Thin sections from the three syntypes of Araucarioxylon arizonicum Knowlton, 1889 were re-examined and found to be anatomically distinct. Two of the syntypes are similar and, considering Araucarioxylon (“Araucaroxylon”) Kraus, 1870 as nomen superfluum, those two are placed in Pullisilvaxylon gen. n. as nomen novum (lectotype Pullisilvaxylon arizonicum). The third specimen, known as the ‘Sherman log’, is transferred to Chinleoxylon knowltonii gen. et sp. n. Permineralized woods in three randomly sampled large-diameter logs assumed to be A. arizonicum plesiotypes were found to be anatomically distinct, two being species within Silicisilvaxylon gen. n., the third named Crystalloxylon imprimacrystallum gen. et sp. n. Thus, following descriptions of Arboramosa semicircumtrachea Savidge & Ash, 2006, Protocupressinoxylon arizonicum Savidge, 2006, and Ginkgoxylpropinquus hewardii Savidge, 2006, this study further increases the region’s number of woody plant morphotaxa and indicates that a diversity of large conifer species were co-evolving with cycads and ginkgo-like trees during Late Triassic. • Key words: Triassic, Pinophyta, Araucaria-type wood, North America, oculipore, Protopiceoxylon novum, ray, resin canal, resinous tracheid, secondary xylem, tracheidoxyl, new taxa.

SAVIDGE, R.A. 2007. Wood anatomy of Late Triassic trees in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, USA, in relation to Araucarioxylon arizonicum Knowlton, 1889. Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 301–328 (7 figures, 2 tables). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received April 5, 2007; accepted in revised form July 16, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.301

Rodney Arthur Savidge, Forestry & Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 6C2; savi@unb.ca

Wood anatomy of extant Ulmaceae is briefly reviewed to provide context for descriptions of corresponding fossil woods, with attention to newly recognized woods from the late Eocene of Oregon, USA. The extant genera can be distinguished from one another using porosity type, presence or absence of vessel clusters, axial parenchyma type, ray width, and crystal occurrence. The late Eocene woods from Post, Oregon, conform anatomically with those of extant Ulmus. To assess whether fossil woods might be identified to an infrageneric category, selected wood anatomical features of 21 extant species of Ulmus are summarized to evaluate whether any sections within the genus have distinctive anatomy. Porosity type in extant Ulmus is related to leaf longevity; extant evergreen species are diffuse porous and have relatively narrow rays. Other extant Ulmus species are deciduous and predominantly ring porous, only rarely semi-ring porous, with clustered latewood vessels that are tangentially arranged. Sometimes earlywood characteristics have systematic value and allow recognition of groups. However, in some species earlywood characteristics are variable, apparently being much affected by growing conditions. Eastern U.S. species belonging to Sections Chaetoptelea and Trichoptelea of Subgenus Oreoptelea consistently have thick-walled fibers, single rows of small-medium diameter earlywood vessels, and little difference between the diameters of the solitary earlywood vessels and latewood vessels. The late Eocene Ulmus woodii sp. nov. shares more features with this group than any other. Another of these late Post Eocene woods is referable to Ulmus danielii, a species previously known only from the Middle Eocene Clarno Formation. A third fossil wood type resembles diffuse porous Ulmus, but its lower preservational quality obscures some diagnostic features and precludes secure assignment. • Key words: Ulmaceae, Ulmus, Eocene, fossil wood, wood anatomy, John Day Formation.

WHEELER, E.A. & MANCHESTER, S.R. 2007. Review of the wood anatomy of extant Ulmaceae as context for new reports of late Eocene Ulmus woods. Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 329–342 (5 figures, 2 tables). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received April 16, 2007; accepted in revised form September 17, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.329

Elisabeth A. Wheeler, Department of Wood and Paper Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. 27605-8005, USA; elisabeth_wheeler@ncsu.edu • Steven R. Manchester, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; steven@flmn.ufl.edu

