A Leptosporangiate Fern Tempskya uemurae, sp. nov. (Tempskyaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) of Iwate Pref., Japan

Abstract

A new species of the Cretaceous leptosporangiate fern family Tempskyaceae, Tempskya uemurae sp. nov. from Iwate Prefecture, Japan, is described based on a silicified false stem. The age of the fossil is estimated as Late Cretaceous (Santonian). The new species is characterized by small rhizomes, very short internodes, and mostly parenchymatous cortex and pith. This is the second species of the genus from Japan. The two Tempskya species from Japan represent the latest records of the extinct family Tempskyaceae, which were widely distributed in the midlatitudes of the northern hemisphere during the Cretaceous.