Fossil wood of Cretaceous age from the Namaqualand continental shelf, South Africa
Date
1994
Authors
Bamford, Marion K
Corbett, Ian B
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
Abstract
Fossil wood was collected from sediments on the Namaqualand shelf, West Coast, South Africa, between the Orange River mouth and just to the south of Kleinzee. Forty three of these samples are here described. All the woods are gymnospermous and have abietinian tracheid pitting. Nineteen of them are well enough preserved to be identified to species level: Podocarpoxylon cf. umzambense, Mesembrioxylon cf. stokesii, M. cf. sahnii, M. cf. woburnense and Protocupressinoxylon cf. purbeckensis. The remainder of the woods have been placed in the artificial genus Mesembrioxylon without species names. The woods are probably primitive members of the Podocarpaceae growing during the Lower Cretaceous. They indicate a seasonal climate and inhabited the extensive low-lying coastal regions.
Description
Keywords
Lower Cretaceous, South Africa, Podocarpaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae