| Abies milleri | |
|---|---|
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| Fossil Abies milleri foliage and axis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Abies |
| Species: | A. milleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Abies milleri | |
Abies milleri, an extinct species of fir known from fossil remains found in deposits from the early Eocene Ypresian stage (around 49.5 mya) in Washington State, USA, is the oldest confirmed record for the fir genus. [2]
The species was described from 81 fossil specimens collected from Burke Museum site number A0307 in Ferry County, Washington. [2] The holotype specimen, number # UWBM 31299, and the eleven paratype specimens are currently deposited in the collections of the Burke Museum in Seattle, where they were studied and described by Howard E. Schorn and Wesley C. Wehr. [2] Schorn and Wehr published their 1986 type description for A. milleri in the Burke Museum Contributions in Anthropology and Natural History , Volume 1. [2] The specific epithet, milleri, was coined in honor of Charles N. Miller Jr for his contributions to the study and understanding of the conifer family Pinaceae. [2] The studied specimens were excavated from the Tom Thumb Tuff member of the Klondike Mountain Formation in the city of Republic. [2]
A. milleri has been placed in the fir genus Abies , which has between 48 and 55 species native to much of North and Central America, Europe and Asia occurring in mountains over most of the range. The characters used to separate extant species of Abies are based on the reproductive structures such as cone scales, wing seeds and bracts. [2] The placement in Abies is based on the dorso-ventrally flattened leaves, and the circular leaf scars, which separate the organs from those of Pseudotsuga and Keteleeria . [2] Within Abies, A. milleri shows similarities with A. kawakamii and A. chensiensis from Asia and with A. concolor and A. lasiocarpa of North America. [2] A. milleri does not show traits which allow placement in any one of the genus Abies sections, however. [2]
The 81 specimens studied for the A. milleri description included 40 cone scales, 21 wing seeds, 10 foliated axes, and two detached needles. [2] Schorn and Wehr placed the different detached organ fossils in the same species based on a number of factors. Where visible, all the cone scales have bracts and are morphologically similar. [2] The scales display impressions on the admedial surface of wing seeds that match the fossil seed dimensions. The needle arrangement is consistent on both foliated and defoliated axes, with attached needles matching isolated needles. All of the fossils occurred in the same stratigraphic layers. [2]
The cone scales are up to 32 by 20 millimetres (1.26 by 0.79 in) and 1.25-2 times as long as wide, have a generally triangular to cuneate shape with the distal edge turned upwards and the stalk on half the length of the scale. [2] Sometimes preserved with cone scales are the bracts which average 5 by 4 millimetres (0.20 by 0.16 in) and have a central accuminate flanked by thinner laminae. The wing seeds are up to 27 by 14 millimetres (1.06 by 0.55 in) and have a pterostegium which covers on average three-quarters of the seed. [2] The narrow obovate seed is generally 12 by 4 millimetres (0.47 by 0.16 in), 1-1.5 times the length of the upper wing edge while the wing itself is widest in the distal half. Needles of A. milleri reach up to 38 millimetres (1.5 in) long, but have a width of only 1 millimetre (0.039 in) at the base. The leaf base is generally as wide to slightly wider than the leaf and round, with the leaf angled approximately 70 degrees upward from the attachment. Leaf scars on axes are circular to slightly oval, 1.5 by 2 millimetres (0.059 by 0.079 in), and show a vascular bundle scar in the center. [2] Oval leaf scars are oriented with the long axis parallel to the length of the stem axis. While the scars show the leaves to be in a helical arrangement, the leaves would have had a flattened orientation on either side of the axis. [2]
Firs (Abies) are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range. Firs are most closely related to the genus Cedrus (cedar). Douglas firs are not true firs, being of the genus Pseudotsuga.
Abies balsamea or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States.
Abies borisii-regis is a species of fir native to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula in Bulgaria, northern Greece, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. It occurs at altitudes of 800–1,800 m, on mountains with an annual rainfall of over 1,000 mm.
Abies bracteata, the Santa Lucia fir or bristlecone fir, is the rarest and most endemic fir in North America, and according to some, the world. It is confined to steep-sided slopes and the bottoms of rocky canyons in the Santa Lucia Mountains, in the Big Sur region on the central coast of California, United States.
Abies cephalonica or Greek fir is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north in the Pindus mountains of northern Greece. It is a medium-size evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–35 metres (82–115 ft) – rarely 40 m (130 ft) – tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m. It occurs at altitudes of 900–1,700 m (3,000–5,600 ft), on mountains with a rainfall of over 1,000 millimetres (39 in).
