28 
Walkom's (1919a) Early Cretaceous C. australis 
specimens from Queensland are also comparable 
in terms of pinnule shape but appear to have more 
prominent, but less divided, secondary veins. The 
Western Australian fronds have similarly 
proportioned pinnules and venation patterns to 
Cladophlebis sp. cf. C. oblonga Halle, 1913 of Drinnan 
and Chambers (1986) although the Victorian 
examples have more sharply acute apices. 
The oblong shape and generally rounded pinnule 
apices of the Western Australian specimens 
distinguish them from many of the Indian 
Mesozoic Cladophlebis species which typically have 
either shorter elliptical or more narrow and 
elongate (lanceolate to falcate) pinnules often with 
acutely pointed apices (Bose and Sail 1968; Sukh- 
Dev 1972a; Zeba-Bano 1980; Roy 1968; Bose and 
Banerji 1984; Kasat 1970). 
Herbst (1971) reviewed South American 
Mesozoic fronds assigned to 17 Cladophlebis 
species. Of these, C. denticulata Brongniart, 1828 
and C. patagonica Frenguelli, 1947 have similarly 
sized oblong pinnules to the Western Australian 
specimens but are distinguished by their 
prominently pointed acute apices (Baldoni 1980a; 
Longobucco et at. 1985). The Western Australian 
specimens compare favourably to Archangelsky's 
(1964b) Cladophlebis sp., C. oblonga Halle, 1913, C. 
pintadensis Herbst, 1966, and C. haiburnensis var 
rectimarginata Herbst, 1966 and it appears that few 
individual features enable consistent differentiation 
of these species in the absence of fertile or cuticular 
material. 
South African Early Cretaceous Cladophlebis 
bezuidenhoutensis Gianniny and Wiens and C. 
dunbrodiensis Gianniny and Wiens (in Anderson 
and Anderson, 1985) fronds clearly differ from the 
Western Australian form by their undulate pinnule 
margins. Other South African species differ by 
their smaller, more elongate, contracted or falcate 
pinnules (Anderson and Anderson 1985). 
Genus Phyllopteroides Medwell, 1954b 
Type species 
Phyllopteroides dentata Medwell, 1954b; Early 
Cretaceous; Killara, Otway Basin, Victoria. 
Phyllopteroides ivestralensis sp. nov. 
Figures 4E,F,H; 5A 
1961 Linguifolium denmeadi Jones and de Jersey; 
White; p. 302; plate 5, figure 3. [1961a], 
1993 Phyllopteroides lanceolata; McLoughlin and 
Guppy; figures 4, 11. 
Holotype 
UWA10473C (Figure 5A); Bullsbrook Formation 
S. McLoughlin 
(Neocomian-Barremian); Bullsbrook, Perth Basin, 
Western Australia. 
Etymology 
Signifying the Western Australian distribution of 
the species. 
Material 
WAM P.96.11. UWA10461D, UWA10462A, 
UWA10464A, UWA10467C, UWA10470A-B, 
UWA10472A, UWA10473B-D, E-F, UWA10474C. 
Distribution 
Broome Sandstone, Canning Basin; Bullsbrook 
Formation, Perth Basin; Cronin Sandstone, Officer 
Basin (all Neocomian-Barremian). 
Diagnosis 
Fronds imparipinnate; pinnules narrowly 
elliptical to lanceolate, base tapering acute with 
short petiolule, apex rounded, margin entire or 
gently undulate; secondary veins once or twice 
dichotomous, 15-20 veins per cm, intersecting 
margin at 20°-40°. 
Description 
Fronds pinnate (imparipinnate). Rachis slender 
(<2 mm) wide. Pinnules narrowly elliptical to 
lanceolate, reaching 10 mm wide, 40 mm long, 
inserted alternately on rachis at c. 40° (Figure 5A). 
Base tapering acute, joined to rachis by short (<2 
mm petiole), apex rounded, margin entire or gently 
undulate. Pinnules show weakly defined 
evanescent midrib. Secondary veins once or twice 
dichotomous, arch gently from indistinct midvein 
to intersect margin at 20°—40°, 15-20 veins per cm; 
no anastomoses (Figures 4E,F,H). 
Comments 
Cantrill and Webb (1987) re-evaluated the genus 
Phyllopteroides and indicated its likely affinity to 
the Osmundaceae based on the association of 
sterile P. dentata fronds with osmundaceous 
sporangiate remains ( Caecumen expanse Cantrill and 
Webb, 1987). Five species (viz., P. dentata Medwell, 
1954b, P. lanceolata (Walkom) Medwell, 1954b, P. 
serrata Cantrill and Webb, 1987, P. laevis Cantrill 
and Webb, 1987, and P. macclymontae McLoughlin, 
Drinnan and Rozefelds, 1995) have been described 
from Australia. The entire-margined lanceolate 
Western Australian leaves compare most closely 
with P. lanceolata identified from Albian strata of 
central Queensland (Walkom 1919a). However, P. 
ivestralensis sp. nov. differs by its consistently entire 
pinnule margins, substantially lesser venation 
angle, and generally lesser vein densities. 
Phyllopteroides dentata, P. serrata and P. 
macclymontae can be distinguished by their strongly 
