Ficoxylon fusiforme (Moraceae), a New Species from Upper Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone in Southern Egypt | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Botany | ||
| Article 4, Volume 62, Issue 1, January 2022, Pages 31-44 PDF (4.57 M) | ||
| Document Type: Regular issue (Original Article) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejbo.2021.53712.1594 | ||
| Author | ||
| Zainab M. El-Noamani* | ||
| El-Saadawi Lab., Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| A NEW species of Ficoxylon Kaiser (Moraceae) is described from Upper Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone in the Aswan area, southern Egypt. The new species is designated Ficoxylon fusiforme. This is the third report of a Cretaceous wood attributed to Ficoxylon spp. worldwide, the other two being F. cretaceum Schenk and?F. sp. of Kräusel, both also from Egypt. Species of Ficoxylon are common in the tertiary, from the Paleocene to the Pliocene. An emended generic diagnosis is proposed for Ficoxylon, which was erected in 1880 with few details. The new species is compared with the 18 currently recognized species of Ficoxylon/Ficus. It is distinguished by a combination of characters: predominantly solitary, few, relatively wide vessels; axial parenchyma bands 3–8 cells wide; 2–7 seriate, spindle-shaped, closely spaced, and slightly heterocellular rays; and thin-walled, nonseptate fibers. Comments are made on the Egyptian fossil remains of Moraceae and on all Egyptian Cretaceous wood taxa reported to date. Preliminary biogeographic and climatic implications are made. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Aswan area; Egypt; Ficoxylon; Late Cretaceous; Moraceae; Nubian Sandstone | ||
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