Notes on Other Fossils of Indeterminate Status
Malvaceae Info (Home)
Fossil Index
These are fossils for which I do not have complete information on what plant
part is represented. In many cases at least some of the material is leaf
material.
Note that Albian, Cenomanian and Santonian fossils are too old to be
plausible malvaceous fossils. If the estimates of the age of the family are
correct then the only Cretaceous fossils that can belong are those of Campanian
and Maastrichtian age. Fossils excluded on these grounds are
Apeibopsis
Apeibopsis is presumably thought to be similar to Apeiba. It
is listed as a fossil tiliaceous genus in online copies of old German and
Hungarian language encylopaedias.
Other published names are Apeibopsis(?) descloesii,
Apeibopsis gaudini, Apeibopsis heerii and Apeibopsis
laharpei Heer. The first is now identified as Nyssa bilinica [1]. The last might be styracaceous.
Some leaf material placed in Apeibopsis has since been transferred to
Nyssa alata (Cornacae) [a]..
Bombacites
Bombax
Bombax oblongifolium Ettinghausen and Bombax salmaliaefolium
Ettinghausen represent Nyssa bilinica (Cornaceae).
Byttneria
Note that Buettneria is also a genus of labyrinthodont amphibians.
Dombeyopsis
Dombeyopsis lobata Unger is recorded from the Miocene and Oligocene
of Germany, the Miocene of France, and the Early Miocene of Bohemia.
Dombeyopsis trivialis and Dombeyopsis obtusa are recorded from
the Hell Creek Formation (Maastrichtian) of the Cretaceous of the United
States; the latter at least is thought to be platanalean.
Other names that have been used are Dombeyopsis aequalifolia,
Dombeyopsis affinis (leaf), Dombeyopsis hybisciflora and
Dombeyopsis nebrascensis. Additionally Dombeya novi-mundi Hickey
is recorded from the Eocene Golden Valley Fm of North Dakota.
Grewiopsis
The fossil Grewiopsis is not the same as the living
Grewiopsis; the latter is a synonym of Desplatzia The fossils to
which the name have been given were presumably thought to have been related to
Grewia, but like much fossil material assigned to Grewia, much of
this is not malvaceous.
The name Grewiopsis dubium has also been used. I suspect that these
are also not malvaceous.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus roanensis Brown is reported from Eocene Green RiverFm of ...
Malva
Malva hesperia Knowlton is reported from the Miocene Latah Fm of ...
Ochroma
Ochroma murata Brown is reported from the Eocene Green River Fm of
...
Penosphyllum
Penosphyllum cordatum (aka Pterospermites cordatus) is found
in the Lower Palaeocene Fort Union Fm of ...
Pterospermites
In addition Pterospermum conforme Hollick is recorded from the
Maestrichtian Chignik Fm of Alaska, and Pterospermum praeobliquum Chaney
and Sanborn from the Eocene Fisher Fm of ...
Sterculia
Sterculia cinnamomea, Sterculia geinitzii, Sterculia
grandiflora, Sterculia laurina and Sterculia limbata are
reported from the Cretaceous to Miocene of Europe. (Sterculia
grandiflora and Sterculia laurina are not the same as the living
species of the same names). I am skeptical that these represent genuine
specimens of Sterculia.
- Sterculia berryana Knowlton is recorded from the Paleocene Raton Fm
of the southwestern USA.
- Sterculia cliffwoodensis Berry is recorded from the Campanian
Magothy Fm of ...
- Sterculia coriacea Knowlton is recorded from the Maestrichtian
Vermejo Fm of ...
- Sterculia(?) heterodonta Knowlton is recorded from the
Paleocene Dawson Fm of ...
- Sterculia knowltoni Berry is recorded from the Eocene Wilcox Fm of
...
- Sterculia labruscoides Berry is recorded from the Eocene Lisbon Fm
of ...
- Sterculia libbeyi Knowlton is recorded from the Paleocene Denver Fm
of Colorado.
- Sterculia modesta Lesquereux is recorded from the Paleocene Denver
Fm of ...
- Sterculia ovata Potbury is recorded from the Oligocene La Porte Fm
of ...
- Sterculia prelabrusca Hollick is recorded from the Campanian Magothy
Fm of ...
- Sterculia puryearensis Berry is recorded from the Eocene Lagrange,
Grenada and Wilcox Fms of ...
- Sterculia rameisiana Sap. is reported from the Pliocene of France
[3]
- Sterculia rigida Lesquereux is recorded from the Oligocene
Florissant Fm of ...
- Sterculia saportanea Knowlton is recorded from the Paleocene Denver
Fm of ...
- Sterculia snowii Lesquereux is recorded from the Campanian Magothy
and Matawan Fms and the Maastrichtian Ripley Fm of .. (The same name is applied
to material from the Cenomanian Dakota Grp and Turonian Raritan Fm.)
- Sterculia subtilia MacGinitie is recorded from the Early and Midle
Eocene of Wyoming.
- Sterculia tenuiloba is reported from the Tertiary of France. [2]
- Sterculia variabilis Sap. is recorded from the Santonian to Early
Campanian Patoot Fm of ...
- Sterculia vindobonensis Ett. is recorded from the Pliocene of
France. [3]
- Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry and Sterculia zavalana Berry are
recorded from the Eocene Wilcox Fm of ...
References
- Kvacek et al, Early Miocene freshwater and swamp
ecosystems of the Most Basin (northern Bohemia) with particular reference to
the Bílina Mine section, J. Czech. Geol. Soc. 49(1-2): (2004)
- Saporta, Études sur La Végétation
du Sud-Est de la France a :l'Êpoque Tertiaire , Ann. Sci. Nat. 4, 17: 272
(1862)
- Charbonnel, Essai d'une monographie géobotanique
des monts du Cantal, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 60: CXXXI-CXXXIX (1913)
Bibliography
- Eyde, Richard H; Fossil record and ecology of Nyssa
(Cornaceae), The Botanical Review; April 1, 1997;
Malvaceae Info (Home)
Fossil Index
© 2005, 2006, 2007 Stewart R. Hinsley