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Abstract Detail


Paleobotanical Section

Pigg, Kathleen B. [1], Farabee, Michael J. [2], Zetter, Reinhard [3], DeVore, Melanie L. [4], Manchester, Steven R. [5], Nowak, Michael D. [6].

Studies of the pollen and spore assemblage of the Late Paleocene Almont flora of central North Dakota, USA.

The Almont flora of central North Dakota, a highly diverse megafossil assemblage, is one of the few Late Paleocene floras with anatomically preserved fruits and seeds. In association with our megafossil studies we have initiated an investigation of dispersed pollen and spores from the same matrix. To date, we have recognized over 56 species, around 40 of which were examined with the same-grain technique. Families represented by both pollen and megafossils include: Ginkgoaceae, Cupressaceae, Betulaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Juglandaceae, Nyssaceae, Ranunculaceae, Sapindaceae, and Vitaceae. The pollen record is more diverse for gymnosperms (e.g., Auricariacites, Pinuspollenites) and several angiosperm families (e.g., Betulaceae, Juglandaceae), than the megafossil record indicates. Other families known from seeds and fruits but not isolated pollen include Icacinaceae, Meliosmaceae, Menispermaceae, Ochnaceae, and Polygalaceae, as well as Zingiberales. The presence of pollen representing some families can be used as a predictive tool to suggest potential affinities of megafossils that may be present. Pollen of Erdtmanipollis(Buxaceae) and Eucommia (Eucommiaceae), for example, may lend support to the affinities of fruit and seed remains that have been compared to these families. Obligate tetrads assignable to Ericipites are thought to be representatives of Ericacae, however, this family has not been found among megafossils at Almont. Pollen is currently unknown for the plant represented by one of the most common leaf forms at Almont, Zizyphoides, and its associated fruit Nordenskioldia. Other distinctive pollen types of uncertain taxonomic affinities include: Echitricolpites, Jarzenipollenites, and Pistillipollenities.


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1 - Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874501, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-4501, USA
2 - Estrella Mountain Community College, Science and Mathmatics, 3000 N Dysart Rd, Avondale, AZ, 85340, USA
3 - University of Vienna, Institute of Palaeontology, Vienna, Austria
4 - Georgia College & State University, Biological & Environmental Sciences, 135 Herty Hall, Campus Box 81, Milledgeville, Georgia, 31061, USA
5 - University of Florida, Department of Botany, Florida Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-7800, USA
6 - Duke University, Department of Biology, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

Keywords:
Paleocene
fossil pollen
Almont.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: CP45
Location: Williford A/Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Time: 8:15 AM
Number: CP45001
Abstract ID:2257


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