Publications

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson A thick sequence of fossiliferous sediments on the Tjörnes Peninsula in northern Iceland records the vegetation, faunal and climatic histories of the northern North Atlantic region during the Mid-Pliocene Climatic Optimum. The Tjörnes beds are divided into three biozones, the Tapes Zone (ca 4.4–4 Ma), the [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson A thin, white coloured ash/pumice layer on top of the poor macrofossil units at the Selárgil locality yields a rich late Messinian palynoflora that was deposited under a markedly different taphonomic setting than most other late Cainozoic floras discussed in this book. Pollen contained in this [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson Fossil plants recovered from the Late Miocene (Messinian) Hreðavatn-Stafholt Formation grew in a landscape dominated by lakes of different sizes that were connected by small rivers and swampland. Well-drained areas bordering these wetlands were covered by mixed broadleaved deciduous and conifer forests dominated by Pinaceae, Rosaceae, [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson Terrestrial fossils from Late Miocene sediments in the Mókollsdalur area are mainly known for their insect fauna. Plant fossils and the sedimentological context suggest that most of the macrofossils deposited at Mókollsdalur originate from trees and shrubs that grew on the slopes around a caldera lake [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson A remarkable change is noticed in the 10 Ma floras of Iceland. In contrast to older floras, herbaceous elements become prominent in the palynological record, and, for the first time, small-leaved Ericaceae are encountered in the macrofossil record. The high number of pollen taxa recovered from [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson The classic Surtarbrandur floras of Iceland are 12 Ma (late Serravallian) and belong to the Brjánslækur-Seljá Formation. They make up the most diverse macroflora known from the Miocene of Iceland, with the highest number of exotic angiosperms recorded from this period (Laurophyllum, Liriodendron, Magnolia, Platanus, and Sassafras). Unlike in the [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson The oldest plant fossils currently known from Iceland are ca 15 Ma, their deposition coinciding with the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. At this time, forests in Iceland were dominated by mixed broadleaved deciduous and coniferous taxa with a few broadleaved evergreen genera such as Rhododendron and [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson This chapter provides morphological descriptions including remarks on nomenclatural problems for the macrofossil (M) and palynological (P) record from Iceland. The systematic section starts with Bryophyta (mosses), Lycopodiophyta (clubmosses and spikemosses), and Pteridophyta (horsetails and true ferns), followed by Gnetophyta, Ginkgophyta, Pinophyta (conifers), and Magnoliophyta [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson The development of palaeobotanical research in Iceland reflects the emergence of palaeobotany as a science in Central Europe and has traditionally been closely tied to research activities in Denmark and Sweden. A major impetus for palaeontological research in Iceland and other Arctic areas came from the [...]

Authors: Thomas Denk, Friðgeir Grímsson, Reinhard Zetter, Leifur A. Símonarson Iceland is an island in the northern North Atlantic halfway between Europe and Greenland/North America and some of its northern parts touch the Arctic Circle. Its position at the conjunction of warm southerly and cold northerly waters and air masses contribute to a particular climate [...]