Palaebotanical collection

Palaeobotanical collection consists of fossil remains of different plant parts (mostly of leaves, and also of bark, fruits, seeds, and even flowers). Stems and twigs are usually found in carbonized or mineralized state. Sometimes the seeds, flowers, woods and rarely leaves can be preserved in three-dimensional state; these remains are suitable for anatomical studies.

Palaeobotanical collection numbers ca. 10000 units of issue. The collection is subdivided into the funds and the exposition part (the samples shown in the exposition “Evolution of plant world”). The funds are the fossil samples collected by the botanists of the Museum, and used by them for their scientific research. The most samples were collected in Russia (Tertiary and Cretaceous floras from Kamchatka, Chukotka, Siberia, Far East) and Schpitzbergen; moreover, there are the extensive collections of Mesozoic floras from Caucasus and Central Asia. More than 1500 type samples (holotypes, isotypes, and lectotypes) there are in Palaeobotanical collection.

Curator: Prof. Dr. Lina B. Golovneva.

History:

Palaeobotanical collection was founded in 1844, when director of the Botanical Garden F.B. Fischer obtained the fossil plant samples of Permian, Mesozoic and Tertiary age from Europe. However, the investigations of fossil plants started only in 1848, when the first Russian palaeobotanist E. Merklin (1821-1904) beginned to work in the Botanical Garden in the capacity of physiologist. He studied anatomy of fossil woods. E. Merklin accumulated all the fossil wood samples known by then from Russia in the Botanical Museum, published their catalogue (1852), and decribed in his classical monograph “Palaeodendrologicon rossicum” (1855). In 1855 E. Merklin left the Botanical Garden because his position was canceled, and the palaeobotanical investigation stopped here nearly for 20 years.

Nevertheless, the replenishment of the Palaeobotanical collection continued. Especially important contribution was made by O. Heer, who gave as gift 900 samples of Tetrtiary plants from Eningen (Germany), one of the classical fossil floras in Europe. Less numerous collections were also obtained from other outstanding palaeobotanists F. Unger, K. Ettingshausen, G. Goeppert and G. Saporta.

Very valuable contribution gifted also by academician F.B. Schmidt (1832-1908), the famous researcher of Far East and Sakhalin. His collections of Jurassic flora of Siberia and Amur region, Cretaceous flora of the Chulym river and Sakhalin, and Tertiary flora of Possiet and the Hanka lake were examined by O.Heer, who described a number of fossil plants from the Russian territory.

In 1876-1878 in the Botanical Garden worked the famous palaeobotanist I.F. Schmalhausen who published during two years several works on Carbon and Permian floras of the Pechora basin. In 1879 he moved to Kiev where he became a head of the Botany department at the University. Palaeobotanical investigations stopped again untill 1900 when these were reactivated by I.V. Palibin (1872-1949) who described the samples of Tetriary plants obtained from the Geological commettee and collected during expeditions of the Geographic Society. I.V. Palibin introduced many improvements in keeping and maintaining of the Palaeobotanical collection. The most interesting fossil plants were exhibited then in showcases.

In 1932 the palaeobotanical branch consisting of I.V. Palibin and A.B. Yarmolinko was established of the Botanical Museum. In 1933 this branch was moved up ito the department of plant systematics and geography. After that in 1934 almost all the palaeobotanical collections were moved there; only the samples used for the exhibitions, the dublicates and some old collections left in the Botanical Museum. In 1952 the Department of Palaeobotany of the Komarov Botanical Institute was established; the most of the palaeobotanical collections are kept there until recently.

In 1971 the palaeobotanist L.Yu. Budantsev became the head of the Botanical Museum; he promoted the reanimation of the palaeobotanical investigations in this department. L.Yu. Budantsev and G.V. Delle, L.B. Golovneva and I.A. Ozerov, who came later in the Botanical Museum, conducted numerous expeditions to Kamchatka, Chukotka, Far East, Siberia, Central Asia and Caucasus, where many Mesozoic and Cenozoic plants have been collected. New palaeobotanical exposition on the first floor was created in 1975 on the basis of these collections and of the gifts of many geological institutions and museums as well.

