Nitophyllites bohemicus WILDE, KVAČEK et BOGNER

Kvaček, Zlatko & Teodoridis, Vasilis, 2011, The Late Eocene Flora Of Kučlín Near Bílina In North Bohemia Revisited, Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 67 (3 - 4), pp. 83-144 : 92

Nitophyllites bohemicus WILDE, KVAČEK et BOGNER

Pl. 3, figs 4, 11

2005 Nitophyllites bohemicus WILDE, KVAČEK et BOGNER , p. 170, fig. 10.

Fragments of large cordate leaves and rounded apices with characteristic parallel venation (for more details together with comparison with similar fossils from Messel and extant representatives see Wilde et al. (2005).

D i s c u s s i o n: Leaves of the Araceae left delicate remains in many cases disintegrated into small pieces as the thin lamina folded and vent into pieces. The same preservation mode is seen in the generitype (Iljinskaya 1960, 1963) which was originally interpreted as remains of algae. Additionl material found at Kučlín confirms that such remains are large pieces of the Araceae foliage recognizable according to characteristic pattern of higher-order venation. Because of overlapping morphology among different extant genera, the affinity of this morphotype to particular living genera has not been recognized even in cases of much better preservation of Messel material ( Wilde et al. 2005).

The occurrence of Nitophyllites at Kučlín documents helophytic araceous plants typical of warm climate today. Other fossil occurrences of this group are extremely rare, in the Eocene of North America, and in the Palaeocene– –Eocene of Kazakhstan and Far East. The Araceae are also well represented by foliage at the Middle Eocene site Messel in Germany, but by different representatives of this family.

M a t e r i a l: KUC 431, NM G 7778.