Vegetation dynamics in the Western Amazonian Basin are studied using knowledge of palaeobotany. Fossil wood specimens from eroded sediments on the banks of the Amazon in the Iquitos region of Peru come from layers dated as Middle Miocene to Pliocene. Samples include branch fragments or entire tree trunks either as compressed lignites or silicified stems. The wood can be assigned to modern genera of various families still present in the South American flora. Samples from the Middle Miocene Pebas Formation show affinities with taxa now occurring in rain forests: Anacardium (Anacardiaceae), Calophyllum (Clusiaceae), Buchenavia and Terminalia (Combretaceae), Andira / Hymenolobium (Fabaceae), Humiriastrum (Humiriaceae), Cariniana and Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae), Guarea (Meliaceae) and Mimosaceae, which indicates that part of the Recent Amazon Basin flora pre-dates contact with North America. Growth rings are absent or indistinct in the fossils, a characteristic feature of low-elevation rain forests. The fossil assemblage evokes “Hylaea Amazonia” and especially the “terra firme” forests of the modern Amazon delta and surroundings. Fossil wood samples from the Pliocene Amazonas Formation resemble Cedrela (Meliaceae) and are semi ring-porous. The Cedrela wood occurence shows a vegetation change between mid-Miocene and now in the western Amazon Basin. • Key words: Peru, Iquitos, Pebas Formation, Middle Miocene, Pliocene, Amazonas Formation, fossil wood, Angiosperms, palaeoenvironment.

PONS, D.&DE FRANCESCHI, D. 2007. Neogene woods from western Peruvian Amazon and palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 343–354 (6 figures, 1 table). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received April 16, 2007; accepted in revised form September 17, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.343

Denise Pons, Paléobiodiversité et Paléoenvironnements, UMR 5143 CNRS-UPMC, Laboratoire Paléobotanique et Paléoécologie, 12 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris, France; dpons@snv.jussieu.fr • Dario De Franceschi, Paléobiodiversité et Paléoenvironnements, UMR 5143 CNRS-MNHN Département Histoire de la Terre, CP38, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France; dariodf@mnhn.fr

Palynomorphs are abundant in some fine-grained rocks of the Lower Old Red Sandstone (Lower O.R.S.) of the Anglo- Welsh Basin. In this study the distribution and relative abundance of sporomorphs (cryptospores and miospores) have been examined from samples collected from the uppermost Raglan Marl and St. Maughan’s formations from Ammons Hill and Ross on Wye [Ross–Tewkesbury Spur Motorway (M. 50) Herefordshire in the south and from uppermost Red Downton Formation (Ledbury Formation) and Ditton Formation from the Clee Hills (Shropshire) in the north (a distance of over 100 km)]. The stratigraphical interval examined equates largely to the lower and middle parts of the Lochkovian Stage except in the Clee Hills where the uppermost part of the stage may be present. The Lower O.R.S. sequence in the Anglo-Welsh Basin shows progressive offlap with the migration of medial and proximal facies (fluvial environments) to overlie the distal facies (marine-influenced environments) in the south. Dispersed palynomorphs have been examined from sections from the distal margins of the floodplain in the south [Ammons Hill and Ross–Tewkesbury Spur Motorway (M. 50) Herefordshire Sections] to more proximal areas of the floodplain in the north (Clee Hills). The relative abundance of major groups of cryptospores and miospores varies stratigraphically in the M. 50 and Clee Hill Sections reflecting the southern migration of facies belts and, although influenced by water transport, sporomorph distribution data may be used with caution to interpret potential habitats of their parent plants. In some cases cryptospores were dominant in sporomorph assemblages from distal sediments, deposited in a marine-influenced coastal plain, and their parent plants may therefore have been halophytic. In contrast, in the more proximal (upstream) sediments, except for those from the higher parts of the Brown Clee Hill sequence, cryptospores with granulate to apiculate sculpture and miospores, especially those with apiculate sculpture, are dominant. • Key words: Lower Old Red Sandstone, cryptospores, miospores, palynofacies, plant habitats.

