Palmoxylon enochii sp. nov. de la formación Olmos (Campaniano superior-Maastrichtiano inferior), Coahuila, México

Different types of flowering plants and conifers have been collected in the Olmos Formation, Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian). A stem represents a new species of Palmoxylon Schenk (Arecaceae), P. enochii sp. nov. The stem portion known of this new plant has vascular bundles organized in radial strands; each vascular bundle has 2 or 3 metaxylem and 3 to 9 protoxylem vessel elements. The ground tissue consists of thin-walled cells forming a not compact tissue with intercellular spaces, rarely described in Upper Cretaceous palms. The diversity of palm trees of the Olmos Formation flora further supports the presence of a diverse paleovegetation that later contributed with important elements to the humid and dry tropics during Cenozoic time in southern North America and northern and central Mexico.