Improntas foliares del Cretácico de la provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina

Abstract

Leaves imprints from the Cretaceous of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. An assemblage of imprints leaves of the fosiliferous locality Bajo de los Corrales, Santa Cruz province, Argentina is described. This assemblages comprise five angiosperm species, one gymnosperm and one pteridophyte. One of the angiosperm species is well represented, other materials are very scarce. The main species belongs to Myrtoidea patagonica Passalia, Romero and Panza gen. et sp. nov. in the Ochnaceous Alliance and the order Myrtales. It is a narrow elliptic blade, with entire margin and expanded petiole. It has a massive primary vein, irregular secondaries veins, which are almost as thin as the tertiaries veins, intersecondaries veins, and one or sometimes two intramarginal veins. It belongs to the Myrtophyll Morphotype (sensu Crabtree), and has Second Rank (following Hickey). The other species are poorly preserved, but show that the flora has rather diversified angiosperms. The assemblage is compared to Barremian-Coniacian floras from Baqueró Group, Chubut Group and Mata Amarilla Formation. It is suggested that it belongs to a sedimentary body different to the mentioned ones, probably of albian age.