47 SBORNÍK NÁRODNÍHO MUZEA V PRAZE ACTA MUSEI NATIONALIS PRAGAE Řada B – Přírodní vědy • sv. 68 • 2012 • čís. 1–2 • s. 47–50 Series B – Historia Naturalis • vol. 68 • 2012 • no. 1–2 • pp. 47–50 A NEW RECORD OF THE GENUS CARYANTHUS FROM THE CRETACEOUS OF SOUTH BOHEMIA (CZECH REPUBLIC) ZUZANA HEŘMANOVÁ National Museum, Prague, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00 Praha – Horní Počernice; Charles University, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic; e-mail: zuzka.hermanova@gmail.com JIŘÍ KVAČEK National Museum, Prague, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00 Praha – Horní Počernice, Czech Republic; e-mail: jiri.kvacek@nm.cz Heřmanová, Z., Kvaček, J. (2012): A new record of the genus Caryanthus from the Cretaceous of South Bohemia (Czech Republic). – Acta Mus. Nat. Pragae, Ser. B, Hist. Nat., 68(1–2): 47–50. Praha. ISSN 1804-6479 Abstract. An inflorescence / infructescence of Caryanthus sp., a member of the Normapolles complex, is described from the clay pit at Zliv- Řídká Blana (Klikov Formation, Upper Cretaceous) South Bohemia (Czech Republic). It represents the first more complete specimen of Caryanthus showing the arrangement of flowers / fruits and thus allowing for a more precise interpretation of the genus. In the arrangement of flowers / fruits it is similar to the Cretaceous genus Budvaricarpus and to a minor degree also to Endressianthus, Normanthus and to the extant genus Rhoiptelea. The similarity of these genera provides additional support for the interpretation of Caryanthus as belonging to the juglandoid clade in the order Fagales. n Caryanthus, Normapolles complex, fossil flowers, Cretaceous Received May 14, 2012 Issued July 2012 Introduction The genus Caryanthus represents one of the most com- mon Late Cretaceous reproductive structures bearing pollen of the Normapolles type. In this paper we describe new material from the genus – a single fragment of an inflores- cence / infructescence, which sheds light on the structure of the inflorescence in Caryanthus. Representatives of the Normapolles complex were detected for the first time as fossil pollen (e.g. Pflug 1953, Pacltová 1981). This group of morphologically diverse pollen, characteristic of the Late Cretaceous of Europe and North America is distinguished from other early triporate forms by an internally complex pore structure (Góczán et al. 1967, Batten and Christopher 1981). About 80 genera of pollen taxa have been defined in the Normapolles complex (e.g. Batten and Christopher 1981). They were attributed to a number of families of extant Junglandales (Juglandaceae and Rhoipteleaceae), Betulales, Urticales, Casuarinales, Myricales, Myrtales, Sapindales, and Santalales, based on similarities of pollen characteristics (e.g. Pflug 1953, Walker and Doyle 1975, Zavada and Dilcher 1986, Pacltová 1987, Batten 1989). The first fossil plants bearing or associated with pollen Normapolles were mesofossils described by Friis (1983) as Caryanthus, Manningia and Antiquocarya. Friis (1983) interpreted these plants as being a part of juglandalean / myricalean clades. Later Knobloch and Mai (1986) described 20 species of mesofossils of the Normapolles complex, including eight species of Caryanthus from Cen- Text-fig. 1. Geographical position of the locality Zliv – Řídká Blana in the South Bohemian Basins.