1. Cretaceous-Paleocene Patagonian Spore and Pollen Clumps: New Findings, Alternative Explanations, and Opened Questions
- Author
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De Benedetti, Facundo, Zamaloa, Maria C., and Gandolfo, Maria A.
- Subjects
Patagonia -- Environmental aspects ,Spores (Botany) -- Environmental aspects -- Physiological aspects ,Pollen -- Environmental aspects -- Physiological aspects ,Biological sciences - Abstract
There are few studies focused on spore and pollen clumps in paleopalynological samples, and these are only reports from the Northern Hemisphere. These aggregates may be of animal or floral origin. The goal of this contribution is to provide the first detailed study of spore and pollen clumps from the Southern Hemisphere, and to discuss their possible origin, botanical affinities, and pollination modes, based on their morphological characteristics, preservation and comparison with putative living representatives. Three fern spore clumps and 18 angiosperm pollen clumps were recognized in Maastrichtian-Danian La Colonia Formation sediments that outcrop at Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Most clumps are monospecific and composed of undamaged elements but some of them have two types of spore/pollen with corroded and/or fragmented exines. These findings represent the most diverse and abundant record of fern and angiosperm clumps from the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene so far known from South America and the Southern Hemisphere. These results are indicative of the need for comprehensive large-scale studies on pollination of modern taxa and careful processing of palynological samples to lessen the already large bias in paleopalynological interpretations. The paucity of information on clumps in the fossil record has impaired our comprehension of dispersion/pollination in deep time. Keywords Floral origin * Coprolites * Monospecific clumps * Pollination modes Hay pocos estudios enfocados en agregados de esporas y polen procedentes de muestras palinologicas, y estos han sido reportados unicamente en el Hemisferio Norte. Estos agregados pueden ser de origen animal o floral. El objetivo de esta contribucion es proveer el primer estudio detallado de agregados de esporas y polen del Hemisferio Sur, y discutir sus posibles origenes, afinidades botanicas y modos de polinizacion, basados en sus caracteristicas morfologicas, preservacion y comparacion con posibles analogos modernos. Tres agregados de esporas de helechos y 18 de polen de angiospermas fueron reconocidos en los sedimentos del Maastrichtiano-Daniano de la Formacion La Colonia, aflorantes en la Provincia de Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina. La mayoria de los agregados son monoespecificos y estan compuestos por elementos en general bien preservados, aunque algunos tienen dos tipos de esporas/polen con exinas corroidas y/o fragmentadas. Estos hallazgos constituyen el registro mas diverso y abundante de agregados esporopolinicos del Cretacico Tardio y Paleoceno temprano de Sudamerica y del Hemisferio Sur. Los resultados de este trabajo indican la necesidad de realizar estudios exhaustivos a gran escala sobre polinizacion en taxones modernos y de desarrollar nuevas tecnicas palinologicas menos destructivas que permitan recuperar los agregados de las paleoasociaciones. Claramente, la escasez de informacion sobre agregados polinicos en el registro fosil afecta nuestra interpretacion acerca de la dispersion/polinizacion y su evolucion en el tiempo. Palabras clave Origen floral * Coprolitos * Agregados monoespecificos * Modos de polinizacion, Introduction Pollen and spores have major roles in plant sexual reproduction as they are fundamental to maintaining plant populations and successfully colonizing of new habitats. Floral and pollen traits are [...]
- Published
- 2024
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