Cretaceous Macrofloras of Eastern Otago, New-Zealand: Angiosperms

Abstract

Twenty-one taxa of plant megafossils are described from the mid Cretaceous Matakaea Group (Horse Range and Pukehiwitahi localities) and the Upper Cretaceous of the Taratu Formation (Shag Point, Cameron's Pit, and Clutha Mouth localities). One new species, Nothofagus melanoides, is formally described. The vegetation is interpreted as having been mixed deciduous angiosperm-conifer forest, with Araucariaceae the dominant gymnosperms. It grew at high southern latitudes which would have experienced several months of darkness during the winter.