A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from President Head, Snow Island, Antarctica

doi:10.1127/PALB/253/2000/153

Journal Article•DOI•

A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from President Head, Snow Island, Antarctica

08 Mar 2000-Palaeontographica Abteilung B-palaophytologie (Schweizerbart science publishers)-Vol. 253, pp 153-191

About: This article is published in Palaeontographica Abteilung B-palaophytologie.The article was published on 2000-03-08. It has received 55 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Aptian & Flora.

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The Vegetation of Antarctica through Geological Time

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David J. Cantrill¹, Imogen Poole²•Institutions (2)

Royal Botanic Gardens¹, Utrecht University²

07 Jan 2013

TL;DR: The fossil history of plant life in Antarctica is central to our understanding of the evolution of vegetation through geological time and also plays a key role in reconstructing past configurations of the continents and associated climatic conditions as mentioned in this paper.

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Abstract: The fossil history of plant life in Antarctica is central to our understanding of the evolution of vegetation through geological time and also plays a key role in reconstructing past configurations of the continents and associated climatic conditions. This book provides the only detailed overview of the development of Antarctic vegetation from the Devonian period to the present day, presenting Earth scientists with valuable insights into the break up of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. Details of specific floras and ecosystems are provided within the context of changing geological, geographical and environmental conditions, alongside comparisons with contemporaneous and modern ecosystems. The authors demonstrate how palaeobotany contributes to our understanding of the paleoenvironmental changes in the southern hemisphere during this period of Earth history. The book is a complete and up-to-date reference for researchers and students in Antarctic paleobotany and terrestrial paleoecology.

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69 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Mesozoic seed ferns: Old paradigms, new discoveries1

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Edith L. Taylor¹, Thomas N. Taylor¹, Hans Kerp², Elizabeth J. Hermsen¹•Institutions (2)

University of Kansas¹, University of Münster²

01 Jan 2006-Journal of The Torrey Botanical Society

TL;DR: Recent studies of well-preserved material from the central Transantarctic Mountains have provided information about the three-dimensional morphology and anatomy of pollen organs and ovulate cupules, as well as the first evidence of the attachment of reproductive organs to the parent plant.

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Abstract: Taylor, E. L., T. N. Taylor (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045), H. Kerp (Forschungsstelle fur Palaobotanik, Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat Munster, Hindenburgplatz 57, D-48143 Munster, Germany), and E.J. Hermsen (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045). J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133: 62–82. 2006.—Mesozoic seed ferns represent a grade of gymnospermous plants whose affinities remain problematic. The three major orders recognized today include the Caytoniales (Triassic-Cretaceous), Peltaspermales (Carboniferous-Triassic) and Corystospermales (Triassic-Cretaceous). A number of genera described from Mesozoic rocks have also been included broadly in the Mesozoic seed ferns, but their frequency, distribution, and affinities render their assi...

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66 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Gymnosperm woods from the Cretaceous (mid-Aptian) Cerro Negro Formation, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica: the arborescent vegetation of a volcanic arc

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Howard J. Falcon-Lang¹, David J. Cantrill¹•Institutions (1)

British Antarctic Survey¹

01 Jun 2001-Cretaceous Research

TL;DR: A detailed quantitative study of the wood taxonomy has revealed the presence of three form genera, Araucarioxylon,Podocarpoxylon, and Sahnioxylon as mentioned in this paper.

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61 citations

Cites background from "A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from Pr..."

...This is because in general, past descriptions of Cretaceous gymnosperm wood species have been too inexact to allow sufficiently precise comparison, and we did not want to increase the plethora of Cretaceous wood species by creating new names (cf. Falcon-Lang & Cantrill, 2000)....
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...…approach is valuable because it allows the wood morphology to be described in a repeatable and more precise way than by a qualitative description alone, and in addition it permits the intra-sample and intra-taxon variability to be ascertained more exactly (Falcon-Lang & Cantrill, 2000)....
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...These Southern Hemisphere forests were dominated by araucarian and podocarp conifers with a diverse understorey of ferns, angiosperms, bennettitaleans, cycads and ginkgos (FalconLang & Cantrill, 2000; Falcon-Lang et al., 2001)....
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...As a result an enormous number of wood taxa have been erected, many of which may represent material from different parts of the same biological species (Falcon-Lang & Cantrill, 2000)....
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...More abundant in the Cerro Negro Formation than the woods are the extensive leaf floras, which have been studied on both President Head (Philippe et al., 1995; Cantrill 1997, 1998, 2000) and Byers Peninsula (Hernández & Azcárte, 1971; Césari et al., 1998, 1999)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Cretaceous patterns of floristic change in the Antarctic Peninsula

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David J. Cantrill¹, Imogen Poole²•Institutions (2)

Natural Environment Research Council¹, National Herbarium of the Netherlands²

01 Jan 2002-Geological Society, London, Special Publications

TL;DR: The role of the Antarctic Peninsula region in the early stages of Gondwana radiation has been investigated in this article, which suggests that a steep climatic gradient in this part of the world probably acted as an effective barrier to angiosperm radiation.

