Marine molluscan constraints on the age of Cretaceous fossil forests of Alexander Island, Antarctica

New evidence, provided by bracketing marine molluscan faunas, suggests a Late Albian age for fossil forests in the upper part of the Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island. These in situ forests are underlain by Late Aptian and Late Albian strata containing faunas including ammonites (the last of which is Lechites), inoceramid bivalves, dimitobelid belemnites and trace fossils. The tree-bearing levels occupied a fluvial dominated environment, subject to periodic major floods. They were transgressed during late Albian time by returning marine conditions with diverse faunas, including hamitid and puzosiid ammonites. The increased precision in dating of the fossil forests will improve palaeobotanical contributions to climate and environmental studies.