Research Information System
FORESTIST, vol.73, no.1, pp.28-41, 2023 (ESCI)
The biggest fossil stem wood (3.5 m length and 1.6 m diameter) in the whole of Turkey was found in the city of Beylikduzu of Istanbul up to now. Its geological age is Oligo-Miocene (about 25-23 million years ago) and its host formation is Kirac member of Istanbul formation. We described it as Mammeoxylon beylikduezuense Akkemik, Gungor, D. Mantzouka and Azaz sp. nov. This is the third fossil species of this fossil genus in the world and the only one found in the northern hemisphere. This fossil species differed from the others in having indistinct growth ring boundaries, diffuse porosity, predominantly solitary (90% or more) vessels, simple perforation plates, diffuse, scanty paratracheal parenchyma and diffuse-in-aggregate parenchymatic cells, two distinct sizes of rays as uniseriate rays (all in upright shapes) and two to four seriate (with body ray cells procumbent with one to five seriate of upright ray cells), and large radial canals. Extant trees of this genus grow in warm and humid subtropical climate conditions. The occurrence of this fossil species and its anatomical features (e.g., indistinct growth ring boundaries) indicate the presence of subtropical warm and rainy conditions in the Oligo-Miocene time in Turkey and make a contribution to understand the palaeo and extant forests and climate of this area.