Grzegorz Worobiec

Plant megafossils from the Neogene deposits of Stawek-1A (Bełchatów, Middle Poland)

Abstract The megafossils from the fluvial sediments overlying the Tertiary lignites in the Belchatow opencast mine (Middle Poland) are investigated. The good preservation allowed the cellular detail of the leaves and fruit- and seed coats to be studied. This enabled accurate identifications to be made. Some of the genera ( Cleome , Ternstroemites and Zingiberoideophyllum ) are new for the Tertiary of Poland. Most of the taxa are encountered in Upper Miocene to Pliocene sediments. A comparison of the growth forms and the proportion of arctotertiary and palaeotropical components present in Stawek-1A with those of the plant assemblages from the Neogene of the lower Rhenish Basin points to a Late Miocene or Early Pliocene age. The plant communities from which the fossils were derived and the climatic conditions under which these were growing are discussed.

Neogene Leaf Morphotaxa of Malvaceae s.l. in Europe

New interpretation of leaf fossils from the Neogene of Europe belonging to the family Malvaceae s.l. is given. Morphogenera Dombeyopsis Unger emend., Byttneriophyllum Givulescu ex Knobloch et Kvaček, and Laria G. Worobiec et Kvaček morphogen. nov., considered monotypic in our revision, are newly circumscribed. Particularly well‐preserved leaves representing Dombeyopsis lobata Unger (Auenheim); Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium (A. Braun) Knobloch et Kvaček from Bełchatów and Ruja, Poland; and Laria rueminiana (Heer) G. Worobiec et Kvaček comb. nov. from Bełchatów were examined for detailed macro‐ and micromorphological studies. A survey of epidermal features and leaf macromorphology in extant Malvaceae s.l. was conducted for comparison with the fossils. All three fossil species studied are malvalean, but none of them corresponds in all details with any of the studied living Malvaceae s.l. Macro‐ and micromorphology of leaves suggest that D. lobata has affinities to subfamily Tilioideae Arn., B. tiliifolium probably belongs to Tilioideae Arn. or Brownlowioideae Burrett, and L. rueminiana presumably represents subfamily Helicteroideae Griseb.

An improved technique for separation, bleaching and preparation of slides from fossil leaf compressions

Abstract Leaf slides prepared from separated Tertiary leaf compressions are valuable tools for taxonomic investigations of fossil leaf assemblages. Slides such as these help considerably in morphological investigations of fossil leaves allowing examination of their minute morphological structures. Procedures for preparing leaf slides from leaf compressions include three stages: separation (isolation) of leaf compressions with use of hydrogen peroxide, and then a two-step method for bleaching leaf compressions and mounting the bleached leaf compressions in glycerine jelly slides. This method has been successfully used for several years, and is especially useful for separating and preparing flat plant remains such as leaves, fruits and seeds, coniferous shoots and fragments of bark. The procedure is recommended for extensive use in palaeobotanical investigations, and has proven especially useful for Tertiary leaf assemblages.

Epiphyllous fungi from the Oligocene shallowmarine deposits of the Krabbedalen Formation, Kap Brewster, central East Greenland

ABSTRACT Fructifications of epiphyllous fungi were encountered during palynological investigation of the Lower Oligocene shallow-marine deposits of the Krabbedalen Formation at the Savoia Halvø, Kap Brewster, central East Greenland. Six fossil taxa from the family Microthyriaceae (Phragmothyrites kangukensis Kalgutkar, Phragmothyrites sp., Plochmopeltinites sp., Trichothyrites cf. ostiolatus (Cookson) Kalgutkar & Jansonius, Trichothyrites sp. 1, and Trichothyrites sp. 2) and one incertae sedis fungal remain are reported. Fungal remains from the Krabbedalen Formation represent the youngest, Oligocene occurrence of the epiphyllous fungi in the Palaeogene of the Arctic. The presence of epiphyllous, microthyriaceous fungi in low quantities and in low taxonomical diversity points to a humid and not necessarily warm climate, which is corroborated by data obtained from the analysis of microscopic plant remains.

