DISENTANGLING LATE PERMIAN CONIFER LEAF CUTICLES: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF EPIDERMAL CHARACTERS AND TAXONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

In the 1980s several late Permian conifer taxa have been described based on well-preserved cuticle remains from northern Italy. Recently, a new macrofossil horizon was described from the same area and coeval with the cuticle assemblage. This new flora included a rich assemblage of gymnosperm and spore plants (e.g. seed ferns, putative cycadophytes, ginkgophytes and sphenophytes). Approximately 40% of the gymnosperm-dominated floral assemblage is represented by well-preserved conifer leaves and shoots with cuticles. By combining plant macrofossils with their preserved cuticles, these new finds have the potential to elucidate the gross morphology of conifers that were hitherto only known from small remains and/or dispersed cuticles. In this study, we will focus on an integrated analysis of macrofossil remains and cuticles from the newly discovered locality. Three aspects will be emphasized, that together will shed light on voltzian conifer morphology and taxonomy: (1) quantitative comparison and classification of epidermal cell patterns in the cuticle material of identified macrofossils with previously described taxa from the same area; (2) assess which quantitative characters and their frequency distribution best separate existing taxa; and (3) re-evaluate existing conifer taxonomy based on preserved cuticles alone.