First record of final Pleistocene macroflora on the banks of Teles Pires River, MT, Brazil

This work aims at the taxonomic recognition of fossil leaves of angiosperms, which were recovered by the paleontological rescue carried out under the Program Research, Monitoring and Salvage of the Paleontological Heritage of the Teles Pires Hydroelectric Power Plant. The fossiliferous deposits, found in samples of laminated argillite, were located in the current bed and terraces of the Teles Pires River, inside the area destined to the water reservoir. At the base of the studied phytophossiliferous outcrop, vegetal remains in reworked mud clasts presented absolute age between 22,580 and 23,290 years BP, through the dating obtained by radiocarbon method (C-14). For the present contribution, 27 specimens, preserved in the form of impressions and compressions, were selected for taxonomic determination. A monocotyledonous and seven eudycotyledonous (Albizia subdimidiata and Parkia multijuga, of the family Fabaceae, Brosimum cf. gaudichaudii, of the family Moraceae, Theobroma speciosum and cf. Apeiba sp., of the family Malvaceae, Aspidosperma cf. A. polyneuron, of the family Apocynaceae, and a specimen attributed to the family Myrtaceae - tribe Myrtae) were identified through the analysis and description of the foliar architecture of the specimens. The floristic composition of the analyzed taxa, together with the geographical distribution of their current representatives and their respective habitats and habits, accused the predominance of floristic elements typically found in the Amazon Rainforest, under a humid climate regime. However, two species that may occur in savanna vegetation have been identified (i.e. Aspidosperma cf. A. polyneuron, Brosimum cf. B. gaudichaudii).