A Survey of Pliocene to Mid Quaternary leaf cuticle from the North Island, New Zealand

[摘要] This study reports on a survey of dispersed leaf cuticle from a range of late Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene (mostly coastal) lignites in the North Island of New Zealand. With few exceptions, the samples contain plant taxa common in New Zealand today, for example, Beilschmedia (Lauraceae) and numerous conifers. However, some of them are outside of their current latitudinal-altitudinal range. The common presence of Halocarpus (Podocarpaceae) is noteworthy, as almost all records from the North Island today are from upland regions. There is no clear evidence of Agathis (Araucariaceae) having existed further south than its present limit. However, a single find of an araucarian in the Rangitawa Fossil Beds in the southern North Island is notable. Its identity is not clear, but it is possibly Araucaria (Araucariaceae), making it the youngest occurrence of this genus in New Zealand. If it is Agathis, then it is the most southern Pleistocene macro-record. Cryptocarya (Lauraceae) is recorded in an undated peat at Huriwai. It represents an apparent Pleistocene survival of a genus known from the Miocene in New Zealand, but now locally extinct. Carmichaelia (Fabaceae) cuticle was common, but unexpected, as it is very rare in the palynological record.

[学科分类] 地质学

[关键词] Mike Pole;epidermis;Lauraceae;Fabaceae;Araucariaceae;Podocarpaceae;leaves;New Zealand;Miocene