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Abstract: Cretaceous radiation of angiosperms from low to high palaeolatitudes, coupled with the break-up of Gondwana, played a major role in establishing and maintaining biogeographic patterns across the southern hemisphere. Uncertainties in details of plate reconstructions provide conflicting hypotheses about area relationships of Gondwana fragments. This has led to a number of competing proposals concerning angiosperm migration across Gondwana. Central to this debate is the role of the Antarctic Peninsula, a region that is often envisaged as providing the main connection between east and west Gondwana. The initial radiation of angiosperms into the Antarctic Peninsula region, however, postdates appearances elsewhere in east Gondwana (e.g. Australia), strongly suggesting that the Antarctic Peninsula was not the main gateway, at least in the early stages of Gondwana radiation. A steep climatic gradient in this part of the world probably acted as an effective barrier to angiosperm radiation. The peak of floristic replacement coincides with the peak of Cretaceous warmth (Turonian) which in turn suggests that climatic warming acted as a forcing mechanism by pushing latitudinal belts of vegetation southwards. Once into the southern high latitudes angiosperms diversified, and as climates cooled during the Late Cretaceous a number of important groups seem to have their origins here. Recent investigations of Antarctic macro- and microfloras indicate progressive floristic replacement through the Cretaceous. Bryophytes, hepatophytes, bennettites and other seed plants all show a rapid decline in diversity. In contrast, ferns initially decline then recover, while conifers remain relatively stable. The ecological preferences of the replaced groups imply that angiosperms initially occupied areas of disturbance and were understorey colonizers, only later replacing fern thickets and becoming important in the overstorey. This pattern is consistent with those observed elsewhere through the Cretaceous.

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53 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Terrestrial Paleoecology of the Cretaceous (Early Aptian) Cerro Negro Formation, South Shetlands Islands, Antarctica: A Record of Polar Vegetation in a Volcanic Arc Environment

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Howard J. Falcon-Lang¹, David J. Cantrill²•Institutions (2)

Dalhousie University¹, British Antarctic Survey²

01 Oct 2002-PALAIOS

TL;DR: The early Aptian (119-120 Ma) volcaniclastic Cerro Negro Formation of South Shetland Islands, Antarctica has been investigated to improve understanding of these enigmatic ecosystems.

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Abstract: Nothing is known about the community-scale plant ecology of early Cretaceous volcanic environments in the southern high latitudes. The paleoecology of the early Aptian (119–120 Ma) volcaniclastic Cerro Negro Formation of South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, has been investigated to improve understanding of these enigmatic ecosystems. This unit was deposited in an intra-arc setting at the edge of the paleo-polar circle (66°S). Taphonomic analysis of megaflora in seven volcanic facies indicates the existence of a spatially complex vegetation mosaic co-dominated by conifers, bennettites, and ferns. A lower stratigraphic unit was deposited by high-magnitude, low-frequency silicic eruptions, partially reworked by fluvial processes. Following ash falls, shrubby communities of ferns and bennettites dominated for short periods in low-altitude paleovalleys before being replaced by araucarian-podocarp-fern conifer forests. Forests of podocarp conifers and bennettites covered adjacent mid-altitude slopes of active volcanic cones. These were destroyed periodically by hot pyroclastic flows, and their charred remains washed down into paleovalley fluvial systems. Analysis of architectural and phenological data from both major forest communities indicates the predominance of evergreen trees with a canopy height of c. 20–30 m. Growth-ring analysis indicates that, despite occasional catastrophic eruptions, growing conditions were mostly favorable and uniform, although in riparian paleovalley niches flooding locally produced more stressful growing conditions. An upper stratigraphic unit was deposited by low-magnitude, high-frequency basaltic eruptions. Shrubby, fern and bennettite-dominated vegetation, together with local conifer stands, colonized this environment. Growth of more widespread arborescent vegetation in the upper unit was inhibited by high-frequency volcanic disturbances. Bennettites are much more abundant and diverse in the Cerro Negro Formation compared with coeval, non-volcanic sites in the southern high latitudes, indicating that this group may have favored volcanic environments.

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50 citations

Cites background from "A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from Pr..."

...The ecology of bennettites has previously been engimatic (Cantrill, 2000), but these data strongly suggest that they favored highly disturbed niches and that bennettite-dominated vegetation in the polar biome was restricted to active volcanic environments....
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...Abundant bennettites, such as Ptilophyllum, may have been the main colonizers of disturbed sites following volcanic eruptions (Cantrill, 2000) as indicated by their association with thin mudstone and sandstone beds intercalated with lapilli tuff layers....
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...Remarkably little is known about the community-scale ecology of Cretaceous polar forests (Falcon-Lang et al., 2001), and this dearth of information is particularly apparent for early Cretaceous times (Cantrill, 2000)....
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A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from President Head, Snow Island, Antarctica

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Cites background from "A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from Pr..."

Cites background from "A Cretaceous (Aptian) flora from Pr..."

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