Pinus (subgen. Pinus) cf. rigios (UNGER) ETTINGSHAUSEN

Kvaček, Zlatko, Teodoridis, Vasilis & Zajícová, Jana, 2015, Revision Of The Early Oligocene Flora Of Hrazený Hill (Formerly Pirskenberg) In Knížecí Near Šluknov, North Bohemia, Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 71 (1 - 2), pp. 55-102 : 59

Pinus (subgen. Pinus) cf. rigios (UNGER) ETTINGSHAUSEN

Pl. 1, Fig. 4–5

? 1866 Pinus rigios (UNGER) ETTINGSHAUSEN , p. 41, pl. 13, fig. 11–12.

Fragmentary pine needles in ternate fascicle, ca. 0.5–0.7 mm thick, trigonal in cross section, the maximum preserved length 45 mm, sheath permanent, 2 mm long.

D i s c u s s i o n. Fossil pine needles are rare in the Palaeogene deposits of the České středohoří Mountains (e.g. Žichov and Matrý – see Ettingshausen 1866, Akhmetiev et al. 2009, as Pinus rigios (UNGER) ETTINGSHAUSEN ). Some previously reported needle-like fossils assigned by Menzel (1901) to pines from Suletice-Berand turned out to represent monocots ( Kvaček and Walther 1995). The occurrence of pine pollen noted in several cuticle preparations confirms pine stands nearby the site of Knížecí during the time when the fossiliferous diatomite was deposited.

P. rigios was originally described from the lower Miocene of Bílina in the North Bohemian Basin, where it is associated with seed cones of P. engelhardtii MENZEL. A more accurate determination of the present material is not really possible because of its fragmentary nature. Co-occurring seed cones, which would more reliably characterise this pine, have not been so far recovered. The needles can be referred to subgen. Pinus and may represent the same species as those recovered at Žichov and Matrý.

M a t e r i a l. Two needle fascicles, EK 237a, b, 238.