Early Cretaceous macrofloras 
35 
American species. Thinnfeldia indica of Zeba-Bano 
et al. (1979) has proportionately more elongate and 
less dissected leaves than T. sp. cf. T. talbragarensis. 
However, Jain's (1968) IDicroidium specimen from 
the Early Cretaceous of eastern India has very 
similar pinnule shapes and venation to the Western 
Australian fronds and may be conspecific. 
Incertae sedis 
Order Pentoxylales 
Family Pentoxylaceae 
Genus Taeniopteris Brongniart 1832 
Type species 
Taeniopteris vittata Brongniart, 1832; Jurassic; 
Whitby, England. 
Taeniopteris daintreei McCoy, 1874 
Figures 6C,F,G; 7A 
1944 Taeniopteris spatulala McClelland; Walkom; p. 
203; plate II, figure 9. 
1961 Taeniopteris cf. T. elongata Walkom; White; p. 
303; plate figures IB, 2B. [1961a], 
1993 Taeniopteris daintreei; McLoughlin and Guppy; 
figure 14; figure 18. 
Lectotype 
NMVP12270 (National Museum of Victoria); 
Strzelecki Group, Zone C (Valanginian-Albian); 
Cape Paterson, Victoria. Selected by Drinnan and 
Chambers (1985). 
Material 
WAM P.64.12, WAM P.64.15, WAM P.74.26, 
WAM P.74.27, WAM P.74.28, WAM P.74.29, WAM 
P.74.32, WAM P.74.33, WAM P.74.34, WAM P.88.8. 
UWA16685, UWA16682, UWA16683, 
UWA10374A,B,E, UWA10375, UWA10376, UWA- 
10461A,B,C, UWA10463, UWA10464B,F,G,J,K, 
UWA10466A, UWA10470C,D, UWA10472B, 
UWA10474A, UWA10477A,C. 
Distribution 
Widespread; probably upper Lower Jurassic to 
Lower Cretaceous of Australasia. Western 
Australia: Broome Sandstone, Canning Basin; 
Cronin Sandstone, Officer Basin; Bullsbrook and 
Leederville Formations, Perth Basin. 
Description 
Leaves simple, up to 2 cm wide and 8.3 cm long, 
lorate, linear, or spatulate. Margin entire or gently 
undulate, apex rounded obtuse, base tapering 
acute, petiolate. Midrib longitudinally striate, 
robust (up to 2 mm wide), gently tapering distally, 
persistent. Secondary veins closely spaced, depart 
midrib at >60°, bifurcate once or twice then pass 
straight to margin at 75°-90°. Lamina rarely shows 
undulate folds. Attached fertile organs and cuticle 
unavailable. 
Comments 
Drinnan and Chambers (1985) provided a 
detailed account of this Early Cretaceous species 
based on material from Victoria. They suggested a 
relationship between T. daintreei leaves and both 
the pollenate fructification Sahnia laxiphora Drinnan 
and Chambers, 1985 and the ovulate pentoxylalean 
fructification Camoconites cranwellii Harris, 1962, 
based on their co-occurrence in the Koonwarra 
fossil bed of the Gippsland Basin and similar co¬ 
fossilized forms in New Zealand, New South 
Wales and India (Blashke and Grant-Mackie 1976; 
White 1981; Visshnu-Mittre 1953; Rao 1981). 
Drinnan and Chambers (1985) provisionally 
excluded White's (1981) New South Wales Jurassic 
Taeniopteris spatulala McClelland, 1850 from T. 
daintreei due to the discrepancy in the ages of the 
Victorian and New South Wales specimens. 
Differences in the preservation of associated 
fruiting bodies also inhibited close comparison. 
However, Drinnan and Chambers (1985) noted that 
previous distinctions between Victorian Cretaceous 
T. daintreei and Indian Jurassic-Cretaceous T. 
spatulala cuticle morphologies are probably less 
significant than initially suggested (Rao 1943; 
Douglas 1969; Visshnu-Mittre 1957). The Western 
Australian specimens are morphologically 
indistinguishable from Victorian T. daintreei leaves. 
Taeniopteris daintreei-like leaves are common 
components of several other Middle Jurassic to 
Early Cretaceous floras within Australia and New 
Zealand (Dun 1898; Walkom 1919b, 1944; 
Glaessner and Rao 1955; White 1961a, b; Gould 
1980; Blaschke and Grant-Mackie 1976). Several 
authors (e.g,. Chapman 1909; Glaessner and Rao 
1955, Douglas 1969; Baldoni and de Vera 1980; 
Drinnan and Chambers 1985) have figured or 
described leaves which show varying degrees of 
lamina dissection, in some cases making them 
gradational with forms attributable to Nilssonia 
■4 Figure 6 A,B, Thinnfeldia cf. talbragarensis Walkom, 1921; (A) UWA16690, Portion of frond, Leederville Formation, x 
1; (B) UWA10472C, Isolated pinna, Bullsbrook Formation; x 4; C,F,G, Portions of variably dissected 
Taeniopteris daintreei McCoy, 1874 leaves; (C) UWA24640B, Bullsbrook Formation, x 1.5; (F) UWA120484, 
Broome Sandstone, x 3; (G) WAM P.74.26a, Bullsbrook Formation, x 1.5; D,E,H,I, Ptilophyllum cntchense 
Morris (in Grant) emend. Bose and Kasat, 1972; (E) WAM P.88.7, Broome Sandstone, x 2; (hi) WAM P.88.4, 
Broome Sandstone, x 0.9; (I) UWA118836, Bullsbrook Formation, x 3. 
