doi: 10.3319/TAO.2013.03.11.01(TT) * Corresponding author E-mail: andrewl@ncu.edu.tw Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., Vol. 24, No. 4, Part II, 731-735, August 2013 Fossil Seed from the Miocene Shihti Formation of Taiwan Zhi-Cheng Lin 1, 2 , Andrew Tien-Shun Lin 1, * , Shun-Wen Yu 3 , Tai-Ping Liao 2 , and Gui-Wen Xu 2 1 Department of Earth Sciences, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan 2 School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing, China 3 Graduate Institute of Applied Geology, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan Received 12 July 2012, accepted 11 March 2013 AbSTrAcT A compressed fossil seed, described as Carpolithes sp., is found in the coal-bearing Miocene Shihti Formation from the Lifeng coal mine, Sanshia District of the New Taipei City. The fossil is generally rounded with a diameter of ca. 10 mm in lateral view. The anatomical features of the testa epidermal cells were observed using anatomical analysis. The anatomical features of the megafossil organ from the Formation are reported for the first time. Key words: Carpolithes, Fossil seed, Testa, Miocene, Shihti Formation Citation: Lin, Z. C., A. T.-S. Lin, S. W. Yu, T. P. Liao, and G. W. Xu, 2013: Fossil seed from the Miocene Shihti Formation of Taiwan. Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., 24, 731-735, doi: 10.3319/TAO.2013.03.11.01(TT) 1. InTroducTIon The Miocene Shihti Formation is the most important coal-bearing strata in Taiwan (Ho 1966, 1988). It is encased by two marine fossil-bearing Miocene formations, the over- lying Nankang Formation and the underlying Taliao Forma- tion (Fig. 1a). The age of the Shihti Formation is inferred as Middle Miocene based on planktonic foraminiferal zones in the Nankang and Taliao Formations (Ho 1966; Chaney and Chuang 1968). The Shihti Formation consists mainly of light gray sandstone, whitish gray siltstone, and dark gray shale with a number of coal beds or coal seams. The Formation is subdivided into two members, the upper Sze- chiaoting Member and the lower Patoutze Member (Ho 1966). The Patoutze Member is composed mainly of three massive, white and very thick sandstone beds intercalated with dark or laminated shale layers. Coal beds have been found at several horizons but only one seam is minable. The Szechiaoting Member is characterized by more coal beds than in the Patoutze Member, while white sandstone beds are less frequent and thinner in thickness compared to the Patoutze Member. The shale and siltstone inter-laminations or fine-grained sandstone are well developed. Most of the fossil plants are preserved in this member. The first palaeobotanical study of the Shihti Forma- tion was published in 1968 (i.e., Chaney and Chuang 1968). Many leaf impressions were found from the Shihti Forma- tion in today’s Sanshia District, New Taipei City. Ferns, a conifer and members of nineteen genera in twelve families of angiosperms, including three new species (Coniogramme devoli, Perrotetia miocenica, and Acer juani), were identi- fied (Chaney and Chuang 1968). However, all of the identi- fied fossils are impressions with no fossil microstructures preserved. Canright (1972) found and reported on carbon- ized compressions of leafy branches, a single ovulate cone of Metasequoia, and many taxodiaceous pollen grains from the Shihti Formation. The study of macrofossils, however, still rests heavily upon morphological descriptions. Liu and Zheng (1995) inferred the paleoclimate with a technique called “Leaf Margin Analysis” (LMA) based on fossils re- ported by Chaney and Chuang (1968). Since then, very few studies have been carried out on the flora of the Shihti For- mation except for some reports for the general public (e.g., Li and Chuang 2000). The latest report to mention the Shihti flora was a review, which briefly compared all of the pub- lished megafossil leaves of the Shihti flora in the northern part of Taiwan with those of the Lilongshan flora (the Late Miocene) in the southern part of Taiwan (Uemura and Li 2006).