Fruits of Sloanea L. (Elaeocarpaceae) from the Oligocene of Petroșani Basin, Romania

Well-preserved fruit remains of the genus Sloanea Linné 1753 (Elaeocarpaceae) are reported for the first time in Romania, from the Oligocene Dâlja-Uricani Formation of the Petroșani Basin, South Carpathians. Six fructifications, collected from a sterile dump of the Paroșeni coal mine, are associated on four hand specimens. The fossils are assigned to Sloanea eocenica (Rásky) Kvaček, Hably & Manchester, the comparative morphological and morphometrical analysis demonstrating similarities with Sloanea eocenica reported from the Oligocene Tard Clay Formation, Hungary. First described as Sloaneacarpum eocenicum from the Oligocene of Hungary by Rásky (1962), the distinctive spiny capsules rarely occur in the continental Cenozoic deposits of Europe. Furthermore, this represents the second record of the species overall. •Oligocene Sloanea eocenica (Elaeocarpaceae Family) fruits are studied from Romania.•Similarities with Sloanea eocenica from Hungary are reported.•Sloanea eocenica is significant stratigraphically and palaeoecologically.•Sloanea eocenica in the Petroșani Basin is significant for the Paratethys area.