The largest specimen, 93 mm long, shows an ovuliferous cone (pl. 2, fig. 1) broken longitudinally. Other ovuliferous cones (e.g. F 3738 ) are broken obliquely or perpendicularly showing a helical arrangement of ovuliferous cone scales (pl. 1, fig. 3, pl. 2, figs 3, 4). The figured specimen F 3738 (pl. 1, fig. fig. 3) from Nové Strašecí displays cone scales which are very narrow basally (3 mm in diameter) and broad apically (15 mm in diameter) .

D i s c u s s i o n. Fricia nobilis was described by Velenovský (1885) as a cycad male cone. This assumption was based on an interpretation of the pits on the cone scales as scars left after detachement of sporangia. This fact and the weakness of the argument were already questioned by Seward (1917). Having a very well preserved specimen available, designated here as an epitype (F 1444) which shows fragments of seeds it is clear that Fricia nobilis is not a cycad cone. The epitype shows (pl. 1, fig. 5) Seletya type seeds with campylotropous locules in some place which have nothing in common with the pollen sacs of the Cycadaceae . Also Fricia nobilis cone scales internal anatomy includes in particular a vascular bundle which corresponds with coniferous cone scales of Geinitzia formosa HEER (Kunzmann 1999). Additionally, the ovuliferous cones Fricia nobilis co-occur with sterile twigs of Geintzia reichenbachii .

The genus Seletya (with its type S. krystofovichii ) was designed by Dorofeev (1979) for seeds with a campylotropous locule. A new name Geinitzia krystofovichii (DOROFEEV) KNOBLOCH and MAI was introduced by Knobloch and Mai (1986) who recorded such seeds in the Santonian of Quedlinburg. The seeds were also described by Kunzmann and Friis (1999) from the Santonian of Asen. Later these seeds were found in situ by Kunzmann (1999) in ovuliferous cones of Geinitzia formosa HEER and Geinitzia schlotheimii KUNZMANN (2003) in the Santonian of Germany. This type of seed is characteristic for the whole group of conifers assigned to the Geinitziaceae by Kunzmann (1999).

Ovuliferous cones of Geinitzia formosa HEER and Geinitzia schlotheimii KUNZMANN differ from Fricia nobilis in having seeds arranged in one row per cone scale and in a number of morphological characters of the cone (see discussion of the genus). Geinitzia formosa from the Campanian of Grünbach, decribed by Herman and Kvaček (2010), shows the same type of cone, however seeds in situ were not recorded.

As previously mentioned in the discussion of the genus, Fricia nobilis resembles in overall shape ovuliferous cones of other Cupressaceae . An covuliferous cone of similar shape and size is known in Cunninghamites lignitum from the Bohemian Cenomanian (Kvaček 1999, Bosma et al. 2012). However C. lignitum has peltate cone scales and only a few seeds per cone scale. Fricia nobilis is even less similar to other ovuliferous cones of Quasisequoia crispa (VELENOVSKÝ) J. KVAČEK and Ceratostrobus sequoiaphyllus VELENOVSKÝ (1885) both from the Bohemian Cenomanian (Kvaček 1999). Ovuliferous cones of these conifers are smaller and their surface is covered by the leafy tips of their elaborated escuatcheons.