Wood remains from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of Jordan and their paleoenvironmental implications

During field work in the Triassic of Jordan fossil wood remains have been discovered at five horizons (S1AR-S-5AR) of the Late Triassic (Carnian) Abu Ruweis Formation in NW Jordan. In most horizons wood remains are too badly preserved to allow for a detailed xylotomic investigation. Only two horizons provided material which exhibited anatomical details: (1) in horizon S-1AR we found rare and rather small fragments of woody charcoal exhibiting cellular details (representing the first macroscopic evidence of paleo-wildfires from the Late Triassic of the Middle East), and (2) in horizon S-5AR surfaces of partly compressed (gagatized) and partly permineralized wood fragments exhibited anatomical details that could be investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy. All wood remains that allow for a detailed investigation show features typical of gymnosperms, but at the moment nothing can be said about a more specific taxonomic affinity of most of the woods, although wood from horizon S-5AR exhibits characteristics of protopinoid wood. Our data provide evidence that gymnospermous woody vegetation cover has existed in the source areas of the sediments deposited in the Abu Ruweis Formation in Jordan and that this woody vegetation occasionally experienced wildfires. This, together with lithological data, provides evidence for a seasonally dry (maybe even arid) climate during deposition of the Abu Ruweis Formation. On a larger scale our findings contribute to the very scarce current knowledge about Late Triassic wildfires on the entire continent Gondwana, from where so far only three records of macro-charcoals, as undisputed evidence of paleo-wildfires, have been published from this period. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.