BARREMIAN-APTIAN ANGIOSPERMID POLLEN RECORDS FROM SOUTHERN ENGLAND

From the mainly monosulcate tectate angiospermid pollen of Barremian and Aptian age in southern England selected example occurrences of Afropollis, crotonoids, problematic tricolpates and acolumellate semitectates are discussed. The new records came from outcrops and boreholes in southern and eastern England. These occurrences appear to represent the best opportunity so far to document very early angiosperm development in well-dated rocks, before megafossils of such plant became available in any quantity and before the widespread appearance of tricolpate tectate pollen, mainly in Albian time. Scan search for these very small pollen grains has been made entirely by SEM, more quickly and with more effective illustration than would have been possible by conventional light microscopy. Most occurrences comprise comparison records with taxa already established with SEM illustration; earlier light microscope taxa are not employed. The temporary appearance of crotonoid pollen in late Barremian time may represent a vegetation/sedimentary facies still to be elucidated by reference to the background spectra of other palynomorphs. The successive pollen assemblages are so distinctive that they can probably be employed in auxiliary stratigraphic correlation for the region. © 1990.