Macrofossil floras of the Latady Basin, Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

New collections of plant material from the Merrick and Sweeney Mountains provide further evidence of Jurassic floral diversity in the Antarctic Peninsula. Eighteen taxa are recognised, including sphenophytes (Equisetum), ferns (Cladophlebis, Sphenopteris, Coniopteris), Bennettitales (Otozamites, Zamites, Ptilophyllum, Dicytozamites, Williamsonia), conifers (Pagiophyllum, Brachyphyllum, Elatocladus), and other seed plants (Taeniopteris, Archangelskya, Pachypteris). Many of these species occur in floras from the Botany Bay Group (Early‐Middle Jurassic), and other Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sites across the Antarctic Peninsula. The plant material from the Latady Basin occurs in two main associations with distinct floristic compositions that reflect local environmental and taphonomic conditions. The richest localities occur in the deltaic settings, where paleosoil and leaf litter layers are preserved. In contrast, relatively little plant material is found in the wholly marine units such as those from the Hauberg Mountains.

Keywords:

• Antarctica
• Jurassic
• macroflora
• Latady Basin