PALEOCENE GYMNOSPERMS FROM MOUNT SOMERS, NEW-ZEALAND

Thirteen conifer macrofossils and a gymnospermous leaf of uncertain af finity are documented from the early-mid Paleocene of the Mount Somers coal mine, Canterbury, New Zealand. Podocarpaceae are prominent and d iverse. Two taxa are formally described as new genera of Podocarpaceae ; Mumu somerensis gen. et sp. nov. and Tiotio imbricatus gen, et sp, n ov. A second species of Kakahuia, K. drinnanii, is described. There ar e also two species of Prumnopitys; P. limaniae sp. nov. and P. sp. 'Mt Somers'. A further five taxa of Podocarpaceae are informally describe d. Shoots with decussately-arranged scale leaves are identified as Lib ocedrus cf. L. bidwillii (Cupressaceae). Paahake papillatus gen, et sp . nov. is compared with Sciadopitys (Taxodiaceae) and Torreya (Taxacea e). A single small piece of cuticle belongs in the Araucariaceae and i s tentatively identified as Araucaria. An additional new genus and spe cies, Hoiki mcqueenii gen. et sp. nov., has an unusual epidermal morph ology with transversely oriented stomates but is of unknown affinity. These species grew in a elastic swamp where Podocarpaceae formed one o f the major elements. The Libocedrus and Prumnopitys specimens are the oldest macrofossil records of a conifer genus extant in New Zealand. New terms are introduced for stomatal distribution on conifer leaves.