Summary of occurrence and taxonomy of silicified Agathoxylon-type of wood in late Paleozoic basins of the Czech Republic
Abstract
The late Paleozoic deposits in several basins in the Czech Republic are well known for their abundance of silicified stems. Despite the fact they have been known since 19th century, there are few modern works of this material.
The stems have been known to occur at several stratigraphic levels. During the course of recent field work such material has been found at additional levels.
Most of them belong to the genus Agathoxylon, divided here into two types: cordaitalean plants and conifers. Based on previous data from Intra Sudetic and Pilsen Basins, and new material from Krkonoše Piedmont and Kladno-Rakovník Basins, this work compiles and compares the occurrence, anatomical features and taxonomy of silicified Agathoxylon-type of stems through four studied areas.
The various cordaitalean – conifer ratio among all basins reflect different palaeoenvironment in each of them.