Fossil wood of Betula erkovetskiensis sp. nov. (Betulaceae) from the Miocene of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field, Amur Region, Russia

Resumo

A new species, Betula erkovetskiensis Blokhina et O.V. Bondarenko (Betulaceae), from the deposits of the Sazanka Formation (upper Middle−Upper Miocene) of the Erkovetskii Brown Coal Field (Amur Region, Russia) is described based on anatomical features of fossil wood. The new species shows some wood anatomical characters of the extant birch subgenus Betula, B. davurica, B. nigra (section Dahuricae), and B. papyrifera (section Betula). Fossil wood of Betula is found in the Amur Region for the first time.