Upper Cretaceous pollen flora from the Vilui Basin, Siberia: Circumpolar and endemic Aquilapollenites, Manicorpus, and Azonia species.

A detailed LM and SEM examination of the Upper Cretaceous Timerdyakh Formation microflora from the Vilui Basin yielded 13 Aquilapollenites, two Manicorpus, and three Azonia species. Comparisons with existing taxa from the Russian Federation and North America are impeded by the fact that many previously described forms were investigated using LM only, while SEM was very rarely used. Consequently, some of the pollen types reported in this study could not be ascribed to any previously documented taxa and have been described as nine new species. Further one previously described variety has been renamed. Except for two Azonia species and four Aquilapollenites species that also occur in Alaska, Canada and the Rocky Mountains in USA, the remaining taxa described here are restricted to the Late Cretaceous Khatanga-Lena-Subprovince. The several species unique to the Vilui Basin might indicate separate evolutionary paths for the genera Aquilapollenites and Manicorpus in North America and both northern and southern Asia during the Upper Maastrichtian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]