Quercus furuhjelmi
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Species:
†Q. furuhjelmi
Binomial name
†Quercus furuhjelmi

Quercus furuhjelmi was a type of 'brown (or chestnut) oak' that lived in the Paleogene period. It is only known by its fossil remains, which have been found in Kazakhstan and Alaska.[1][2]

According to some authorities (Trelease, 1924),[3] they were related to the white oaks, subgenus Lepidobalanus (or Leucobalanus) while others relate them to the Heterobalanus of East Asia.[3]

Chestnut oaks are a seemingly polyphyletic group. The chestnut oaks of East Asia (for example Q. crispula Blume) have been placed in the subgenus Heterobalanus,[3] while a chestnut oak from western North America – Q. sadleriana R.Br.ter – is considered by some to be a member of the Leucobalanus subgenus and by others to be in the Heterobalanus subgenus.[3]

Comparison of the brown leaves of the chestnut tree and the brown oaks does not indicate any fundamental distinction between the foliage of these groups, although some species of heterobalanus have some pointed teeth, which are absent in Leucobalanus. Some specimens of Q. furuhjelmi also had some sharp teeth, which suggests that this species was probably related to Heterobalanus.[4][3]

References

  1. ↑ Bruch, Angela A; Zhilin, Sergey G (2006). "Miocene macroflora of Ashutas (Kazakhstan)". PANGAEA. doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.526586. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Palynology of Eocene strata in the Sagavanirktok and Canning Formations on the North Slope of Alaska". Palynology 26(1). December 2002. pp. 59–93. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, Issues 1101-1108. 1980. p. 32. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via books.google.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "Ecological Relationships: Neogene History of the California Oaks" (PDF). fs.fed.us. Retrieved 21 May 2018. Several specimens of the early and middle Miocene Alaskan Q. furuhjelmi Heer are definitely bristle-tipped (Wolfe and Tanai)
  • Wolfe, J. A. & Tanai. 1980. U.S.Geol.Survey 'Ecological Relationships: Neogene History of the California Oaks'
  • Paleobiology Collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Specimen catalogue number USNM PAL 208403, 'Quercus furuhjelmi Heer'
  • 'The American Oaks', William Trelease, pub. Cramer, 1924


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.