Pollen Classopolis: Indicator of Jurassic and Cretaceous climates

Abstract

Pollen Classopollis belonging to the extinct coniferalean family Cherolepidiaceae are widely spread in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The material from the USSR provides the most detailed data on the quantitative distribution of the pollen. A low content (1-10%) of Classopollis suggests temperate climatic conditions, whereas a percentage (20-50%) reveals warm subtropical one. The highest content attaining 60-75 % or even 90 % (in Oxfordian of the USSR southern regions) testifies to an arid climate. Thus the distribution of the pollen plotted against that of lithological indicators of the climate allows to reveal climatic belts for the different epochs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous and to establish climatic fluctuation during this time.