Original paper
Sarmatian wetlands at the NW margin of the Pannonian Basin system (Gratkorn, Styrian Basin, Austria, late middle Miocene). Part 1. The leaf record
Hably, Lilla; Meller, Barbara
Palaeontographica Abteilung B Volume 295 Issue 4-6 (2017), p. 135 - 165
85 references
published: Nov 21, 2017
Abstract
The St. Stefan clay-pit at Gratkorn, at the north-western margin of the Styrian Basin, is an extraordinary fossil locality, due to its diverse and unique plant and animal records. The age of the plant-bearing sediment is Sarmatian, late Middle Miocene. Macroflora – both leaves and fruits – is rich in the locality. This paper provides a taxonomic work of the leaf flora as well as gives a summary of the flora, vegetation and climate. Aquatic vegetation is composed of Ceratophyllum schrotzburgense Hantke, Caldesia europaea Hably sp. nov., which is the first leaf record of Caldesia in Europe, Stratiotes sp., Hydrochariphyllum kvacekii Hably sp. nov., Hydrocharitaceae gen. et sp. indet, Potamogeton martinianus Sitar and Monocotyledonae gen. et sp. indet. In wetland habitats the following taxa existed: Pteris oeningensis Unger, Podocarpium podocarpum (A. Braun) Herendeen, Myrica lignitum (Unger) Saporta, Ulmus carpinoides Göppert emend. Menzel, cf. Alnus sp., Salix varians Göppert, Salix sp. 1., Populus balsamoides Göppert, Decodon sp., Acer integrilobum Weber sensu Walther, Asclepiadaceae vel Cucurbitaceae gen. et sp. indet. The zonal vegetation is represented by Buxus pliocenica Saporta et Marion.
Keywords
Gratkorn • Styrian Basin • Austria • Sarmatian • leaf flora • Caldesia leaf • aquatic vegetation • wetland vegetation