Conifers from the Upper Cretaceous of Cape Lamb, Vega Island, Antarctica

A fragment of an araucarian ovuliferous cone, araucarian leaves and podocar paceous wood are described from Upper Cretaceous strata exposed at Cape Lam b, Vega Island, Antarctica. The wood fragment and the reproductive cone com e from the middle part of the early Maastrichtian K2 unit whereas the leave s referred to a new species, Araucaria antarctica, were recovered from the younger (mid?) Maastrichtian K3 unit (Sandwich Bluff Member of the Lopez de Bertodano Formation). These are the first plant megafossils to be describe d in detail for this locality and represent components of a Late Cretaceous forest community growing under cold-temperate conditions. The findings rep orted herein highlight the potential value of the fossiliferous sequence ex posed on Vega Island, which has not yet been fully investigated, and provid e insights into the diversity and structure of the high latitude, Late Cret aceous conifer-dominated floras. (C) 2001 Academic Press.