GARCIA-MASSINI, JUAN LEANDRO. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7534. - Fungal palynomorphs from the Cullen Formation (Miocene), Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina.
The aim of this study was to analyze the diverse fungal palynomorphs
present in the Cullen Formation (Miocene), included in the Austral
Basin, along the NE coastal region of the Isla Grande in Tierra del
Fuego, Argentina. Fifty four form genera including eighty species of
fossil fungal spores were recognized. In addition nine genera and
eight species of fungal fruting bodies, most belonging to the extant
Microthyriaceae (Ascomycota), are present. Other remains (hyphae,
conidiophores) were also present. Many spores, fruiting bodies, and
other fungal structures, could not be assigned to any known extant or
fossil genera. Of the total fungal palynomorphs, 34 genera including
74 species of spores, as well as 5 genera and 4 species of fruiting
bodies, are described for the first time in Argentina, enlarging the
geographical distribution, and in some cases the stratigraphic
occurrence. Several taxa suggest a tropical to subtropical
paleoenvironment with high humidity indexes. The presence of certain
fungal spores (Ornasporonites inaequalis, Brachysporisporites
tenuis) and fruiting bodies (Microthyriella diporata,
Phragmothyrites kiandrensis), provide a biostratigraphic index
suggesting a Miocene age for the Cullen Formation. Both
paleoenviromental and biostratigraphic conclusions are coincident with
those based on other palynological and sedimentary evidence.
Key words: Argentina, Fungal spores, Microthyriaceae, Miocene