Abstract Detail

Paleobotanical Section

Wheeler, Elisabeth [1], Erwin, Diane [2], O'Dell, Ryan [3].

More Maastrichtian. Woods from the Moreno Formation of Central California. .

The most diverse assemblage of Cretaceous angiosperm woods known to date was described by V.M. Page in the late 1960s through early 1980s. She recognized over 50 wood types in collections from five localities in central California. In the fall of 2011, we collected permineralized woods from the Maastrichtian portion of the Moreno Formation, exposed in the Tumey Hills region, south of Page's localities. Preliminary work shows that some Tumey Hills woods are similar to those Page described (e.g., platanoid types), but some types are new, including one with aliform-confluent axial parenchyma, a feature not reported before for the North American Cretaceous. Page did not assign binomials to most of the wood types she described and noted that most could not be assigned to a single family. Subsequent to Page's last publication on the central California Cretaceous woods in 1981, additional information on the systematic wood anatomy of many families has been acquired, and the work of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has increased the understanding of the composition and relationships of families and orders. In the process of studying the Moreno woods, we have been reevaluating the affinities of Page's specimens to see if some could now be assigned to family or to APG III order. Thus far, we have determined that one has features of the Chrysobalanaceae and Clusiaceae of the Malpighiales and three have features of the Symplocaceae, Styracaceae, and Ericaceae of the Ericales. With additional sectioning of material in hand and more comparative work we hope to better understand the composition of this large suite of Cretaceous woods.

Broader Impacts:

Related Links:
InsideWood, coded descriptions of present-day and fossil woods

1 - N.C. State University, Forest Biomaterials, Box 8005, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
2 - University Of California, MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY, 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720-4780, USA
3 - Bureau of Land Management, Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton Court, Hollister, CA , 95023

Keywords:
Cretaceous
fossil wood
secondary xylem
Maastrichtian
Malpighiales
Ericales.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 46
Location: Union A/Hyatt
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Time: 8:15 AM
Number: 46001
Abstract ID:519