Each sample of the Palaeobotanical collection has a compound number like BIN 1544-16-241. In this example ‘BIN’ means the belonging of the sample to the Komarov Botanical Institute, 1544 is number of the sample, 16 is number of its location, and 241 is number of collection. Each collection contains the samples collected by the same collector in the same locality or geological bed. For each collection there is an inventory where number, name of species (if it is described), status (type specimen, original to published works etc.) for each sample as well as references to the publications of its description and picture are listed. Moreover, each sample is accompanied by the label wit its number and information about locality, stratigraphic position, age, collectors, date of collection, and author(s) of its identification.

The most of the fossil plant samples obtaining to the Palaeobotanical collection belong to new species unknown for the science. The principal scientific activiteis of palaeobotanists are description of new taxa, and studies of morphology, anatomy and taxonomy of the fossil plants. Another important research fields is palaeophytogeography, i.e. systematic composition of fossil floras of different ages and regions, their origin and history. Stratigraphic and palaeoclimatic studies are also conducted in the Botanical Museum.

Cretaceous-Tertiary transition in the Northeastern Asia // Palaentological journal. 1995. N 1a. P. 36-49.

Golovneva L. B., Nessov L. A. On the origin of fossil forests in the Late Cretaceous deposits of the Byssekty Formation (Central Kizylkum Desert, Uzbekistan) // JAWA Journal. 1996. Vol. 17(3). P. 248-249.

Manchester S.R., Crane P.R., Golovneva L.B. An extinct genus with to extant Davidia and Camptotheca (Cornales) from the Paleocene of North America and Eastern Asia. // Int. J. Plant Sci. 1999. Vol. 160. N 1. P. 188-207.

Krassilov V.A., Golovneva L.B. A new heterosporous plant from the Cretaceous of West Siberia.// Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 1999. Vol. 105 P. 75-84

Golovneva L.B. The Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) climate in the Northern Hemisphere // Climates: Past and present (ed. Hart M. B.). Geological Society, London, Special publications. 2000. Vol. 181. P. 43-54.

Golovneva L.B. Early Palaeogene floras of Spitsbergen and North Atlantic floristic exchange. Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Geologica // 2000. Vol. 44. N 1. P. 39-50.

Golovneva L.B. Palaeogene climates of Spitsbergen. GFF. vol. 122. 2000. p. 62-63

Golovneva L.B. Aquatic plant community at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary in north-eastern Russia // Acta Palaeobotanica. 2000. Vol. 40. N 2. P. 139-151.

Maslova N.P., Golovneva, L.B. A Hamamelid inflorescence with in situ pollen grains from the Cenomanian of Eastern Siberia // Paleontol. Journ. 2000. Vol. 34, Suppl. 1. P. S40-S49.

Krassilov V.A., Golovneva L.B. Inflorescence with tricolpate pollen grains from the Cenomanian of Tschulymo-Yenisey Basin, West Siberia // Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 2001. Vol. 115. P. 99-106.

Sun G., M. Akhmetiev, L. Golovneva and others. In search of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Heilongjiang River Area of China // Jour. Geosci. NE Asia. 2002. Vol. 5. N 2. P. 105-113.

отложений Сибири // Палеонтол. журн. 2003. N 5. С. 1-9.

Krassilov V.A., Golovneva L.B. A minute mid-Cretaceous flower from Siberia and implications for the problem of basal angiosperms // Geodiveritas. 2004. Vol. 26. N 1. P. 5-15.

Golovneva L.B., Bugdaeva E.V., Sun G., Akhmetiev A.M., Kodrul T.M. Systematic composition and age of floristic assemblages from the Kundur and Taipinglinchang formations // Proceedings of the 3^rd Symposium on Cretaceous Biota and K/T boundary in Heilongjiang River area. Chanchun: Jilin University, 2004. P. 23-26.

Maslova N.P., Golovneva L.B., Tekleva M.V. Infructescences of Kasicarpa gen. nov. (Hamamelidales) from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of the Chulym-Enisey depression, western Siberia, Russia // Acta Palaeobotanica. 2006.