An exceptionally well-preserved monodominant fossil forest of Wataria from the lower Miocene of Japan

Monodominant wood and leaf assemblages suggest a biological connection between Wataria and Byttneriophyllum

We found 130 Wataria stumps in the PFP section, which accounted for 95% of tree remains buried in the ca. 2000-m² area (Fig. 4a). Other than Wataria, we found one Taxodioxylon stump and six tree casts of uncertain taxonomic identity. The percentage of Wataria was consistent with that observed in a previous study conducted in the PFP section [96% (27 of 28 stumps)]¹⁵. In addition, about half of the stumps were young trees with trunk diameters ≤ 20 cm…