Abies nebrodensis, the Sicilian fir, is a fir native to the Madonie mountains in northern Sicily.
Pseudolarix amabilis, commonly called golden larch, is a species of coniferous trees in the pine family Pinaceae. The species are commonly known as golden larch, but being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus, are not true larches (Larix). P. amabilis is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100–1,500 m (328–4,921 ft). The earliest known occurrences are of compression fossils found in the Ypresian Allenby Formation and mummified fossils found in the Late Eocene Buchanan Lake Formation on Axel Heiberg Island.
Abies grandis is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California of North America, occurring at altitudes of sea level to 1,800 m. It is a major constituent of the Grand Fir/Douglas Fir Ecoregion of the Cascade Range.
Pseudolarix is a genus of coniferous trees in the pine family Pinaceae containing three species, the extant Pseudolarix amabilis and the extinct species Pseudolarix japonicus and Pseudolarix wehrii. Pseudolarix species are commonly known as golden larch, but are not true larches (Larix) being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus. P. amabilis is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100–1,500 m (328–4,921 ft). P. wehrii is described from fossils dating to the Early Eocene, Ypresian, of Western North America where it is found in the Eocene Okanagan Highlands Allenby and Klondike Mountain Formations. The youngest known occurrence is of mummified fossils found in the Late Eocene Buchanan Lake Formation on Axel Heiberg Island. P. japonica is known from Middle Miocene to Pliocene sediments in Japan and Miocene deposits of Korea. Fossils assigned to Pseudolarix as a genus date possibly as old as the Early Cretaceous Hauterivian stage in Mongolia.
Abies mariesii is a fir native to the mountains of central and northern Honshū, Japan. It grows at altitudes of 750–1,900 m in northern Honshū, and 1,800–2,900 m in central Honshū, always in temperate rain forest with high rainfall and cool, humid summers, and very heavy winter snowfall.
Abies homolepis, the Nikko fir is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Honshū and Shikoku, Japan. It grows at altitudes of 700–2,200 m, often in temperate rain forest with high rainfall and cool, humid summers, and heavy winter snowfall.
Abies koreana, the Korean fir, is a species of fir native to the higher mountains of South Korea, including Jeju Island. It grows at altitudes of 1,000–1,900 metres (3,300–6,200 ft) in temperate rainforest with high rainfall and cool, humid summers, and heavy winter snowfall.
Abietoideae is a subfamily of the conifer family Pinaceae. The name is from the genus Abies (firs), which contains most of the species in the genus. Six genera are currently assigned to this subfamily: Abies, Cedrus, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, Pseudolarix, and Tsuga.
Abies firma, the momi fir, is a species of fir native to central and southern Japan, growing at low to moderate altitudes of 50–1600 m.
Abies religiosa, the oyamel fir or sacred fir, is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico and western Guatemala. It grows at high altitudes of 2,100–4,100 metres (6,900–13,500 ft) in cloud forests with cool, humid summers and dry winters in most of its habitat regime. In the state of Veracruz, it grows with precipitation all year long. The tree is resistant to regular winter snowfalls.
Abies numidica, the Algerian fir, is a species of fir found only in Algeria, where it is endemic on Djebel Babor, the second-highest mountain in the Algerian Tell Atlas.
Neoephemera antiqua is an extinct species of mayfly in the family Neoephemeridae that is known from early Eocene, Ypresian stage, lake deposits near the small community of Republic in Ferry County, Washington, USA.
Coryloides is an extinct genus of flowering plants in the hazelnut family, Betulaceae, containing the single species Coryloides hancockii. The species is solely known from the middle Eocene sediments exposed in north central Oregon and was first described from a series of isolated fossil nuts in cherts.
Paraconcavistylon is an extinct genus of flowering plant in the family Trochodendraceae comprises a single species, Paraconcavistylon wehrii. The genus is known from fossil fruits and leaves found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state, United States, and southern British Columbia, Canada. The species was initially described as a member of the related extinct genus Concavistylon as "Concavistylon" wehrii, but subsequently moved to the new genus Paraconcavistylon in 2020 after additional study.
Pseudolarix wehrii is an extinct species of golden larch in the pine family (Pinaceae). The species is known from early Eocene fossils of northern Washington state, United States, and southern British Columbia, Canada, along with late Eocene mummified fossils found in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada.