Abstract
Terrestrial fossils from Late Miocene sediments in the Mókollsdalur area are mainly known for their insect fauna. Plant fossils and the sedimentological context suggest that most of the macrofossils deposited at Mókollsdalur originate from trees and shrubs that grew on the slopes around a caldera lake in the highlands. Abundant fossils of aquatic crustaceans, insects, and plants suggest that the lake and adjacent areas were a diverse ecosystem at the time of deposition. Forests covering the slopes were dominated by Fagus with a few evergreen elements in the understorey (Ilex, Rhododendron). In contrast, the palynological record points to the presence of mixed oak forests in areas behind the mountain ridge surrounding the caldera. The poor representation of herbaceous elements in the pollen record may point to a filter effect against pollen influx from surrounding areas into the lake. Slope exposure may have determined the presence of Fagus or Quercus as is also seen today in cool temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Overall, the climate appears to be more diversified than in the older floras with relatively warmer humid conditions windward of the mountains or in sheltered areas close to the lake and cooler more continental conditions leeward of the mountains.
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Appendix 7.1
Appendix 7.1
Floristic composition of the 9–8 Ma sedimentary formation of Iceland compared to contemporaneous northern hemispheric fossil assemblages at mid and high latitudes.
Skarðsströnd-Mókollsdalur flora [ca 65º30´ N 21º31´ W] | |
|---|---|
9–8 Ma | |
This study | |
1 | Huperzia sp. |
1 | Lycopodiella sp. |
1 | Lycopodium sp. |
1 | Monolete spore, fam., gen. et spec. indet. 1 |
1 | Monolete spore, fam., gen. et spec. indet. 2 |
1 | Osmunda sp. |
1 | Polypodiacceae gen. et spec. indet. 1 |
1 | Polypodiaceae gen. et spec. indet. 6 |
1 | Abies sp. |
1 | Larix sp. |
1 | Picea sect. Picea |
1 | Pinus sp. 1 |
1 | Pinus sp. 2 |
1 | Pseudotsuga sp. |
1 | Sciadopitys sp. |
1 | Tsuga sp. 1 |
1 | Tsuga sp. 2 |
1, 3 | Acer askelssonii |
1, 3 | Acer crenatifolium subsp. islandicum |
1 | aff. Calycanthaceae |
1, 3 | Alnus cecropiifolia |
3 | Angiosperm fam. et gen. indet. A |
1 | Apiaceae gen. et spec. indet. 1 |
1 | Asteraceae gen. et spec. indet. 1 |
1–3 | Betula cristata |
3 | cf. Carpinus |
3 | Cornus sp. |
3 | Cyclocarya sp. |
3 | Dicotylophyllum sp. D |
3 | Dicotylophyllum sp. E |
1–3 | Fagus gussonii |
1 | Ilex sp. 2 |
1 | Myrica sp. |
1 | Poaceae gen. et spec. indet. 1 |
1–3 | Pterocarya sp. |
1 | Quercus infrageneric group Quercus sp. 1 |
1 | Ranunculaceae gen. et spec. indet. 2 |
1 | Rhododendron sp. 2 |
1, 3 | Salix gruberi |
1 | Tetracentron atlanticum |
1 Thalictrum sp. 2 | |
1–3 | Ulmus section Ulmus sp. |
Teewinot flora, lower Gros Ventre River [ca 43º 35´ N 110º 21´ W] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
8 Ma | |||
Barnosky, 1984 | |||
1 | Abies sp. | ||
1 | Cupressaceae | ||
1 | Juniperus sp. | ||
1 | Picea sp. | ||
1 | Pinus sp. | ||
1 | Ephedra sp. | ||
1 | Artemisia sp. | 1 | Carya sp. |
1 | Chenopodiineae | ||
1 | Cyperaceae | ||
1 | Gilia sp. | ||
1 | Gramineae [=Poaceae] | ||
1 | Pterocarya sp. | ||
1 | Salix sp. | ||
1 | Sapindaceae sp. | ||
1 | Sarcobatus sp. | ||
1 | Sparganium sp. | ||
1 | Tubuliflorae spp. [=Asteraceae] | ||
1 | Ulmus / Zelkova sp. | ||
Grubstake flora, Alaska [ca 64º N 148º 11´ E] | |
|---|---|
8 Ma | |
Leopold & Liu, 1994; White et al., 1997 | |
1 | Cyathea sp. |
1 | Lycopodium cf. L. alopecuroides |
1 | Lycopodium cf. L. annotinum |
1 | Lycopodium cf. L. complanatum |
1 | Lycopodium cf. L. lucidulum |
1 | Osmunda sp. |
1 | Selaginella sp. |
1 | Abies cf. A. grandis |
1 | Larix / Pseudotsuga sp. |
1 | Picea sp. |
1 | Pinus spp. |
1 | Tsuga cf. T. canadensis |
1 | Tsuga cf. T. heterophylla |
1 | Tsuga cf. T. mertensiana |
1 | Alnus cf. firma |
1 | Alnus spp. |
1 | Araliaceae |
1 | Betula sp. |
1 | Caprifoliaceae |
1 | ?Castanea / Castanopsis sp. – reworked grains |
1 | Chenopodiaceae |
1 | Chenopodiineae |
1 | Corylus sp. |
1 | Cyperaceae |
1 | ?Diervilla / Weigela sp. |
1 | Ericales |
1 | Gramineae [=Poaceae] |
1 | Juglans sp. |
1 | Juncus sp. |
1 | ?Magnolia sp. – reworked grains |
1 | Myrica sp. |
1 | Onagraceae |
1 | Polygonum persicaria |
1 | Pterocarya sp. |
1 | Ranunculaceae |
1 | Rhododendron sp. |
1 | Salix sp. |
1 | Smilax sp. |
1 | Sparganium sp. |
1 | Tilia sp. |
1 | Typha sp. |
1 | Ulmus/Zelkova sp. |
1 | Viburnum sp. |
Makrilia flora, Crete [ca 35°03´ N 25°43´ E] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
8.6–7.7 Ma | |||
Sachse & Mohr, 1996; Sachse, 2004 | |||
1 | Abies sp. | ||
1 | Cathaya sp. | ||
1 | Cedrus sp. | ||
1 | Cupressaceae | ||
1 | Picea sp. | ||
1, 2 | Pinaceae | ||
2 | Pinidae | ||
1, 3 | Pinus cf. hampeana | ||
1, 3 | Pinus cf. hepios | ||
1, 3 | Pinus spp. | ||
1, 3 | Tetraclinis salicornoides | ||
1, 3 | Tetraclinis sp. | ||
1, 3 | Taxodium dubium | ||
1 | Tsuga sp. | ||
1 | Ephedra sp. | ||
3 | Acer decipiens | ||
1, 2 | Acer spp. | ||
Makrilia flora (continued) 1, 2 aff. Ulmus sp. | |||
2 | Ailanthus vel Chenopodiaceae | ||
1, 3 | Alnus sp. | ||
3 | Ampelopsis vel Vitis | ||
1 | Apiaceae | ||
1 | Aquifoliaceae | ||
1, 2 | Aquilaria sp. | ||
1 | Araliaceae | ||
1 | Asteraceae | ||
1 | Asteroideae | ||
3 | Berberis/Mahonia sp. | ||
1 | Brassiacaceae | ||
1 | Buxus cf. bahamensis | ||
1, 3 | Buxus cf. egeriana | ||
1, 3 | Buxus pliocenica | ||
1, 3 | Carpinu sp. | ||
