ANATOMICALLY PRESERVED GLOSSOPTERIS LEAVES FROM THE BOWEN AND SYDNEY BASINS, AUSTRALIA

Anatomically preserved vegetative Glossopteris leaves in silicified pe at deposits of Late Permian age are described from the Bowen Basin of Queensland and the Sydney Basin of New South Wales, Australia. Glossop teris homevalensis Pigg et McLoughlin, sp. nov., a distinctive new spe cies from the Fort Cooper Coal Measures, Bowen Basin, is characterized by mesarch vascular bundles with parenchymatous bundle sheaths, a pro minent midrib, the occasional presence of secondary vascular tissues, a differentiated mesophyll, an ad-and abaxial hypodermis of isodiametr ic-cuboidal cells with abundant fibers, epidermal cells with sinuous a nticlinal margins and simple, slightly sunken stomata. Anatomically pr eserved leaves similar to G. schopfii Pigg, originally described from the central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica are also documented from the Bowen and Sydney basins. Those from the Burngrove Formation (Bowen Basin) differ slightly from Antarctic G. schopfii in size, and possess more numerous bundle sheath fibers and sometimes a more pronou nced palisade mesophyll. Those from Katoomba (Sydney Basin) are also s imilar but may differ in some cuticular details. Also occurring in the Katoomba and Burngrove floras are leaves resembling G. skaarensis Pig g, a second species originally described from Antarctica. The presence of G. schopfii and cf. G. skaarensis in Australia as well as in the T ransantarctic Mountains demonstrates their widespread distribution in eastern Gondwana. In contrast, the apparent restriction of G. homevale nsis to a single locality in the Bowen Basin may reflect a distinct, m ore local distribution of a floristic assemblage unlike those typical of other Australian and Antarctic floras. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B. V.