Fossil of Wuhan, China

Author: Liu Guofan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: China is one of the earliest countries to discover fossilized wood, but previous discoveries and research have focused primarily on gymnosperms, with little discussion of angiosperms. This book highlights the angiosperm fossilized wood assemblage discovered by the author in the northern bank of the Yangtze River in Wuhan and the southern foothills of the Dabie Mountains since 1984. This is the first assemblage of angiosperm fossilized wood ever found in China and the richest in terms of tree species discovered to date. The fossilized wood assemblage represents a mixed forest vegetation dominated by angiosperms with a secondary presence of gymnosperms, dating back to the Neogene period of the Cenozoic era, approximately 2 to 3 million years ago. Currently, it has been identified to include 12 families, 13 genera, and 20 species, with 9 families, 9 genera, and 9 species of angiosperms, as well as 3 families, 4 genera, and 5 species of gymnosperms. The book also mentions 3 families, 3 genera, and 4 species of gymnosperms in the adjacent northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains and the Xinyang-Luoshan region of Henan, dating back to the Cretaceous period, approximately 100 million years ago. This book covers disciplines such as Earth science, life science, environmental science, wood science, and paleoclimatology, serving as a reference for a broad range of professionals, including geologists, geographers, botanists, wood scientists, paleoclimatologists, paleoenvironmentalists, as well as faculty and students from relevant universities and colleges, wood fossil enthusiasts, and collectors.