Notes on Other Fossils of Indeterminate Status
Malvaceae Info (Home)
Fossil Index
These are fossils for which I do not have complete information on what plant
part is represented. In many cases at least some of the material is leaf
material.
Note that Albian, Cenomanian and Santonian fossils are too old to be
plausible malvaceous fossils. If the estimates of the age of the family are
correct then the only Cretaceous fossils that can belong are those of Campanian
and Maastrichtian age. Fossils excluded on these grounds are
Apeibopsis
Apeibopsis is presumably thought to be similar to Apeiba. It
is listed as a fossil tiliaceous genus in online copies of old German and
Hungarian language encylopaedias.
Other published names are Apeibopsis(?) descloesii,
Apeibopsis gaudini, and Apeibopsis laharpei Heer. The first is
now identified as Nyssa bilinica [1]. The last might
be styracaceous.
Some leaf material placed in Apeibopsis has since been transferred to
Nyssa alata (Cornacae) [a]..
Bombacites
Bombax
Bombax oblongifolium Ettinghausen and Bombax salmaliaefolium
Ettinghausen represent Nyssa bilinica (Cornaceae).
Bombax menjae Ett. & Gard., Bombax sagorianum Ett.,
Bombax tenuinerve Ett. and Gard. and Salmalia borealis Ett. and
Gard. are recorded in the Alum Bay Flora of England.
Byttneria
Note that Buettneria is also a genus of labyrinthodont amphibians.
Dombeyopsis
Dombeyopsis trivialis and Dombeyopsis obtusa are recorded from
the Hell Creek Formation (Maastrichtian) of the Cretaceous of the United
States; the latter at least is thought to be platanalean.
Other names that have been used are Dombeyopsis aequalifolia,
Dombeyopsis affinis (leaf), Dombeyopsis hybisciflora and
Dombeyopsis nebrascensis. Additionally Dombeya novi-mundi Hickey
is recorded from the Eocene Golden Valley Fm of North Dakota.
Grewiopsis
The fossil Grewiopsis is not the same as the living
Grewiopsis; the latter is a synonym of Desplatzia The fossils to
which the name have been given were presumably thought to have been related to
Grewia, but like much fossil material assigned to Grewia, much of
this is not malvaceous.
The name Grewiopsis dubium has also been used. I suspect that these
are also not malvaceous.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus roanensis Brown is reported from Eocene Green RiverFm of
Wyoming
Malva
Malva hesperia Knowlton is reported from the Miocene Latah Fm of ...
Ochroma
Ochroma murata Brown is reported from the Eocene Green River Fm of
Wyoming
Penosphyllum
Penosphyllum cordatum (aka Pterospermites cordatus) is found
in the Lower Palaeocene Fort Union Fm of ...
Pterospermites
Pterospermites is applied to plant fossils (mostly leaves) thought to
be related to Pterospermum.
In addition Pterospermum conforme Hollick is recorded from the
Maestrichtian Chignik Fm of Alaska, and Pterospermum praeobliquum Chaney
and Sanborn from the Eocene Fisher Fm of ...
Pterospermum
- Pterospermum eocenicum Ett. & Gard. is recorded in the Alum
Bay Flora of England.
Sterculia
Sterculia cinnamomea, Sterculia geinitzii, Sterculia
grandiflora, Sterculia laurina and Sterculia limbata are
reported from the Cretaceous to Miocene of Europe. (Sterculia
grandiflora and Sterculia laurina are not the same as the living
species of the same names). I am skeptical that these represent genuine
specimens of Sterculia.
- Sterculia berryana Knowlton is recorded from the Paleocene Raton
Fm of the southwestern USA.
- Sterculia cliffwoodensis Berry is recorded from the Campanian
Magothy Fm of ...
- Sterculia coriacea Knowlton is recorded from the Maestrichtian
Vermejo Fm of ...
- Sterculia(?) heterodonta Knowlton is recorded from the
Paleocene Dawson Fm of ...
- Sterculia knowltoni Berry is recorded from the Eocene Wilcox Fm of
...
- Sterculia labrusca Unger is recorded from the Alum Bay Flora of
England.
- Sterculia labruscoides Berry is recorded from the Eocene Lisbon Fm
of ...
- Sterculia libbeyi Knowlton is recorded from the Paleocene Denver
Fm of Colorado.
- Sterculia mioensifolia is recorded from the Middle Miocene of the
Bankas Fm of Nepal (Siwaliks) [