Rhaetian strata from the Nayband Formation of the Tabas block, East- Central Iran, were studied palynologically. The materialexamined contained moderately diverse and well-preserved dinoflagellate cyst assemblages which lead to the identification ofRhaetogonyaulax rhaetica Zone. The assigned age of this dinozone (Rhaetian) is justified by plant fossils such as Equisetitesarenaceus, Scytophyllum...

The continuing study of early angiosperms from the Yixian Formation (approximately 125 Ma) of northeastern China has yielded a second early angiosperm genus. This report is a detailed account of this early flowering plant and recognizes earlier reports of similar fossils from Russia and China. Entire plants, including roots, stems, and branches terminating in fruits are presented and reconstruc...

Middle Jurassic (Bajocian-Bathonian) Sphenophyta fossils of the silicified level peats of the Pabdana Coal Mine (Kerman) recovered. Four new species of Sphenophyta described for the first time. They include Equisetites pabdanaii sp. nov., Equisetites sparseii sp. nov., Equisetites hojedkii sp. nov. and Equisetites irregularii sp. nov.,. Descriptions of the above mentioned new species has been d...

The Kashkan Formation (Paleocene to Middle Eocene), consists of conglomerate, sandstone, and siltstone in the Zagros Folded zone, southwest Iran. Type of the sedimentary facies, architectural elements and trace fossils show that Kashkan deposits were formed in a low sinuosity braided stream system, with north to south flow direction. The formation displays coarsening-upward succession reflects ...

Plant and associated insect-damage diversity in the western U.S.A. decreased significantly at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary and remained low until the late Paleocene. However, the Mexican Hat locality (ca. 65 Ma) in southeastern Montana, with a typical, low-diversity flora, uniquely exhibits high damage diversity on nearly all its host plants, when compared to all known local and reg...

Plant fossils in the Early Devonian Beartooth Butte Formation (Wyoming, USA) are colonized by microconchid encrusters which are found on several plant taxa, at two fossil localities in the formation, and whose tube coil diameters range from 230 to 1170 lm. Colonization is densest on broad Drepanophycus devonicus stems where microconchid individuals encompassing broad size ranges co-occur in clo...

More than a decade of phylogenetic research has yielded a well-sampled, strongly supported hypothesis of relationships within the large ( > 4000 species) plant family Acanthaceae. This hypothesis points to intriguing biogeographic patterns and asymmetries in sister clade diversity but, absent a time-calibrated estimate for this evolutionary history, these patterns have remained unexplored. Here...