ABSTRACT

Here, we describe a new impressed palm frond from the latest Maastrichtian (late Cretaceous)-earliest Danian (early Palaeocene) sediments of the Deccan Intertrappean beds of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. The diagnostic characters of the recovered fossil specimen are large palmate fan-shaped leaf with well-preserved long costa (costapalmate), plicate, connate leaf segments with prominent mid-vein emerging at an acute angle from costa and parallel secondary lateral veins on either side of mid-vein. The aforesaid leaf morphological features of the Cretaceous specimen suggest its resemblance with those of modern members of the fan palm sub-family Coryphoideae in the Arecaceae. We recognize it as a new species, Sabalites karondiensis Roy, Hazra T et Khan, sp. nov. The present-day distribution of the comparable modern form of above taxon indicates that coryphoid palms may prefer a warm and humid tropical environment during the deposition.

摘要

在这里，我们描述了印度中部中央邦迪肯人间带河床的最新Maastrichtian（白垩纪晚期）-最早的Danian（古新世）沉积物形成的一种新的印象深刻的棕榈叶。回收的化石标本的诊断特征是棕榈叶呈扇形的扇形叶，保留了长的肋前缘（肋前缘），具褶皱的合生叶段，从肋前缘以锐角出现明显的中静脉，两侧均平行有次要侧脉中脉。白垩纪标本的上述叶片形态特征表明其与槟榔科扇形扇形亚科的现代成员相似。我们认识到它是一种新物种，Sabalites karondiensis罗伊（Roy），《哈兹拉特·汗（Hazra T et Khan）》。十一月 上面的分类单元的类似现代形式的当前分布表明，在沉积过程中，鳞翅目棕榈可能偏爱温暖湿润的热带环境。