A new cheirolepidiaceous conifer from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

A new fossil conifer, Pseudofrenelopsis glabra sp. nov., (Cheirolepidiaceae) is described based on a single specimen obtained from the Lower Cretaceous Yezo Group (Albian) of Hokkaido, Japan. The new species is characterized by cuticle possessing thin periclinal walls, a well-developed hypodermis, and absence of trichomes on internode and outer leaf surface. Recently, the author described Frenelopsis pombetsuensis from the Lower Cretaceous Yezo Group (Albian) of Hokkaido. The family Cheirolepidiaceae is a diagnostic taxon of the Ryoseki-type element that is reported only from the Ryoseki- and the Mixed-type floras. Thus Pseudofrenelopsis glabrais the second evidence of the Ryoseki-type element from Hokkaido.