New Species of Otozamites Braun (Bennettitales) with Preserved Anatomical Structure from the Middle Jurassic of Kursk Region, Russia

The new bennettitalean species Otozamites meyenii sp. nov. is described from the Middle Jurassic deposits of the Mikhailovskii Rudnik open mine (Kursk Region). The new species is characterized by long finger-like papillae on the covering cells of the pinnae lower epidermis. The rachis vascular system of the new species possesses structure, characteristic of leaves of other Bennettitales: a ring, formed by two U-shaped rows of collateral vascular bundles with xylem faced toward interior. Unlike the Lower Cretaceous O. kerae Ohana et Kimura, possessing well defined bundles, the new species has indistinct boundaries between bundles. Our data also point on the presence in representatives of the genus Otozamites Braun of tracheids, characteristic of several angiosperms, whereas the presence of vessels in the vascular system of Otozamites leaves has not been confirmed.