Cunninghamites cf. squamosus Heer, 1871

Heřmanová, Zuzana, Kvaček, Jiří, Dašková, Jiřina & Halamski, Adam T., 2020, Plant reproductive structures and other mesofossils from Coniacian / Santonian of Lower Silesia, Poland, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 61) 23 (3), pp. 1-23 : 5

Cunninghamites cf. squamosus Heer, 1871

Figure 3 A-C

1871 cf. Cunninghamites squamosus Heer , p. 9, pl.

1, figs. 5-7.

1880 cf. Cunninghamites recurvatus Hosius et von der Marck , p. 178, pl. 37, figs. 143, 144.

1905 cf. Cunninghamites pulchelles Knowlton , p.

136, pl. 16, fig. 1.

1910 cf. Cunninghamites elegans (Corda) Endlicher ; Berry, p. 186, pl. 20, figs. 1-4

1919 cf. Elatocladus elegans (Corda) Seward , p.

433, figs. 804, 805.

1922 cf. Elatocladus elegans (Corda) Seward ; Kräusel, p. 10, pl. 1, figs. 4-10; pl. 2, figs. 1-5; pl. 3, figs. 1,2; Text figs. 4,5.

1925 cf. Cunninghamites elegans (Corda) Endlicher ; Berry, p. 33.

2000 cf. Elatocladus elegans (Corda) Seward ; Rüffle and Trostheide, p. 434, pl. 1, fig. 6; pl. 2, fig. 2; pl. 3, fig. 1.

2009 cf. Cunninghamites squamosus Heer ; Bosma et al., p. 486, fig. 4c-f; fig. 5.

2012 cf. Cunninghamites squamosus Heer ; Bosma et al., p. 24, pl. 1, figs. 5-6, pl. 2, figs. 4, 7.

Lectotype. Designated by Bosma et al. (2012),

No. 6166 (ex coll. Schenk in the Würzburg University), Late Cretaceous, late Santonian, “Altenburg”

near Quedlinburg, Germany.

Description. The material consists of fragments of branches. The terminal part of the sterile twig 8

mm long and 4.0 mm broad shows needles packed in a pointed bud ( Figure 3A ). A fragment of an axis

(4.0 mm long) shows helically arranged basal parts of needle-like leaves. A nearly complete isolated leaf 5.0 mm long, shows basally broadened leaf cushion ( Figure 3B ). Its cuticle shows adaxially two clearly distinct stomatal bands ( Figure 3C ). Stomata tend to be orientated perpendicularly to the leaf margin.

Remarks. The material resembles the type material designated by Bosma et al. (2009). However, it is too fragmentary to allow precise comparison. We found minor differences in the studied material from the type, so open nomenclature is used. Particularly the leaves of the studied material show only one rib/keel and contained probably only one vein. Its stomata are orientated perpendicularly to the leaf margin, while the type material shows a random orientation ( Bosma et al., 2012, 2009).

Range. Late Coniacian or early Santonian age.

Occurrence. Żeliszów locality.

Material studied. K 2940, K 2948, K 2953, K 2956; the material is housed in the National Museum Prague.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Conifers (A) Cunninghamites cf. squamosus terminal fragment of twig, no. K2948, scale bar 1 mm (B) Cunninghamites cf. squamosus isolated leaf with leaf cushion, no. K2956, scale bar 1 mm (C) Cunninghamites cf. squamosus adaxial cuticle showing two bands of stomata, no. K2956, scale bar 100 µm (D) Geinitzia formosa, fragment of twig, no. K2958a scale bar 1 mm (E) Geinitzia formosa, isolated leaf with keel, no. K2958b scale bar 1 mm (F) Geinitzia formosa, detail of abaxial cuticle showing two irregular stomatal bands, no. K2958b scale bar 100 µm (G) Alapaja sp. seed, no. K2962 scale bar 1 mm (H) Seletya sp. seed no. K 3012 scale bar 1 mm (I) Seletya sp. seed no. K 3013, scale bar 1 mm. All specimens from Żeliszów locality.