Mixoxylon australe Chernomor. et Sakala

Plant Fossil Names Registry Number: PFN001851

Act LSID: urn:lsid:plantfossilnames.org:act:1851

Authors: O. Chernomorets & J. Sakala

Rank: species

Genus: Mixoxylon Chernomor. et Sakala

Reference: Chernomorets, O. & Sakala, J. (2021): Mixoxylon australe gen. et sp. nov., a unique homoxylous wood with non-angiosperm affinity from the Lower Cretaceous of Antarctica (Albian, James Ross Island). – Antarctic Science 33(5): 493–501.

Page of description: 498

Illustrations or figures: figs 4, 5

Name is type for

Types

Original diagnosis/description

Growth rings boundaries are indistinct, with earlywood zone significantly wider than latewood; transition from earlywood to latewood is gradual. Earlywood tracheid are characterized by scalariform pitting. The latewood tracheid pitting on radial walls is araucarian with crowded pits. Cross-fields pits are araucarioid to podocarpoid with predominance of araucarioid type. There are 2–10 pits per cross-field, variable in size. Tangential and horizontal walls of ray parenchyma cells have both distinct pitting (Abietineentüpfelung sensu Kräusel). Axial parenchyma and resin canals are absent. Rays are exclusively uniseriate.

Etymology

The “australe” points to the southernmost occurrence of this type of wood.

Stratigraphy

Cretaceous, Lower Cretaceous, Albian
Whisky Bay Formation, Lewis Hill Member, Lower Cretaceous, upper Albian

Locality

Antarctica
Western side of Bandy Bay, James Ross Island, locality A43 (63°50'52.0"S, 58°00'59.4"W)