Fossil woods from Argentina (1884–2021)

Abstract

Argentinean fossil woods have been studied since the end of the XIX century and numerous publications have dealt with this type of fossil. A database of 324 records including fossil woods from the Carboniferous to the Pleistocene found in Argentina (including Malvinas/Falkland Islands) was built. The publications about fossil wood records through 134 years (1884–2021) can be divided into three periods, i) publications by non-Argentine researchers (1884–1940), ii) sporadic publications by researchers from Argentina (1941–1999), and iii) frequent publications by researchers from Argentina (2000–2021). The database has updated information (i.e., age, synonyms, repository). Most of the records are gymnosperms (57 %, including among others, conifer-like woods, cycads, pteridosperms, and corystosperms), and the remaining are angiosperm woods (43 %). The latter appeared in the Cretaceous and are dominant in the Cenozoic, reflecting the worldwide expansion of angiosperms since the Cretaceous. The majority of the records are from Patagonia, and Cretaceous–Cenozoic. The trend indicates that many more articles dealing with fossil woods will be published in the next years.