THE TRIASSIC SEED CONE TELEMACHUS FROM ANTARCTICA

The compressed conifer seed cone Telemachus elongatus is described from the Upper Triassic of Antarctica. The ovate cone measures up to 4.0 cm long and 4.0 cm wide, and contains helically arranged cone scale complexes. Each cone scale consists of an elongated bract fused to a 5-lobed ovuliferous scale. Two or three slightly reflexed ovules are borne on the adaxial surface of the ovuliferous scale. The cone scale cuticle is thin and possesses monocyclic stomata; cuticles are present on the ovules as well. These specimens represent the first record of an early conifer reproductive axis from the Triassic of Antarctica, and confirm that the early conifers were distributed southward to Antarctica by the early Mesozoic.