Neogene wetland vegetation based on a leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland)

Abstract Well-preserved leaf macroremains collected in the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland) were investigated. Fossil leaves of Acer, Dicotylophyllum, Fagus, Eucommia, Laria, Laurophyllum, Liquidambar, Pinus, Populus, Pterocarya, Quercus, Salix, Salvinia, Taxodium, Ulmus, Vitis, and Zelkova, and fossil fruit of Eucommia were found in fossil assemblage KRAM-P 218 formed in a fluvial sedimentary environment. The fossil assemblage is dominated by plant remains of riparian vegetation of bottomland hardwood forest type. Some taxa point to the presence of mesophytic upland communities. The floristic composition points to warm temperate climate with mild winters, comparable to Cfa type (warm temperate, fully humid with hot summer) in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Mean annual temperature of 13.5-16.5°C was reconstructed by the coexistence approach method. Middle to late Miocene age (late Sarmatian to early Pannonian) is suggested for the plant-bearing deposits.

Late Neogene leaf assemblage from Bełchatów Lignite Mine (central Poland)

Abstract Leaf macroremains collected in the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (central Poland) were investigated. The fossil assemblage consists of leaves of Acer, Betula, Carpinus, Dicotylophyllum, Fagus, ?Magnolia, “Parrotia”, Pinus, Quercus, and Zelkova. Mesophytic (zonal) elements dominate, with admixture of riparian (azonal) leaf taxa. The floristic composition points to late Neogene (late Miocene to late Pliocene) age and suggests favourable temperate climate with mild winters.

New fungal cephalothecoid-like fructifications from central European Neogene deposits

Fragments of cephalothecoid fructifications (peridia) were encountered during palynological investigations of Neogene deposits in Mizerna-Nowa/Poland and Adendorf/Germany. Isolated plates of cephalothecoid ascoma in shape and cellular structure similar to the extant members of the family Cephalothecaceae are described as Cephalothecoidomyces neogenicus fossil gen. et sp. nov. while remnants of fungal sporocarps with cephalothecoid walls with indistinct lines of dehiscence, similar in structure to peridia with cephalothecoid morphology of extant representatives the family Chaetomiaceae (mainly genus Chaetomidium) are assigned to Adendorfia miocenica fossil gen. et sp. nov. We also propose a new interpretation of some previously described fossil fungal taxa that we consider to be remnants of cephalothecoid ascomata.

Miocene palynoflora from the KRAM-P 218 leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland)

Abstract During a palynological analysis of four samples from the Bełchatów KRAM-P 218 collection of plant macroremains 95 fossil species of sporomorphs were identified. Among the non-pollen palynomorphs was the fossil species Desmidiaceaesporites cosmarioformis, previously not reported from fossil floras of Poland, most probably related to the zygospores of desmids. The pollen analysis indicates the presence of a freshwater body (probably an oxbow lake) and shows the dominant role of wetland, predominantly riparian vegetation, at the time of sedimentation. The riparian forests probably consisted of Carya, Pterocarya, Celtis, and Ulmus, accompanied by Alnus, Acer, Fraxinus, Juglans, Liquidambar, Vitis, Zelkova, and Salix. In mixed forests there probably were Fagus, Quercus, Carpinus, Eucommia, Corylus, Tilioideae, and conifers, as well as some thermophilous taxa (e.g. Castanea, Symplocos, Reevesia, Mastixiaceae, and plants producing pollen of the fossil species Tricolporopollenites pseudocingulum). Taxodium, Nyssa, and presumably Glyptostrobus and Alnus were components of swamp communities that might have overgrown the adjacent area with higher groundwater. Members of the families Ericaceae, Cyrillaceae, and Clethraceae, as well as Myrica and probably also Ilex, may have been components of swamp forests and bush swamps. Our analysis indicates that the climate was warm temperate and moderately wet. The palynoflora is most similar in composition to the spore-pollen spectra of the X climatic phase - the Nyssapollenites spore-pollen zone. Deposits bearing assemblages of the Nyssapollenites spore-pollen zone were deposited during the Sarmatian and early Pannonian. Our results are consistent with those from plant macroremains from the same collection.