The pteridophyte Ashicaulis livingstonensis(Osmundaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Williams Point, Livingston Island, Antarctica

The presence of Ashicaulis livingstonensis sp. nov. in the Upper Cretaceous Williams Point Beds of Livingston Island, Antarctica, represents an important new record of the Osmundaceae in the southern high latitudes. It extends the range of Ashicaulis to the Late Cretaceous. Ashicaulis livingstonensis sp. nov. comprises a small stem surrounded by a mantle of petiole bases and roots. Leaf gaps are narrow, rapidly closing, or occasionally incomplete, and the stem is best regarded as ectophloic siphonostele. The anatomy of Ashicaulis livingstonensis suggests an erect, probably mound‐forming fern.

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