Abstract Detail

Paleobotany

Jud, Nathan A [1].

Fossil woods from Ocú Panama.

In 1963 Stern and Eyde published a short report in Science introducing a newly recognized fossil forest from Panama. The silicified woods were collected near the town of Ocu, Panama and many are very well preserved. Since the initial study, there has been essentially no further research on these woods, despite their potential significance for understanding climate and forest composition following the uplift of Central America in the Late Paleogene and earliest Neogene. I investigated new collections from the same area and recognize 10 new dicot wood types and one palm stem. Affinities at the Family/Order level include Ericales, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Moraceae, Sapindales, and Sapotaceae. Analysis of functional traits supports the conclusion that these woods grew under tropical rainforest conditions. The woods lack distinct growth rings, some have very large mean vessel diameters (>200 micrometers), very large vulnerability index values, and a wide range of specific gravity values. The woods are found as abundant isolated pieces weathering out of topsoil (many over than 30 cm in diameter). To date, they have not been found intact within the host sediment, so the geologic age has been difficult to pin down, but field work is ongoing. Nevertheless, the large size of the logs, their angularity, and their rare earth element profiles all suggest autochthonous to parautochthonous preservation, and an in-situ forest may be awaiting paleontologists in the field. Together, these attributes are consistent with a moist to humid lowland tropical forest in Panama during the late Eocene-early Miocene.

1 - University of Florida, Dickinson Hall, 1659 Museum Rd., Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States

Keywords:
Paleogene
Neotropics
Fossils
anatomy
wood.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 28, Mesozoic to Pleistocene Paleobotany
Location: 102/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 3:00 PM
Number: 28007
Abstract ID:379
Candidate for Awards:None