Lauraceous fossil woods from the early Eocene of Laguna del Hunco, Argentine Patagonia

Two silicified fossil woods are identified as a new species of Laurinoxylon from the Huitrera Formation at Laguna del Hunco in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Supporting characters include the absence of growth ring boundaries, vessels solitary or in short radial multiples, simple and scalariform perforation plates, alternate intervessel pitting, scalariform vessel-ray pits, scarce axial parenchyma, septate fibres, rays usually one to four cells wide, and idioblasts commonly associated with rays and rarely with the axial parenchyma. The fossil woods resemble members of the Perseae-Cinnamomeae-Laureae clade but do not closely match any extant genus; they therefore probably represent an extinct lineage. Although lauraceous woods are known from other Palaeocene and Eocene floras in Patagonia, the presence of the family at Laguna del Hunco was previously based only on leaf compressions without preserved cuticular details. Our new record confirms the occurrence of Lauraceae in the diverse Laguna del Hunco flora, which contains many genera associated with extant rainforest floras.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Alcheringa An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology on 2024-11-27, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03115518.2024.2426030.

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Work Title Lauraceous fossil woods from the early Eocene of Laguna del Hunco, Argentine Patagonia
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Roberto R. Pujana
  2. Nathan A. Jud
  3. Peter Wilf
  4. María A. Gandolfo
Keyword
  1. Laguna del Hunco
  2. Argentina
  3. Laurinoxylon
  4. Lauraceae
  5. Fossil forests
  6. Wood anatomy
License CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology
Publication Date November 27, 2024
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2024.2426030
Deposited May 05, 2025

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Version 1
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  • Created

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Added Pujana_et_al_2025.pdf

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Added Creator Roberto R. Pujana

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Added Creator Nathan A. Jud

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Added Creator Peter Wilf

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Added Creator María A. Gandolfo

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Published

    May 05, 2025 17:51 by Researcher Metadata Database

  • Updated

    May 05, 2025 22:05 by [unknown user]

  • Updated Keyword, Publisher, Description, and 1 more Show Changes

    May 06, 2025 20:30 by avs5190

    Keyword
    • Laguna del Hunco, Argentina, Laurinoxylon, Lauraceae, Fossil forests, Wood anatomy
    Publisher
    • Alcheringa
    • Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology
    Description
    • Two silicified fossil woods are identified as a new species of Laurinoxylon from the Huitrera Formation at Laguna del Hunco in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Supporting characters include the absence of growth ring boundaries, vessels solitary or in short radial multiples, simple and scalariform perforation plates, alternate intervessel pitting, scalariform vessel-ray pits, scarce axial parenchyma, septate fibres, rays usually one to four cells wide, and idioblasts commonly associated with rays and rarely with the axial parenchyma. The fossil woods resemble members of the Perseae-Cinnamomeae-Laureae clade but do not closely match any extant genus; they therefore probably represent an extinct lineage. Although lauraceous woods are known from other Palaeocene and Eocene floras in Patagonia, the presence of the family at Laguna del Hunco was previously based only on leaf compressions without preserved cuticular details. Our new record confirms the occurrence of Lauraceae in the diverse Laguna del Hunco flora, which contains many genera associated with extant rainforest floras. Roberto R. Pujana* [rpujana@gmail.com], Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad de Buenos Aires 1405, Argentina Nathan A. Jud [judn@william.jewell.edu], Department of Biology, William Jewell College, Liberty, MO 64068, USA Peter Wilf [pwilf@psu.edu] Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA María A. Gandolfo [mag4@cornell.edu], LH Bailey Hortorium, Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
    • Two silicified fossil woods are identified as a new species of _Laurinoxylon_ from the Huitrera Formation at Laguna del Hunco in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Supporting characters include the absence of growth ring boundaries, vessels solitary or in short radial multiples, simple and scalariform perforation plates, alternate intervessel pitting, scalariform vessel-ray pits, scarce axial parenchyma, septate fibres, rays usually one to four cells wide, and idioblasts commonly associated with rays and rarely with the axial parenchyma. The fossil woods resemble members of the Perseae-Cinnamomeae-Laureae clade but do not closely match any extant genus; they therefore probably represent an extinct lineage. Although lauraceous woods are known from other Palaeocene and Eocene floras in Patagonia, the presence of the family at Laguna del Hunco was previously based only on leaf compressions without preserved cuticular details. Our new record confirms the occurrence of Lauraceae in the diverse Laguna del Hunco flora, which contains many genera associated with extant rainforest floras.
    Publication Date
    • 2025-01-01
    • 2024-11-27