New data on the epidermal structure of the leaves of Podozamites Braun

In this paper, we study the morphological and epidermal features of leaves of Podozamites distans (type species) from two localities near that of the lectotype in Bavaria, Germany whose morphology is identical with the leaves of the lectotype, designated here. Emended diagnoses are provided for the genus Podozamites and its type species P. distans. Two new species, P. doludenkoae from the Kokala Formation (Toarcian, Early Jurassic) and the Karadiirmen' Formation (Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of Mangyshlak (Kazakhstan), and P. irkutensis from the Prisayan Formation (Aalenian–Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of Irkutsk Basin (East Siberia, Russia), are described. The species originally described as P. ex gr. lanceolatus from Southern Primorye, P. aff. eichwaldii and Podozamites sp. from the Bureya Basin have been attributed to P. doludenkoae. The species originally described as P. lanceolatus and P. lanceolatus var. longifolia (Prynada, 1962) from the Prisayan Formation of Irkutsk Basin has been proved to be identical with P. irkutensis

Filmy Ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) and Associated Spike-Mosses (Selaginellaceae) from the Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber, Myanmar

Filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) are the most diverse lineage of the early-diverging leptosporangiate ferns with ca. 430 species widely distributed around the world but with the highest diversity in the humid tropics. However, their fossil record is scarce because of the low preservation potential of the delicate, membranous laminae. So far, no Hymenophyllaceae fossils have been reported from tropical Asia. Here, we describe some fern remains and their syninclusions (spike-mosses) in four pieces of Kachin amber from the mid-Cretaceous of Hukawng Valley, Northern Myanmar, as Hymenophyllites angustus sp. nov., H. kachinensis sp. nov., H. setosus sp. nov. (Hymenophyllaceae) and Selaginella alata sp. nov. (Selaginellaceae), respectively. These fern remains are assigned to Hymenophyllaceae based on the filmy, one-cell thick, decompound pinnatifid laminae and dichotomous venation. They represent the first fossil record of Hymenophyllaceae in tropical Asia. The growth habits of these ferns and associated spike-mosses and their implication for paleoenvironment are discussed. Our study expands the diversity of the cryptogams in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Together with other contemporaneous findings, the present fossils indicate that Hymenophyllaceae have already accumulated some notable diversity in the Cretaceous