Pseudofrenelopsis fossils from Cretaceous gypsum beds in Guixi,Jiangxi Province,China and their geological significance

Compressed fossil plants were found in the gypsum beds of the Zhoujiadian Formation in Guixi City, Jiangxi Province, China. The cuticular features of two species of Pseudofrenelopsis (Cheirolepidiaceae) were examined by scanning electron microscopy in this study: Pseudofrenelopsis papillosa Cao ex Zhou and Pseudofrenelopsis guixiensis Bainian Sun et Dai, sp. nov. A detailed analysis of the internode epidermis, and the adaxial and abaxial leaf cuticles of the two species, was performed, extending our knowledge of the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the extinct Pseudofrenelopsis. A new species, Pseudofrenelopsis guixiensis sp. nov., is proposed based upon comparison of its cuticular features. It differs from previously published species in that it has hairs on the abaxial surfaces of its leaves, sometimes shares subsidiary cells on the surfaces of internodes, lacks a hypodermis, and has no papillae on its epidermal cells. Because the distribution of fossil Pseudofrenelopsis is restricted to the Lower Cretaceous, the Early Cretaceous age of the Zhoujiadian Formation is affirmed. The fossils of Pseudofrenelopsis show obvious xeromorphic characteristics, such as apparent thickening of the cuticles, subsidiary cells with obvious papillae, and anticlinal walls with strong cutinization, and they are found associated with gypsum beds and close to red beds. All of these features indicate an arid climate.