A new species of Pseudotsuga (Pinaceae) from the lower Miocene of Lesvos, Greece, and its palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatic implications

Pseudotsuga Carrie`re is commonly known as Douglas-fir, a minor genus attributed to Pinaceae of conifer. Four extant species are included in this genus, with dispersed distribution in East Asia and western North America. Pseudotsuga possesses a number of fossil records of needled leaves, seed cones, and seeds. Nevertheless, few reliable fossil wood of this genus has been specifically investigated. Here, we describe some anatomically well-preserved petrified fossil wood from the lower Miocene of Lesvos Island, Greece, as Pseudotsuga lesvosensis n. sp. The studied fossil wood remains are characterized by the presence of normal axial and radial resin canals, piceoid cross-field pitting, along with distinctive helical thickenings in cell walls consistent with Pseudotsuga. The present fossil conifer further enriches the species diversity of the Miocene Petrified Forest in Lesvos. The first report of Pseudotsuga lesvosensis from the southern Europe in this study extends the tempo-spatial distribution patterns of Pseudotsuga and contributes to further understanding of its origin and evolutionary history. The occurrence of P. lesvosensis fossil wood, as well as other palaeontological macrofloral composition evidence, indicates a humid warm temperate to subtropical climatic condition during the early Miocene within the Lesvos, which differs significantly from the current Mediterranean climate. (c) 2024 Elsevier B.V. and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.