L. Lőkös szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 24. 1993 (Budapest, 1993)

Hably, Lilla: Egerian macroflora from the Andornaktálya sandpit (Hungary)

STUDIA BOTANICA HUNGARICA (Antea: Fragmenta Botanica) XXIV. 1993 pp. 5-22 Egerian macroflora from the Andornaktálya sandpit (Hungary) By L. Hably (Received November 20, 1992) Abstract: The sandpit between Eger and Andornaktálya — exposing the upper part of Eger Formation — yielded a rich Egerian macroflora. Most of the 25 taxa are palaeotropical, like the rest of the Egerian floras. The species composition is almost identical with other Egerian floras (Kesztölc, Pomáz, Nagysáp), although the ratio of Lauraceae is conspicuously high here. Most of the flora represents remnants of a mesophyllous forest, i.e. zonal vegetation. Spirematospermum wetzleri, new species for the Hungarian Egerian, indicates marsh environment. There is a disused sandpit between Eger town and Andornaktálya village, at the northern border of the latter (Fig. 1). Leaf imprints have been found here by scientists from of Department of Geology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. The pit is about 250 m long and 150 m wide, stretching in N-W direction. Loose sand, about 60 m thick, is exposed. There are thin pelite beds in the lower part of the sand, some of them extremely rich in leaf fossils. The profile is topped by a thick pelite bed. Lithology of the sequence (Fig. 2) is very similar to the upper part of the nearby Wind-brickyard in Eger, suggesting the upper part of Eger Formation for Andornaktálya (SZTANO et al. in VARGA et al. 1989). Although the extremely poor nannoflora does not provide any stratigraphie datum, the species Reticulofenestra hesslandii, R. ornata, R. bisecta, and R. ex aff. tokodensis indicate an age not younger than Late Oligocène (NAGYMAROSY in VARGA et al. 1989). Most of the plant fossils are leaf imprints, besides there are a few fruits and stem fragments in sandy layers. The fossils recovered from coarse sediments in the outer wall of the pit are of medium or poor preservation; there is no organic matter or epidermis on any of the imprints. The main venation is shown in the sandstone, while imprints in the pelite preserved secondary and tertiary venation as well. It is very hard to collect complete specimens. Mostly leaf margins have been damaged while collecting, although bases and apices have been frequently destroyed, too. Fossils from the pelite from within the quarry are well preserved. Secondary and tertiary venation and leaf margins were preserved, too. Collecting and preparation is problematic, because there is a lamina bearing leaf imprints in every millimetre of the thin pelite beds. As these are very thin and fragile, some of them have been destroyed during collecting and preparation. Although the preservation of the leaves is not especially good, the locality has a great importance for plant biogeography, bearing a flora of the Eger Formation near the Wind-brickyard flora.