Fossil wood of Piceoxylon burejense sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Zeya-Bureya Basin, Amur Region (Russian Far East)

A new species, Piceoxylon burejense sp. nov. (Pinaceae), is described from the Middle Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Zeya-Bureya Basin, Amur Region (Russian Far East) based on the fossil wood anatomy. The new species is characterized by a combination of anatomical wood features of the modern genera Picea and Larix. The fossil wood of Pinaceae was found in the Cretaceous deposits of the Amur Region for the first time.     

Fossil Wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulmus priamurica</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Ulmaceae) from the Miocene of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field,Amur Region,Russia

A new species, Ulmus priamurica sp. nov. (Ulmaceae), from the deposits of the Sazanka Formation (upper Middle–Upper Miocene) of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field (Amur Region, Russia) is described based on anatomical features of fossil wood. The new species shows some wood anatomical characters of the extant elms U. japonica and U. americana. Fossil wood of Ulmus was found in the Amur Region for the first time.     

Fossil wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus priamurensis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Miocene deposits of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field,Amur Region

New species of the pine fossil wood, Pinus priamurensis sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Sazanka Formation (upper Middle Miocene–Upper Miocene) of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field (Amur Region) is described. The new species shares some wood anatomical features with modern species of the subsection Pinus (section Pinus, subgenus Pinus). This is the first record of fossil wood of Pinus in the Amur Region.     

Fossil wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula erkovetskiensis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Betulaceae) from the Miocene of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field,Amur Region,Russia

A new species, Betula erkovetskiensis Blokhina et O.V. Bondarenko (Betulaceae), from the deposits of the Sazanka Formation (upper Middle?Upper Miocene) of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field (Amur Region, Russia) is described based on anatomical features of fossil wood. The new species shows some wood anatomical characters of the extant birch subgenus Betula, B. davurica, B. nigra (section Dahuricae), and B. papyrifera (section Betula). Fossil wood of Betula is found in the Amur Region for the first time.     

Fossil wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Laricioxylon erkovetskiense</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Miocene of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field,Amur Region,Russia

A new species, Laricioxylon erkovetskiense sp. nov. (Pinaceae) identified on the basis of anatomical features of fossil wood from the Sazanka Formation (upper Middle Miocene–Upper Miocene) of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field (Amur Region) is described. The new species shares some characters with the extant larches Larix cajanderi and L. olgensis.     

Fossil wood <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ginkgoxylon amurense</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Ginkgoaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Amur River area,Russian Far East

A new species, Ginkgoxylon amurense (Ginkgoaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous (middle Maastrichtian) of the Amur River area (Russian Far East) is described on the basis of fossil wood anatomy. Ginkgoalen fossil wood is found in Russia for the first time.     

Fossil wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Abietoxylon shakhtnaense</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene deposits of Southeastern Sakhalin

A new species, Abietoxylon shakhtnaense (Pinaceae), was erected on the basis of fossil wood anatomical characters from the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene deposits of Southeastern Sakhalin. A. shakhtnaense is similar to wood of firs Abies sachalinensis, A. magnifica, and A. grandis. Fossil wood with features characterizing fir anatomical structure was found in Sakhalin for the first time.     

Fossil wood of Keteleerioxylon kamtschatkiense sp. nov. (Pinaceae) from the Cretaceous of the northwestern Kamchatka Peninsula

A new species, Keteleerioxylon kamtschatkiense, is described from the Cretaceous of the northwestern Kamchatka Peninsula on the basis of wood anatomy. Fossil wood showing anatomical characters of the modern genus Keteleeria is described from the Cretaceous of the Russian Far East for the first time.     

Fossil wood Sequoioxylon dimyense sp. nov. (Cupressaceae) from the upper cretaceous of Zeya-Bureya basin, Russian Far East

A new species Sequoioxylon dimyense (Cupressaceae) is described from the Middle Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) deposits of the Zeya-Bureya basin (Russian Far East) based on the fossil wood anatomy. The new species is characterized by combination of anatomical wood characters of the modern representatives of the subfamily Sequoioideae.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arkharavia heterocoelica</Emphasis> gen. et sp. nov., a new sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the Far East of Russia

A new sauropod dinosaur, Arkharavia heterocoelica gen. et sp. nov., from the Maastrichtian (Udurchukan Formation) of the Amur Region, Russia, is described based on a tooth and several isolated anterior caudal vertebrae. It is distinguished by the saddle-shaped centrum and high neural spine of the anterior caudal vertebrae. Certain structural characters of the new genus are in common with Chubutisaurus insignis (Titanosauriformes) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina.     

New jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and similar beetles from the Cretaceous and Early Paleogene of Asia

A new genus and two new species of jewel beetles are described, Andakhudukia ponomarenkoi gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia and Metabuprestium ustkivdense sp. nov. from the lowermost Paleogene of the Amur Region. In addition, four new monotypic genera that share some features with jewel beetles are described: Cretoelaterium kazanovense gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Eastern Transbaikalia and Cretopoena gratshevi gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia have been referred to the families Elateridae and Eucnemidae; Cretofalselaterium baiankhongoricum gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia and Cretogermen turonicum gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Cretaceous of Kazakhstan have been erected for isolated elytra and placed in Coleoptera incertae sedis.     

First record of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chadronoxylon</Emphasis> fossil wood (Angiospermae,Dicotyledones) from Russia

A new species, Chadronoxylon sakhalinensis sp. nov. (Angiospermae, Dicotyledones), from the Upper Cretaceous of Sakhalin (Russian Far East) is described based on the anatomical characters of fossil wood. The fossil wood of Chadronoxylon is found in Russia for the first time.     

A new conifer species, Mesocyparis rosanovii sp. nov. (Cupressaceae, Coniferales), and Transberingian floristic connections

A new species, Mesocyparis rosanovii sp. nov. from the Lower Paleocene of the Amur Region, Russia, is characterized by a combination of advanced and primitive features: mixed opposite-alternate branching of vegetative shoots, leafy microsporophylls, as well as a relatively high number of sporangia per microsporophyll and seeds per cone scale. The Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene genus Mesocyparis McIver et Basinger, which obviously embraces a natural group of closely related species, was a significant component of the vegetation in the middle and high latitudes of eastern Asia and western North America. The range of the genus testifies to terrestrial Transberingian connections between the continents during the Cretaceous warming phases.     

Fossil wood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Protocedroxylon primoryense</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Coniferales) from the Lower Cretaceous of southern Primorye (Russian Far East)

New species Protocedroxylon primoryense (Coniferales) is described from the Lower Cretaceous of southern Primorye based on the fossil wood anatomy. Fossil wood of Protocedroxylon was found in the Russian Far East for the first time.     

Structure and affinities of the petrified plants from the cretaceous of Northern Japan and Saghalien XIIIYubaristrobus gen. nov., A new Taxodiaceous cone from the upper cretaceous of Hokkaido

Yubaristrobus is a new genus of the Taxodiaceae based on a permineralized seed cone from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido. The type species,Y. nakajimae sp. nov., is characterized by peltate bract-scale complexes consisting of a completely-fused bract and scale. The bract-scale complexes are spirally arranged as in most taxodiaceous genera. Their vascular arrangement is specialized and unique in the Taxodiaceae and suggests a relationship with the Cupressaceae. Consecutive number from the previous paper (Ohsawa, M. Nishida and H. Nishida, 1992b).     

Campanian flora of the Bureya River basin (Late Cretaceous of the Amur Region)

A general characterization of the Campanian flora of the Amur Region is provided based on a floristic assemblage from the upper member of the Kundur Formation (Amur Region) and its stratigraphic analogue, the Taipinglinchang Formation (northern China). New species of Trochodendroides and Celastrinites are described; and a new combination, Arthollia tschernyschewii, is proposed.     

A new fossil Cedrus species from the early Miocene of northwestern Turkey and its possible affinities

A new fossil species, Cedrus anatolica n. sp., is described from the early Miocene Hançili Formation of Turkey. All analyses were performed on the thin sections housed at Istanbul University – Cerrahpasa. The new species was interpreted as having the closest affinity with the modern Mediterranean species Cedrus atlantica (Endlicher) Manetti ex Carriere and Cedrus libani Richard. The evolutionary line shows some changes in wood anatomy. From the early Cretaceous to the early Miocene, the pits on the tangential walls of the tracheids gradually decreased, the height of rays increased and the number of epithelial cells in the traumatic resin canals increased slightly. These features are similar in three modern species; other wood anatomical features are also quite stable among the new fossil and modern species.     

Wood anatomy of the subfamily Crotonoideae (Euphorbiaceae s.s.) from India: systematic implications with special reference to the taxonomic delimitation of Givotia and Vernicia

The wood anatomy of 15 representative species belonging to 12 genera of nine tribes of the subfamily Crotonoideae (Euphorbiaceae) are comprehensively described with focus on systematic implications. In addition, ecological and evolutionary aspects are evaluated. An identification key to the species based on wood anatomical features is presented. The wood microstructure of the tribes was found to be considerably heterogeneous reflecting an unnatural classification of the subfamily. However, the results confirm the generic relationship within subtribe Aleuritinae and tribe Ricinodendreae. Vernicia and Givotia may be recognized based on wood anatomical and morphological characters. The tribes Micrandreae and Adenoclineae have considerable similarity in wood anatomy. The wood structure of the monogeneric tribes Trigonostemoneae and Geloneae idicate a close relationship with the tribe Crotoneae.