ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Fossil leaves, flowers and fruits from the Late
Paleocene of Birney, southeast Montana, USA
1
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL., 32611-7800, USA
Submission date: 2025-06-22
Acceptance date: 2025-09-23
Online publication date: 2025-12-18
Publication date: 2025-12-18
HIGHLIGHTS
- Leaves, flowers, and fruits of the Birney fossil florule are illustrated and described.
- The florule is dominated by deciduous angiosperms, including Aesculus, Davidia and Zizyphoides.
- Newly described genera include Arthayesia, Birneyphyllum, Maniastrum, Kodrulia, Linguaflumenia, and Jinjianhuaia.
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
A new Paleocene megafossil plant assemblage is described from the Tongue River Member of
the Fort Union Formation of southeastern Montana. Although intensively collected and represented by about
250 specimens, the florule is low in diversity with only 11 species of leaves. Co-occurring flowers and fruits provide
additional evidence for reconstructing the plants. Common elements of the florule include Davidia antiqua, Aesculus
hickeyi, Zizyphoides flabella, and Porosia verrucosa. The florule lacks conifer remains, includes one fern, and is
dominated by deciduous angiosperms belonging to genera that were widespread across the northern hemisphere
during the Paleocene. In addition, six new angiosperm genera are recognized, including leaves of Arthayesia and
Birneyphyllum, flowers of Maniastrum and Kodrulia, and fruits of Linguaflumenia and Jinjianhuaia.
FUNDING
The first author received funding
from the Florida Museum Undergraduate Research
Internship Program.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors
have declared that no competing interests exist.
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