Araucaria grandifolia Feruglio from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina

Araucaria grandifolia Feruglio is emended based on new material, with cuticle preserved, found at the type locality within the Punta del Barco Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Santa Cruz Province. The morphology of the leaves, secondary xylem of the branches and cuticular analysis as seen under light and scanning and transmission electron microscopes allowed comparison of this taxon to living and fossil members of the Araucariaceae. It is confidently placed in Araucaria, section Columbea. Three of the four sections of Araucaria, with the exception of Intermedia, are represented in the fossil record of Patagonia. The Bunya section is already present in the Jurassic and the Columbea and Eutacta sections are registered from the Cretaceous. Columbea is the only section that survived in the form of two living species. Lectotypification of the original material is also proposed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.