Pterostoma neehoffii (cf. Zamiaceae): a new species of extinct cycad from the middle Miocene of New Zealand and an overview of fossil New Zealand cycads

A fossil cycad pinna fragment with dichotomising and anastomosing venation and cuticular preservation from the middle Miocene Hindon Maar deposits, Otago, New Zealand, is assigned to the extinct genus Pterostoma (Cycadales: cf. Zamiaceae) as a new species: P. neehoffii. The leaf features of the Hind...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand journal of botany 2020-01, Vol.58 (1), p.30-47
Main Authors: Conran, John G., Bannister, Jennifer M., Kaulfuss, Uwe, Lee, Daphne E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cf. Zamiaceae
Cycadophyta
Endangered & extinct species
Extinct species
Flanges
Fossil cycad
Fossils
Hindon Maar Complex
Miocene
Neogene
New species
Otago
Paleoenvironments
Plant cuticle
Pollen
Preservation
Pterostoma
Trichomes
Venation
Zamiaceae
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Description
Summary:A fossil cycad pinna fragment with dichotomising and anastomosing venation and cuticular preservation from the middle Miocene Hindon Maar deposits, Otago, New Zealand, is assigned to the extinct genus Pterostoma (Cycadales: cf. Zamiaceae) as a new species: P. neehoffii. The leaf features of the Hindon Maar fossil differ from previously reported Pterostoma-like macrofossils and dispersed cuticles from New Zealand and Australia in having the combination of narrow guard cell flanges, poorly developed epidermal cuticular ridges and apparently lacking trichomes, suggesting that there were at least three cycad species present in the Neogene of New Zealand. The fossil is also placed into a broader overview of the macrofossil and pollen record for cycads in New Zealand and their possible paleoenvironments.
ISSN:0028-825X
1175-8643
DOI:10.1080/0028825X.2019.1653939