During mini-submersible dives in De Beers offshore concessions on the middle shelf of Namaqualand, on the west coast of South Africa, a fossil forest was located and sampled. Over an area of 2 km2 there are numerous in situ and prostrate trunks on a gentle slope, 136-140 m below sea level and about 32 km offshore. Micro-palaeontological dating shows that the sediments are of Coniacian age. The silicified woods have been identified as members of the Podocarpaceae and one new species is described, Podocarpoxylon jago Bamford & Stevenson sp. nov. The second species identified is P. umzambense Schultze-Motel. These woods are compared with other west coast woods, both onshore and offshore, and the Upper Cretaceous coastal environment is postulated