1, 2 | Carpinus cf. orientalis | ||
1, 2 | Carya sp. | ||
1 | Caryophyllaceae | ||
1 | Celastraceae | ||
1 | Celastrus sp. | ||
1 | Celtis sp. | ||
1 | cf. Centaurea | ||
1 | Chenopodiaceae | ||
3 | Cinnamomophyllum sp. | ||
1 | Cistus sp. | ||
3 | Cladastris sp. | ||
1 | Convolvulus spp. | ||
3 | Cymodocea vel Posidonia | ||
1, 3 | Cyperaceae | ||
1 | cf. Cyrilla sp. | ||
3 | cf. Dalbergia sp. | ||
1 | Dipcadi sp. | ||
1–3 | Engelhardieae | ||
1 | Ericaceae vel Empetraceae | ||
1, 3 | Ericaceae vel Myrtaceae | ||
1, 3 | Fagus cf. attenuata | ||
3 | Fagus cf. gussonii | ||
2 | Fraxinus sp. | 1 | Hedera |
1 | Helianthemum sp. | ||
2 | Homalium vel Styracaceae | ||
1, 3 | Ilex cf. aquifolium | ||
3 | Illicium rhenanum | ||
1 | Juglans sp. | ||
1 | Lamiaceae | ||
3 | Laurophyllum spp. | ||
1 | Leea sp. | ||
1–3 | Leguminosae spp. | ||
2, 3 | cf. Leguminosites spp. | ||
1 | Liliaceae | ||
1 | Linum spp. | ||
1, 3 | Lonicera cf. etrusca | ||
3 | Machaerium spp. | ||
3 | Magnolia sp. | ||
1 | Microtropis cf. fallax | ||
1 | Molospermum sp. | ||
3 | Monocotyledonae | ||
1 | Morus cf. nigra | ||
1, 3 | Myrica cf. lignitum | ||
1 | Myristicaceae | ||
3 | Myrtaceae | ||
1 | Nypa | ||
1 | Nyssaceae | ||
1 | Oleaceae | ||
1 | cf. Peristophe sp. | ||
3 | Phillyrea sp. | ||
3 | Pistacia cf. lentiscus | ||
1 | Plantaginaceae | ||
1 | Poaceae | ||
1 | Polygonaceae | ||
2 | Populus sp. | ||
1 | Potamogeton cf. lucens | ||
1 | Potamogeton sp. | ||
1 | Pterocarya sp. | ||
1, 3 | Quercus cf. mediterranea | ||
1, 3 | Quercus kubinyi | ||
1, 3 | cf. Quercus rhenana | ||
1, 2 | Quercus spp. | ||
1, 2 | Ranunculaceae | ||
2 | cf. Ruppia sp. | ||
1 | Ruta/Dictamus sp. | ||
3 | Salix cf. purpurea | ||
1, 3 | Salix spp. | ||
1 | Sambucus sp. | ||
1 | Sanguisorba sp. | ||
1 | Sapotaceae | ||
3 | cf. Smilax sp. | ||
1 | Sparganiaceae | ||
3 | Swartzia sp. | ||
3 | Symplocos cf. minutula | ||
1 | Symplocos sp. | ||
1, 2 | Tilia sp. | ||
1 | Tiliaceae | ||
2 | cf. Toddalia sp. | ||
Makrilia flora (continued) 1 Typha sp. | |||
3 | Ulmus plurinerva | ||
1 | Zelkova davidii | ||
1, 3 | Zelkova zelkovaefolia | ||
Boldface indicates that genus is present in the Skarðsströnd-Mókollsdalur Formation. Grey shading indicates that genus is present in younger and older formations in Iceland. 1 based on pollen, spores; 2 based on leaves and/or fruit/seed fossils; 3 based on leaf fossils
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Denk, T., Grímsson, F., Zetter, R., Símonarson, L.A. (2011). The Middle Late Miocene Floras – A Window into the Regional Vegetation Surrounding a Large Caldera. In: Late Cainozoic Floras of Iceland. Topics in Geobiology, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0372-8_7
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