Cuticular characters adapted to volcanic stress in a new Cretaceous cycad leaf from Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

The cuticle of a new cycad, Pseudoctenis ornata Archangelsky et al., sp. nov. is described and discussed in relation to the physical paleoenvironment in which the plant lived. The specimens occur in the Early Cretaceous Baquero Formation, near Estancia El Verano in the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. A detailed stratigraphic section records four facies, namely (1) fluvial channel, (2) flood plain, (3) lacustrine, and (4) flat and extended plains. A detail of each facies is provided. Pseudoctenis cuticles are found in the flood plain facies; the other components of the plant association are Gleichenites, Araucaria and Taeniopteris . The depositional history of this succession is related to a braided river that periodically received volcanic ash. Plants grew until complete burial by ash. Leaves of Pseudoctenis are pinnate, hypostomatic, with polycyclic stomata that form ill-defined rows. Abundant papillae and hair bases are present, especially on the lower cuticle. Comparisons are made with other Pseudoctenis species found in the same formation, and in other regions of the world. It is suggested that the paleoenvironment had a strong influence on the vegetation, especially the ash fall, and that it may have played a role in the formation of xeromorphic structures that characterize several gymnosperms present in this stratigraphic unit, including Pseudoctenis ornata . The lack of burning features on the cuticle suggests a cold ash fall. This fall probably was responsible for changes in edaphic patterns and atmospheric conditions that governed the growth and distribution of plant communities during the deposition of the Baquero Formation.