Fossil plants from the early Neogene Socorro flora, central New Mexico

The Socorro flora occurs in the early Neogene Popotosa Formation near Socorro, New Mexico, and consists of impressions of juniper foliage and angiosperm leaflets and floral parts. The occurrence of this fossil assemblage was first reported by C. Burton (1971, unpub. student report for New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology). The collection upon which the present study is based was made during 1980 and 1981 in conjunction with the author’s work on Tertiary floras of the Rio Grande rift.

The flora is of particular paleobotanical interest because of the unusually small size of the preserved plant structures, and because of the presence of several reproductive parts. This paper discusses the geologic occurrence of the flora, illustrates some of the common fossil plants, and presents an interpretation of the paleoecology.