Araucaria haastii

Araucaria haastii
Temporal range: Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Araucaria
Species: †A. haastii
Binomial name
Araucaria haastii
Ettingshausen (1887)

Araucaria haastii is an extinct species of conifer tree formerly native to New Zealand. A large number of fossilised tree specimens from the Araucariaceae family have been found in New Zealand, but in many cases the level of preservation is not sufficient to reliably distinguish between Araucaria species (related to extant modern trees such as the Norfolk pine) and Agathis species (related to New Zealand's iconic Kauri tree).

Araucaria haastii is known from some of the better preserved fossils, found in Cretaceous sediments from several sites in the South Island. These fossils show sufficiently detailed morphology and cuticular structure in the leaves to allow this species not only to be definitively identified as an Araucaria, but also to place it within the Intermedia section of this genus, meaning that its closest living relative is the Klinki pine found in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. North Island fossil specimens from the same time period appear to be from a closely related but slightly distinct species of Araucaria, though the relatively poorer quality of the fossils means that the identification is not so precise. Related species of tree are also known from fossils found in Tasmania and South America, reflecting the broad Gondwanan distribution of the Araucariaceae family.[1][2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Edwards BA. Cretaceous Plants from Kaipara, NZ. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. Vol. 56. 1926.
  2. ↑ Bose MN. Araucaria haastii Ettingshausen from Shag Point, New Zealand. Palaeobotanist (1973).
  3. ↑ Stockey RA. The Araucariaceae: An evolutionary perspective. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 1982, 37(1-2):133-154. doi: 10.1016/0034-6667(82)90041-0
  4. ↑ Pole M. The record of Araucariaceae macrofossils in New Zealand. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 2008; 32(4): 405-426. doi: 10.1080/03115510802417935
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