Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 56. (Budapest 1964)

Rásky, K.: Studies of Tertiary plant remains from Hungary

hestan, Caucasus, and CHANDLER (1963, p. 375, Pt. 35, Fig. 193) from the Oligocène sediments of the Isle of Wight. It is also similar to the specimen with 60 - 61 pinnules from the Maros valley, Borberek, Roumania, described by STAUB (1889, p. 258, Fig. p. 260). The remains published earlier by the present author (RÁSKY, 1943, p. 525, Taf. 23, Figs. 1 -2), under the name Sabal haeringiana UNG., from the Middle Oligocène Kiscell clay, also belong to the species Sabal major. Comparison with recent species: WEYLAND, who first examined the epiderm of Sabal major, found a similar epidermal structure on the recent Sabal palmetto (WALTER) ROEM. & SCHULT, and Sabal adansonii GUERSENT. The recent species live today in the swamp areas of Florida, Louisiana, and Carolina. There is a certain amount of variability also among the recent species, as stated by WEYLAND, too. Comptonia sehrankii (STERNRERG) BERRY (Plate VII, Fig. 9) Description : Leaf fragments from the central part of the blade. Length : 2.5—3 cm. The apex and basis of the blade are absent. The midrib is stout, the lobes emitted right and left. The lobes are alternate or nearly opposite, shaped acutely trigonal or rounded trigonal. The midrib emits 2 or 3 subparallel secondary veins into the lobes, extending to their margins. Some thinner subsecondaries also arise from the midrib, they are shorter and pass parallel with the secondaries. The margin of the lobes are entire. Remarks: The characteristically shaped leaves were first described by STERNBERG, under the name Aspleniopteris sehrankii. UNGER mentions the leaves by the name Comptonia acutiloba BRONGN. from the flora of Sotzka (1851, p. 32, Taf. 8, Figs. 6 — 8), ETTINGSHAUSEN as Drgandra brongniarti from the flora of Häring (1853, p. 55, Taf. 19, Figs. 1—26), and as Drgandra acutiloba from the flora of Bilin (1866, p. 17, Taf. 35, Figs. 18-26). Both the Sotzka and the Bilin finds are well identifiable with the remains found in the Rupelian layers of Budapest -Óbuda. HEER published the leaf remains under the name Drgandra sehrankii (STERNB.) HEER from the Tertiary flora of Switzerland (1859, p. 96, Tf. 98, Fig. 20, and Taf. 153, Figs. 15-16). HANTKE'S (1954, p. 49, Taf. 2, Figs. 12-13) Comptonia oeningensis A. BR. leaf from the flora of Schrotzburg differs from Comptonia sehrankii. ETTINGSHAUSEN and HEER relegated these characteristical leaf forms to the family Proteaceae. From France, SAPORTA (1865, p. 104, Pt. 5, Fig. 8) published the leaves under the name Comptonia dryandraefolia BRONGN.. from the flora of Marseilles, and FRITEL (1926, p. 699, Pt. 12, Figs. 1 - 2) as Comptonia sehrankii (STERNB.) BERRY, from the Thanetian of the Vervins flora. DEPAPE (1950, p. 21, Pl. 1, Fig. 6-7) described the species as Comptonia sehrankii (STERNB.) BERRY, from the Lower Oligocène (Sannoisian) of Cervera, Catalogne, and expounded some further remains also from the Upper Cretaceous, Eocene, and Oligocène of France (1950, Pt. 2, Figs. 1—4). DEPAPE'S specimen illustrated on Plate 2, Figure 2 (La Treille, Bouches-du-Rhone, Oligocène) is almost identical with the Middle Oligocène impressions of Budapest — Óbuda. SAPORTA'S (1881, p. 225, Figs. 2 — 3) specimen described under the name Comptonia winoyi from the Eocene of Haute Loire also rather resembles the Buppelian specimens from Budapest

—• Óbuda. The leaf remains, described by REID & CHANDLER as Dicotglophgllum pinnatifidum (1926, p. 151, Pt. 10, Figs. 8-13) from the Bembridge flora, England, also belong to this form group. Also VELENOVSKY'S leaf remain, described as Drgandra cretacea (1881) from the Cretaceous of Bohemia (Kuchelbach), is similar to the Comptonia leaves. The leaf remains, published under the name Comptonia diforme (STERNB.) BERRY by KNOBLOCH (1962, p. 257, Taf. 3, Figs. 4-7 and 9 -10) from the Upper Oligocène flora of Pirskenberg, North Bohemia, are also similar to the Budapest-Óbuda specimens. TANAI (1961, p. 271, Pt. 5, Figs. 1 -3, 6-10, 13, 14, 16, 18) published a whole series of these fossil leaves by the name Myrica (Comptonia) naumanni (NATHORST) HUZIOKA, from the Middle Miocene sediments of Japan. TANAI relegated also the leaves of wider lobes to the species which SAPORTA described as Comptonia matheroniana from the sediments at Armissan (1865, p. 94, PI. 5, Fig. 7), and HEER as Dryandra acutiloba BRONGN. from the fossil flora of North Greenland (1869, p. 474, Pt. 39, Fig. 7). BERRY declared (1906) that HEER'S leal