RICHARDSON, J.B. 2007. Cryptospores and miospores, their distribution patterns in the Lower Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin, and the habitat of their parent plants. Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 355–364 (2 figures). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received August 24, 2007; accepted in revised form November 21, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.355

John B. Richardson, Natural History Museum, Department of Palaeontology, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, England; j.richardson@nhm.ac.uk

Recovery of a large, articulate portion of Sphenophyllum costae Sterzel from lower Cantabrian strata of the Sydney Coalfield, Nova Scotia, Canada, demonstrates that it is the largest sphenophyll yet known to inhabit clastic substrates of Euramerica. The specimen shows four orders of branching, with each axis characterized by whorls of leaves having distinct morphologies. Foliage clearly displays a tendency to become less divided on axes of ascending order. Furthermore, each branch order can be distinguished based on its internodal lengths and widths, which indicates that the species has a marked hierarchy of ramification similar to that found in the calamitalean sphenopsids. Axes of all orders apparently show epidogenetic followed by apoxogenetic growth patterns, which contributes to the high degree of heterophylly in the taxon. Comparison of axes and foliage of S. costae with other members of the genus reveals that sphenophylls from clastic substrates followed a fundamental ontogenetic pattern of growth and architecture, although subtle variations existed between taxa. Climber hooks are documented for the first time in the species, and the presence of these modified leaves supports the interpretation that S. costae formed dense, multi-branched thickets up to 2 m high comprising mutually supportive axes that rested upon, clung to, or entwined with adjacent axes. Palaeoecological and taphonomic evidence suggests that the plant formed as ground cover beneath arborescent medullosalean pteridosperms, and probably occupied well-drained (but moist) clastic habitats such as elevated channel margins or topographically raised hummocks on floodplains. • Key words: Sphenophyllum, heterophylly, architecture, reconstruction, palaeoecology, Pennsylvanian, Nova Scotia.

BASHFORTH, A.R. & ZODROW, E.L. 2007. Partial reconstruction and palaeoecology of Sphenophyllum costae (Middle Pennsylvanian, Nova Scotia, Canada). Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 365–382 (10 figures, 2 tables). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received October 5, 2007; accepted in revised form October 29, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.365

Arden R. Bashforth, Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3J5, Canada; current address: Geological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen University, Oster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark; arden.bashforth@dal.ca • Erwin L. Zodrow, Department of Geology, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, B1P 6L2, Canada; erwin_zodrow@cbu.ca

Tertiary floras occurring in the Bohemian Massif based on plant macrofossils (leaves and carpological material) are reviewed. The sites are situated in various stratigraphical levels of the Cheb, Sokolov, Most, Zittau, Èeské Budìjovice and Tøeboò basins, volcanic complexes of the Doupovské hory Mts and Èeské støedohoøí Mts, as well as in Tertiary fluvial sedimentary relicts scattered near Plzeò, Prague and elsewhere in the western part of the Czech Republic. The overview focuses on floristic and phytostratigraphical characteristics of the defined lithostratigraphical units and their dating within the Bohemian Massif and correlation with previously defined paleofloristic units (Floristic Assemblages i.e., “Florenkomplexe”) of Boreal and Central Europe. New palaeoclimatical datasets obtained using the leaf physiognomy (CLAMP), co-existence (CA) and ecophysiological methodologies show vegetation and palaeoclimatic evolution during the Tertiary in the studied area. • Key words: Tertiary, macrofloras, Bohemian Massif, correlation, vegetation, palaeoclimate, Europe.

KVAÈEK, Z. & TEODORIDIS, V. 2007. Tertiary macrofloras of the Bohemian Massif: a review with correlations within Boreal and Central Europe. Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 383–408 (5 figures, 12 tables). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received August 15, 2007; accepted in revised form October 4, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.383

Zlatko Kvaèek, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic; kvacek@natur.cuni.cz • Vasilis Teodoridis, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education, Department of Biology and Environmental Education, M.D. Rettigové 4, 116 39 Prague 1, Czech Republic, vasilis.teodoridis@pedf.cuni.cz

Only 37 incomplete endocarps and fragments of Potamogeton wiesaensis Kirchheimer from the Nástup-Tušimice Mine and cores of KU 115 and MR 59, and one incomplete leaf assigned as Potamogeton praenatans Knoll from the Bílina Mine (horizon No. 1) are described from the Most Basin. These samples studied here stratigraphically belong to the Holešice, Libkovice and Lom members of the Most Formation. According to the analysis of Potamogeton autecology and the floristic composition of the horizon No. 1, the fossil taxa can be interpreted as elements of an aquatic and reed vegetation. • Key words: leaves, endocarps, Potamogeton, palaeoecology, Early Miocene, Most Basin.

