XVI International Botanical Congess

Glossopterid leaves are among the most common plant megafossils from the late Paleozoic of Gondwana. Although they have been widely accepted as stratigraphic indicators for the Permian, there have also been reports of Glossopteris from the Lower Triassic of Tasmania, South Africa, and India. The widespread geographic and stratigraphic range of these leaf types may reflect the fact that the parent plants were highly variable in habit and habitat. Permineralized Glossopteris leaves are now known from Permian sites in Antarctica and Australia. The present material is from a silicified peat collected in the Shackleton Glacier area, central Transantarctic Mountains. Based on lithology, the deposit is within the lower part of the Fremouw Formation and has been considered to be Early Triassic. The plants are petrified and therefore were studied in thin sections. In addition to Glossopteris leaves, the peat contains fragments of Vertebraria roots and small, unidentified ovules, suggesting a very Late Permian age for this flora. The material will be compared with known permineralized floras which are slightly older, both from Antarctica and elsewhere in Gondwanaland.