Patil Sanjay, Dahegaonkar Rajesh, Kohapare Aakash and Madankar Manisha
Abstract
A specimen of dicotyledonous wood was recovered from the Deccan Intertrappean deposits at Rambakhedi, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh. The fossil belongs to the uppermost Cretaceousâlower Tertiary horizon. It is permineralized and remarkably well preserved. For anatomical examination, the material was treated with hydrofluoric acid to prepare peel sections in transverse (T.S.), tangential longitudinal (T.L.S.), and radial longitudinal (R.L.S.) planes. The specimen exhibits both primary tissues and distinctly developed secondary xylem, comprising vessels, xylem parenchyma, wood fibers, and rays, with evidence of crushed primary tissues. Growth rings are not observed in the specimen. The wood is diffuse-porous, with vessels predominantly solitary, though a few occur in groups of two to four. Vessel dimensions range from 95-150 µm in radial diameter and 85-150 µm in tangential diameter. The vessel density varies between 12 and 35 per square millimeter. Perforation plates are simple and obliquely oriented. Intervascular pit pairs are alternate, bordered, hexagonal in outline, and closely arranged. The xylem parenchyma is paratracheal, vasicentric type, forming a single-layered sheath around the vessels. Wood rays are uniseriate to multiseriate, heterogeneous, and composed of both procumbent and erect cells, occurring at a frequency of 15-25 per square millimeter. Ray height ranges from 10 to 30 cells. Wood fibers are non-septate, non-storied, and measure 450-560 µm in length and 25â35 µm in width. For comparative study, the specimen was analyzed against the woods of Celastraceae, Guttiferae, Linaceae, Passifloraceae, Olacaceae, Erythroxylaceae, and Lecythidaceae. It shows closest affinity with Lecythidaceae; however, as it does not correspond to any known extant or fossil genus, it is designated as Kapgateoxylon betulensis gen. et sp. nov.