Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Probable first occurrence of Lycopodiales in the Gondwana Neopaleozoic

PROBABLE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF LYCOPODIALES IN THE GONDWANA NEOPALEOZOIC* * Supported by FAPESP 97/03639-8 ** E-mail: fcbranco@cwaynet.com.br or fresia@ige.unicamp.br *** E-mail: maryeliz@usp.br

FRESIA RICARDI-BRANCO1** * Supported by FAPESP 97/03639-8 ** E-mail: fcbranco@cwaynet.com.br or fresia@ige.unicamp.br *** E-mail: maryeliz@usp.br AND MARY E. BERNARDES-DE-OLIVEIRA2** * Supported by FAPESP 97/03639-8 ** E-mail: fcbranco@cwaynet.com.br or fresia@ige.unicamp.br *** E-mail: maryeliz@usp.br

1Departamento de Administração e Política de Recursos Minerais (DARM), Instituto de Geociências, UNICAMP, Cidade Universitaria Zeferino Vaz, Cx. Postal 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil.

2Laboratório de Geociências - UnG, Guarulhos, SP and Instituto de Geociências – USP, São Paulo, SP.

Presented by ANTONIO C. ROCHA-CAMPOS.

The Transitional "A-B'' Taphoflora is a Lower Permian plant megafossil association of the Paraná Basin (Southern Brazil), whose type locality is located on the Sítio Itapema Cerquilho (SP). In this taphoflora there is a representative of the Lycopodiales associated with a diversified taphoflora composed of sphenophytes (e.g. Stephanophyllites, Phyllotheca and Paracalamites); protoglossopterids (e.g. Rubidgea and Palaeovittaria); glossopterids (e.g. Gangamopteris); seeds (e.g. Samaropsis and Cornucarpus); proto- and glossopterid fructifications (Arberia, Arberiopsis, Itapemia and Hirsutum-like frutifications). The entire phytofossiliferous assemblage is representative of the earliest development stage of the Glossopteris Paleoflora in the Paraná Basin (Asselian-Sakmarian).

The Transitional Taphoflora "A-B'' of the Paraná Basin or association Rubidgea-Gangamopteris-Arberia of S. Paulo State may correspond to an interglacial or post-glacial stage of warmer climate during which coal seams were formed. This taphoflora is included in a siltstone bed of Tubarão Group, probably at the top of the Itararé Subgroup.

The studied specimen, Lycopodites sp., is a fertile form with sporangia arranged in axils of microphylls spread over through the vegetative body. Despite of not being possible to confirm homospory, due to the preservation state of the specimen, the apparent absence of ligule, the presence of uninervate microphylls and mainly the presence of sporophylls with axilary sporangia similar to vegetative microphylls dispersed among them support its assignment to Lycopodites Lindley et Hutton 1833.

To the present knowledge, this is one of the first occurrences of the Order Lycopodiales, not only in the South American continent, but also in the whole Gondwana. — (December 14, 2001).

  • *
    Supported by FAPESP 97/03639-8
    **
    E-mail:
    ***
    E-mail:
  • Publication Dates

    • Publication in this collection
      09 Oct 2002
    • Date of issue
      Sept 2002
    Academia Brasileira de Ciências Rua Anfilófio de Carvalho, 29, 3º andar, 20030-060 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brasil, Tel: +55 21 3907-8100 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
    E-mail: aabc@abc.org.br