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Paper Number: 338

Fossil woods from the Cretaceous deposits of Russian Far East

Afonin, M.A.

Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect 100 let Vladivostoku, 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia, afmaxim@inbox.ru

Cretaceous strata are well developed in the Russian Far East and contain abundant and diverse plant fossils, including fossil woods. More than 400 fossil wood samples were collected and investigated from the Cretaceous deposits of Russian Far East. The fossil woods studied come from the Rarytkin Formation (Maastrichtian) of Chukotka Peninsula, the Kedrovka (Albian) and the Penzhina (Turonian-Coniacian) formations of Kamchatka Peninsula, the Tsagayan (Maastrichtian-Danian) and the Sitogo (Albian) formations of the Amur River area, the Lipovtsy (Aptian) and the Galenki (Albian) formations of the Southern Primorye Region and the Bykov Formation (Late Cenomanian-Early Campanian) of Sakhalin Island.

Diverse gymnosperms and angiosperms fossil wood taxa were described from these formations: Cercidiphylloxylon, Piceoxylon, Sequoioxylon and Taxodioxylon from the Rarytkin Formation; Cedrus [2], Keteleerioxylon [1], Taxaceoxylon [9], Protocedroxylon [9], Protocupressinoxylon and Xenoxylon [9] from the Kedrovka Formation; Keteleerioxylon [1], Piceoxylon [4] and Taxodioxylon from the Penzhina Formation; Ginkgoxylon, Hamamelidoxylon [10], Piceoxylon [7], Pinuxylon, Platanoxylon, Sequoioxylon [5, 8], Taxodioxylon and Xenoxylon from the Tsagayan Formation; Protocedroxylon and Xenoxylon from the Sitogo Formation; Protopiceoxylon, Protocedroxylon [6], Thylloxylon and Xenoxylon [3] from the Lipovtsy Formation; Palaeopiceoxylon, Protocedroxylon, Taxodioxylon, Sequoioxylon and Xenoxylon [3] from the Galenki Formation; Magnoliaceoxylon, Paraphyllanthoxylon, Sequoioxylon and Taxodioxylon from the Bykov Formation. Fossil wood of Cedrus, Cercidiphylloxylon, Ginkgoxylon, Hamamelidoxylon, Magnoliaceoxylon, Platanoxylon, Paraphyllanthoxylon and Thylloxylon were described from the Cretaceous deposits of Russia for the first time. Therefore, the investigation of the Cretaceous woods of Russian Far East will improve our understanding of the climatic and vegetation history during the Cretaceous of Northern Asia.

The research was supported by the Grants Council (under the President of the Russian Federation) for state aid of Russian young scientists (project no. MK-2993.2015.4).

References:

[1] Blokhina N and Afonin M (2006) Paleontological Journal 40(6): 678-686

[2] Blokhina N and Afonin M (2007) Acta Palaeobotanica 47(2): 379-389

[3] Afonin M (2008) Bulletin of the FEB RAS 4: 126-132

[4] Blokhina N and Afonin M (2009) Paleontological Journal 43(10): 1190-1201

[5] Blokhina N et al. (2010) Paleontological Journal 44(10): 1231-1239

[6] Afonin M (2012a) Paleontological Journal 46(1): 104-110

[7] Afonin M (2012b) Paleontological Journal 46(3): 324-329

[8] Afonin M (2013) Paleontological Journal 47(6): 631-640

[9] Afonin M and Philippe M (2014) Cretaceous Research 50: 110-119

[10] Afonin M (2015) Botanical Journal 100(7): 692-697