Dichrostachyoxylon chinjiensis sp. nov., A New Fossil Species of the Family Fabaceae from Chinji Formation, Salt Range, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Xylotomical studies of fossil wood is often view as a source of independent data that may be used to asses evolutionary relationship among angiosperm. Here we did the systematics of fossil wood from the anatomical characters of petrified wood collected from Chinji formation of Miocene age exposed at Chinji National Reserve. Three dimensional sections (transverse, tangential and radial) were prepared by ground thin section technique. Microscopic characters of the fossil wood were compared with the modern and already reported fossil woods. The xylotomical characters were comparable with the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae). The fossil wood shows close resemblance with the wood of Dichrostachy in respect of size and arrangement of parenchyma, vessels, xylem rays and fibers. Therefore it is considered as a new species and is named Dichrostachyoxylon chinjiensis sp. nov. The epithet chijiensis refers to area from which the fossil wood belongs.