Cathaya vanderburghii Gossmann ex Winterscheid & Gossmann, 2017

Cathaya vanderburghii Gossmann ex Winterscheid & Gossmann , sp. nov. ( Figs 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 )

Cathaya vanderburghi Gossmann (1991: 13) , nom. nud.

Cathaya vanderburghi Gossmann ex Mai (1994: 208) , nom. inval.

Diagnosis:—Seed-cones of Cathaya vanderburghii differ from extant C. argyrophylla and fossil C. bergeri by mainly smaller and ovoid to conical cones with acute apex; number of ovuliferous scales in C. vanderburghii ca. 20, and 13–16 in C. argyrophylla , and 17–31 in C. bergeri .

Type:— GERMANY. North Rhine-Westphalia: former brown coal mine “Fortuna-Garsdorf” near Bergheim west of Cologne (holotype UTR12003–1), fig. 1 A, collected by J. van der Burgh in the 1980s, repository: palaeobotanical collections of the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Stratigraphy:—Early Pliocene, Zanclean; Kieseloolith Formation, Bergheim Subformation (“Rotton”); sandy drift deposits.

Description:—Megastrobili petiolate, symmetric, tapered, closed 14–45 mm long and 9–19 mm wide, base broad and rounded, apex acute, with ca. 20 imbricate cone-scales. Ovuliferous scales spirally arranged, abaxially convex, broad, semicircular at the upper margin, contracted into a small denticulate tip; basally small, laterally to the base with two wing-like extensions; median broader than long, 5–12 mm long, 7–18 mm wide; adaxially concave with smooth impressions of seeds and seed-wings visible. Bract scales short, ⅓ to ⅔ as long as seed scales, ligulate-spathulate, terminally triangular. Seeds winged, seed body obliquely ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm long and 1–1.2 mm broad, seed wing membranous and striated, dorsally and ventrally convex, 4.5–14 mm long and 2–4.5 mm broad.

Etymology:—The specific epithet is dedicated in honour of the Dutch palaeobotanist Johan van der Burgh, who worked on the Neogene floras from the Lower Rhine Basin and discovered the new species.

Occurrence:—Lower Rhine Basin in western Germany from early to late Pliocene in open-cast mines Fortuna-Garsdorf, Bergheim, and Hambach. In the Mediterranean, in north and central Italy from early to late Pliocene in terrestrial and marine sediments: Ca’Viettone, Candelo, Castellamonte, Castellengo, La Cassa, Sento/Val Chiusella, Meleto and Santa Barbara/Val d’Arno ( Mai 1994; Martinetto 2001a, 2001b; Fischer & Butzmann 2006; Bertini & Martinetto 2008).

Habitat:— Cathaya vanderburghii occurs in allochtonous carpological macrofossil accumulations of coniferous cones, and angiospermous fruits and seeds in fluviatile siliciclastic deposits. It was an element of mixed mesophytic and riparian forests, with the habitat on drier, well-drained sandy soils in the vicinity of the deposition environment. Associated taxa recorded with Cathaya vanderburghii are described by van der Burgh (1978, 1983).

Notes:—For morphological comparisons between seed-cones of C. vanderburghii with the Miocene species Cathaya bergeri ( Kirchheimer 1940: 279–281) W. Schneider (1981: 892) and the extant C. argyrophylla see table 1. Cathaya europaea Sveshnikova (1964: 130 ; pl. 11, fig. 14) is homotypic synonym of Keteleeria bergeri (Kirchh.) W.Schneider because it refers to the type material of Kirchheimer (1940: 279–281; fig. 1).

The species Larix austriaca ( Unger 1843: 70–72) Schimper (1870 –1872: 298–299) is regarded by Martinetto (2001) as a possible older synonym of the here treated C. vanderburghii . After Martinetto (2001b) the type-material of Unger (1843) is lost, and the drawings of cones by Unger (1843) are too badly preserved and provide no diagnostic morphological features because the drawings are based on abraded cones.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— GERMANY. North Rhine-Westphalia: former brown coal mine “Fortuna-Garsdorf” near Bergheim, west of Cologne ; early Pliocene: [UTR12003–2] to [UTR12003–45], collected by J. van der Burgh in the 1980s, repository: palaeobotanical collections of the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Utrecht, Netherlands .