Triassic palynology of the Swiss Belchentunnel: a restudy of the Scheuring samples

Well-preserved Carnian (Late Triassic) palynomorphs are rare in Switzerland, despite sediments include one of the important plant fossil localities, Neue Welt near Basel. Modern detailed palynological studies on Triassic palynomorphs in general and especially in the Carnian are scarce, most palynological studies were carried out more than 50 years ago. Nevertheless (Late) Triassic sediments still yield surprises for palynological research. Here, we present the results of the re-study of the famous Belchentunnel samples that were studied and published by Bernhard Scheuring in 1970. The less cheerful result concerns the preservation of slides: more than 60% of the slides are degraded. On the other hand, the restudy of the well-preserved slides showed an unexpected number of algae, acritarchs, and spore taxa not described so far. Especially the spores facilitate the correlation with the well-known biostratigraphic schemes established for the Germanic Basin. The distribution of Porcellispora longdonensis throughout the Belchentunnel succession is especially striking. The acme just below the Schilfsandstein might suggest the presence of ephemeral ponds

CARBONIFEROUS PLANT FOSSILS FROM THE SAN LORENZO SCHISTS (PISANI MOUNTAINS, TUSCANY, ITALY): A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE PALAEOBOTANICAL COLLECTION OF THE MUSEO NATURALISTICO ARCHEOLOGICO DELL’APPENNINO PISTOIESE

The Museo Naturalistico Archeologico dell’Appennino Pistoiese (MUNAP) hosts one of the most abundant and diverse collections of Late Palaeozoic plant fossils from the San Lorenzo Schists of the Pisani Mountains. More than 1200 rock slabs yielding plant fossils were collected from six different outcrops in Guappero Valley in the San Lorenzo a Vaccoli area (NE of the Pisani Mountains, near Lucca), the type-locality of the formation. The present study concerns two outcrops at Via Pari that are characterized by a wide range of plant fossils (20 taxa) belonging to the lycopsids (Stigmaria), sphenopsids (Calamites, Asterophyllites, Calamostachys, Sphenophyllum, Bowmanites), ferns (Acitheca, Diplazites, Cyathocarpus), seed ferns (Alethopteris, ?Autunia, gen. indet.), cordaites (Cordaites) and seeds (Carpolithes). This first description of the plant fossil collection and the revision of its stratigraphical context with respect to the surrounding famous fossiliferous sections of the Guappero Valley refine the stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Late Palaeozoic successions of the Pisani Mts. and more generally of the Apennine chain. The qualitative and quantitative analyses show significant environmental variations between neighbouring outcrops in the Via Pari area – i.e., more humid conditions in ‘Via Pari Buca’ than in ‘Via Pari Smottamento’ – and suggest a latest Carboniferous (Gzhelian) instead of an early Permian age as proposed by previous authors. Moreover, the differences in composition between the plant assemblages of the Via Pari sections with the historical assemblage of the nearby Monte Vignale outcrop (containing typical Permian and more xerophytic elements) in the De Stefani Collection of the Florence Natural History Museum is explained by a younger age (early Permian) of the latter

MIDDLE TRIASSIC AMBER ASSOCIATED WITH VOLTZIALEAN CONIFERS FROM THE SOUTHERN ALPS OF ITALY

Amber from the Carnian succession of the Dolomites and Julian Alps (northeastern Italy) represents one of the most ancient and quantitatively substantial Triassic fossil resin records in the world. So far, the Carnian appeared to be the only Triassic stage with findings of amber remains. However, the recent reappraisal of historical collections of plant fossils led to the discovery of even older Triassic amber, found on a rock slab from the “Voltzia beds” of the Recoaro area (Anisian) and on a sample from the “Wengener Schichten” of Wengen/La Valle (Ladinian), respectively. Both specimens are associated with conifer shoots of Voltziales. To date, they are the oldest known Triassic fossil resins, demonstrating that the preservation of amber was not restricted to the sediments deposited during the Carnian as suggested before. These finds contribute to partially fill the gap in the amber record between the Carboniferous and Upper Triassic

Pennsylvanian floras from Italy: an overview of the main sites and historical collections

The paper provides an overview of the main Pennsylvanian sites in Italy yielding associations rich in plants and/or palynomorphs. So far in Italy, the principal outcrops are located in the Southern Alps, Tuscany and Sardinia. In the Western Southern Alps and bordering Switzerland, Westphalian outcrops are small and scattered. Nevertheless they yielded an abundant fossil flora, stored at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Milan-, (Venzo and Maglia Collection). In the Carnic Alps-, (Eastern Southern Alps)-, continental deposits of Moscovian to Gzhelian age also occur near the border with Austria. They have produced a high number of preserved plant fossils, presently stored in the Museo Friulano di Storia Naturale of Udine. In Tuscany, the two main sections yielding Westphalian to Autunian floras are those of the Iano and Pisani Mountains. A rich collection of plant fossils from those sites is hosted at the Museo di Storia Naturale of Florence University and at the Museum of Natural History of Pisa University. In Sardinia, plant fossil sites are located in the south west and central east parts of the island. The San Giorgio Basin (Iglesiente subregion) and the Tuppa Niedda section (Arburese subregion) are late Westphalian – early Stephanian in age. In the Barbagia at Seui-Seulo and the Gerrei subregions, other continental basins yielded transitional “Stephanian- Autunian” fossil plant associations. The slabs are stored as part of the Lovisato Collection at the Lovisato Museum of the Chemical and Geoscience Department of Cagliari University. Smaller historical outcrops of Carboniferous age are also known from other Italian regions, such as Liguria.</p

AMBER DROPLETS IN THE SOUTHERN ALPS (NE ITALY): A LINK BETWEEN THEIR OCCURRENCES AND MAIN HUMID EPISODES IN THE TRIASSIC

The Anisian amber from the “Voltzia beds” of the Recoaro area, produced by Voltzia recubariensis, represents the most ancient Triassic amber known so far. The discovery of amber in the Anisian localities of Kühwiesenkopf/Monte Prà della Vacca and Piz da Peres, in the Dolomites area, fills a gap in the amber fossil record and gives an important contribution to the knowledge of Triassic amber. The finding of amber droplets, both dispersed in the sediment and anatomically connected to shoot fragments of V. recubariensis, demonstrates that during the Anisian this species was a major resin-producer and that the favorable conditions for the preservation of resin and plant remains were present at regional scale. The contribution of Voltziales to Middle Triassic resin production in Northern Italy is also testified by the Ladinian amber from the “Wengener Schichten” of Wengen/La Valle, produced by Voltzia ladinica, whereas the Late Triassic amber was mainly produced by cheirolepidiaceous conifers. The finding of organic body trapped in the amber of Kühwiesenkopf/Monte Prà dalla Vacca is noteworthy, although difficult to interpret, and shows once again its capability to entrap and preserve witnesses of past life. Moreover, the correspondence between the Triassic amber occurrences and regional/global scale humid shifts, suggests a cause-and-effect relationship, in which the rise of amber production/preservation potential is related to climate/environmental changes, particularly in marginal marine/costal environments

Fossil ginkgophyte seedlings from the Triassic of France resemble modern Ginkgo biloba.

Fossil evidence of ginkgophyte ontogeny is exceedingly rare. Early development in the extant Ginkgo biloba is characterized by a series of distinct ontogenetic stages. Fossils providing insights into the early ontogeny of ancient ginkgophytes may be significant in assessing the degree of relatedness between fossil ginkgophytes and G. biloba