TEODORIDIS, V. 2007. Revision of Potamogeton fossils from the Most Basin and their palaeoecological significance (Early Miocene, Czech Republic). Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 409–418 (4 figures, 1 table). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received January 2, 2007; accepted in revised form April 11, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.409

Vasilis Teodoridis, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education, Department of Biology and Environmental Education, M.D. Rettigové 4, 116 39 Prague 1, Czech Republic; vasilis.teodoridis@pedf.cuni.cz

Valve morphology and ultrastructure of Melosira hibschii Reichelt, from raw material E 1821 “Warnsdorf, braune Schicht, leg. Reichelt” and slide A2/81 labelled “Melosira Hibschii Reich.” from the Hustedt Diatom Collection, Bremerhaven, and slide B 1731 “Warnsdorf Böhmen (Elger 118)” from the Weinzierl Collection, Botanisches Staatsammlung München (Germany), were investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy to clarify the taxonomic position of this species, which is considered to belong to the genus Aulacoseira Thwaites. A formal transfer to this genus as Aulacoseira hibschii (Reichelt) Houk comb. nov. is proposed. A. hibschii differs from related Aulacoseira taxa by the characteristic location of the rimoportulae combined with the coarse areolar valve pattern and with the characteristic shape of the two types of spines. The rimoportulae are spaced in a sparse ring near the ringleist, or again sparsely near to the middle of the valve mantle, or they are situated irregularly. The species was then identified from several other Paleogene diatomites from northern Bohemia and Seifhennersdorf (Germany). The observed valve morphology and ultrastructure of A. hibschii are discussed and compared with those of related species. • Key words: fossil taxa, diatomite, Diatomae, Centrales, Melosira, Aulacoseira.

HOUK, V. 2007. Aulacoseira hibschii (Reichelt) Houk comb. nov. (Bacillariophyceae, Centrales) from the type locality in Varnsdorf (Czech Republic). Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 419–428 (6 figures). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received March 12, 2007; accepted in revised form July 23, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.419

Václav Houk, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Botany, Dukelská 135, CZ-379 82 Tøeboò; houk@butbn.cas.cz

A mastixioid assemblage consisting of seed cones of Pinus hampeana and fruits of Carya globosa, Diplopanax limnophilus and Eomastixia saxonica has been recovered in tektite-bearing deposits at Dobrkovská Lhotka near Trhové Sviny on the southern periphery of the Èeské Budìjovice Basin, South Bohemia. Although its diversity is low, the assemblage is characteristic enough to be correlated with the Middle Miocene floras of the Central Paratethys area (Wieliczka at Kraków – Middle Badenian) and with comparable floras in the Boreal Province (Kleinleipisch and Klettwitz Floral Assemblages in Germany – Middle Miocene). The obtained data corroborate the Badenian age for the Vrábèe Member, the oldest tektite-bearing unit from where the fossils were collected (?the basal part of the Domanín Formation) and prove a short time span between the rain of tektites (Ries event, 15–14.5 Ma) and the deposition of this unit. • Key words: carpology, mastixioids, South Bohemia, Middle Miocene, Ries event.

ŠEVÈÍK, J., KVAÈEK, Z. & MAI, D.H. 2007. A new mastixioid florula from tektite-bearing deposits in South Bohemia, Czech Republic (Middle Miocene, Vrábèe Member). Bulletin of Geosciences 82(4), 429–436 (3 figures). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. Manuscript received Febuary 7, 2007; accepted in revised form September 17, 2007; issued December 31, 2007. • DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.04.429

Josef Ševèík, GEKON s.r.o., Na Jarovì 2, 130 00 Praha 3, Czech Republic; sevcikjosef@volny.cz • Zlatko Kvaèek, Charles University, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Albertov 6, 128 43 Praha 2, Czech Republic; kvacek@natur.cuni.cz • Dieter H. Mai, Naturkundemuseum der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Forschungsinstitut, Invalidenstrasse 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany