Cycadeoidea maccafferyi G.W.Rothwell et Stockey

Plant Fossil Names Registry Number: PFN002657

Act LSID: urn:lsid:plantfossilnames.org:act:2657

Authors: G. W. Rothwell & R. A. Stockey

Rank: species

Reference: Rothwell, G. W. & Stockey, R. A. (2002): Anatomically preserved Cycadeoidea (Cycadeoidaceae), with a reevaluation of systematic characters for the seed cones of Bennettitales. – American Journal of Botany 89(9): 1447–1458., link

Page of description: 1448

Illustrations or figures: figs 1–26

Types

Original diagnosis/description

Ovulate cones, up to 7.8 cm long and 3.7–7.6 cm wide (exclusive of bracts); displaying small domeshaped receptacle with anastomosing vascular bundles. Receptacle with resinous cells; interseminal scales with 1–2 resin canals; resinous tissues absent from ovulate sporophylls. Sporophylls and interseminal scales 2.0–5.3 cm long. Seeds 12–19 mm long, 2.1–4.1 mm wide, with micropylar canal terminating just below apices of 5–6 encircling interseminal scales; round at apex, becoming distinctly 4–5 winged at base of micropylar tube. Wings produced both by sclerotesta and sarcotesta; greatly accentuated by sarcotesta apically, diminishing basally, absent from chalaza. Sporophyll with highly convoluted vascular strand immediately below seed; straight basally.

Etymology

The specific epithet maccafferyi is proposed for Dane McCaffery, Nanaimo, British Columbia, who generously provided the holotype specimen for study.

Stratigraphy

Cretaceous, Upper Cretaceous, Campanian
Haslam Formation, early Campanian

Locality

Canada
shale pits at the Brannen Lake fossil locality (49°12′16″ N, 124°06′01″ W; [Universal Transverse Mercator Grid] UTM coordinates 10U DK 198495) about 3 km west of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia