Eocene flora and trace fossils from the Hruby Regiel section in the Tatra Mountains (Poland): Taxonomic revision of the Wiktor Kuźniar fossil plant collection
Authors
Grzegorz Worobiec
Department of Palaeobotany, W. Szafer Institute of Botany PAS, Lubicz 46, PL-31-512 Kraków
Renata Jach
Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry 2a, PL-30-063 Kraków
Elżbieta Machaniec
Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry 2a, PL-30-063 Kraków
Alfred Uchman
Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry 2a, PL-30-063 Kraków
Elżbieta Worobiec
Department of Palaeobotany, W. Szafer Institute of Botany PAS, Lubicz 46, PL-31-512 Kraków
Keywords:
Fossil leaves, Fossil fruits, Trace fossils, Foraminifera, Biostratigraphy, Palaeoecology, Palaeoclimate, Late Eocene, Western Carpathians
Abstract
Latest Eocene plant macrofossils and trace fossils collected a century ago by Wiktor Kuźniar are revised and their stratigraphical and palaeoecological meaning is re-considered. They derive from marine limestones and marls cropping out on the northern slope of the Hruby Regiel mountain in the Western Tatra Mountains. Leaves belonging to the families Fagaceae and Lauraceae and fruits of the palm Nypa are recognized. The co-occurrence of the planktonic foraminifer taxa Chiloguembelina cf. gracillima and Globigerinatheca cf. index and fruits of Nypa suggests a latest Eocene age of the fossil flora. The plant assemblage is typical of paratropical or subtropical evergreen forests in a warm and humid subtropical climate, recent counterparts of which occur in southeast Asia. The presence of Nypa is characteristic of mangroves. The good state of preservation of the leaves suggests coastline proximity during sedimentation of the plant-bearing deposits.
