26 
A NEW CRETACEOUS CONIFER FROM THE BELLY RIVER 
FORMATION OF ALBERTA 
By W. A. Bell 
Illustration 
Plate XIII. Illustrations of fossils 
Page 
57 
Some fragments of sandstone with abundant remains of sterile twigs 
of this conifer were gathered by G. S. Hume of the Geological Survey, 
Canada, from sec. 16, tp. 22, range 4, W. 5th mer. They may be described 
as follows: 
Elatodadus albertaensis Bell 
Plate XIII, figures 1-3 
Description . Sterile twigs, stout, clothed with long linear-lanceolate 
leaves in spiral arrangement. Leaves are sessile, with single prominent 
midribs, are straight, reflected downward, or commonly slightly falcate, 
not noticeably contracted, slightly decurrent at base; maximum length 
observed 4 cm., and maximum width 2*5 mm. 
Remarks. The presence of stomatal grooves was not confirmed and 
the species being founded or sterile material the designation Elatodadus is 
preferable to Cephalotaxopsis or Cunninghamites . 
The leaves of Cephalotaxopsis magnifolia Fontaine differ from the above 
in their distichous or pseudo-distichous habit and in their abrupt rounding 
to a short pedicle at the base. The leaves of albertaensis possessed suffi- 
cient rigidity to resist flattening to a plane during fossilization. 
Specimen 199a shows two branches arising at an angle of about 40 
degrees and the leaves are mostly obliquely directed. Specimen 199, 
representing an older stem, has longer leaves that are abruptly deflected to 
a horizontal position and the resemblance to Cunninghamites pvlchdlus 
Knolton is very close. Like the latter the upper surface of the leaf is 
deeply channelled above the midrib. As the deflexion and length of the 
leaves are variable characters the two species may be identical. 
Types. Holotype, 199; paratypes, 199a, 199b; National Museum of 
Canada, Ottawa. 
