Paleoovoidus rectus Vasilenko, 2005

Petrulevicius, Julian F., Wappler, Torsten, Nel, Andre & Rust, Jes, 2011, The diversity of Odonata and their endophytic ovipositions from the Upper Oligocene Fossillagerstaette of Rott (Rhineland, Germany), ZooKeys 130, pp. 67-89 : 73-74

Paleoovoidus rectus Vasilenko, 2005 Figs 11-12

* Paleoovoidus rectus Vasilenko, 2005, p. 631, figs 1-3, pl. 5.

"Odonata eggs" van Konijnenburg-van Cittert and Schmeißner, 1999, p. 217.

"Egg scars" Krassilov et al., 2007, p. 806, fig. 3D.

Paleoovoidus rectus Sarzetti et al., 2009, p. 437, figs 2.3-2.4.

Diagnosis

(taken from Sarzetti et al. 2009: 437). Elongate to lens-shaped scars oriented in a single, linear row, with long axes of scars aligned lengthwise, mostly parallel to the long axis of the leaf and usually occurring along the midrib.

Description.

The specimen of Paleoovoidus rectus occurs in a leaf of Sideroxylon salicites ( Sapotaceae , Ro_2.8; Figs 11-12). This leaf has two sets of leaf scars; the inset box in Fig. 11 indicates those corresponding to Paleoovoidus rectus . There are seven scars arranged rectilinearly near the leaf apex, aligned closely adjacent along the primary vein, with the scar long axis parallel to the primary vein. The fifth scar is arranged symmetrically about the midvein. All scars show an elongate- to lens-shaped structure with an enveloping raised rim and a central depression ("elongated hole"), indicating the absence of plant tissue.The individual length of the scars ranges from 0.9 to 1.3 mm, and the width ranges from 0.4 to 0.5 mm. The distance between adjacent scars varies from 0.6 to 2.4 mm. Additionally, Paleoovoidus arcuatus (Fig. 13) appears basal to the Paleoovoidus rectus trace, indicating that both patterns can occur on the same leaf (vide infra).

Comments.

The specimen of Paleoovoidus rectus (HW_Ro_2.8; on Sideroxylon salicites [ Sapotaceae ]) derives from the pelite and lignite facies of the ‘Hangendschichten’ at the Rott locality. The sediments belong to the younger part of the Upper Oligocene (Chattian), based on the mammal assemblage (MP30) recorded by Mörs (1995) with an age of approximately 25 million years as accepted for the Rott Formation (von Koenigswald et al. 1996).

Patterns similar to Paleoovoidus rectus described here occur so far only in the early Eocene of Patagonia ( Sarzetti et al. 2009) and have a sporadic occurrence on Mesozoic Coniferales and Ginkgoales ( Vasilenko 2005; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert and Schmeißner 1999). The Rott specimen exhibits only minor differences from the Argentinian material described by Sarzetti et al. (2009), mainly in dimensions and the total amount of scars preserved. Interestingly, Paleoovoidus rectus from the Upper Oligocene occurs at the same position at the tip of the leaf as preserved from the early Eocene Laguna del Hunco floras of Patagonia, and is also associated with Paleoovoidus arcuatus .