Late Miocene Cymodocea seagrass in the Guadalquivir Basin (southern Spain)

Despite the abundance of seagrass-related deposits in geological record, seagrass macrofossils are scattered time and space, due to low preservation potential marine angiosperms. Fossil impressions, mainly rhizomes occur Messinian (late Miocene) marl beds intercalated cross-bedded bioclastic limestones Guadalquivir Basin near Alcalá de Guadaíra southern Spain. Vegetative characters indicate that most remains can be attributed Cymodocea cf. nodosa , which also probably belong a few molds fruits. Two other fossil fragments only assigned Alismatales indet. The plants lived sheltered ephemeral areas among shallow-water submarine dunes, deposition fine-grained sediment favored their fossilization. During late Miocene was open Atlantic Ocean and, therefore, these occurrences lie within modern biogeographic distribution C. species genus out Indo-West Pacific region. At moment, it is record fossils Europe. • Unique concentration rhizomes. Most nodosa. Seagrasses grew shallow, dunes. This