The extinct tree fern Tempskya Corda from the Albian of Spain: palaeophytogeographical and palaeoenvironmental implications

New evidence of the extinct tree fern of the genus Tempskya Corda from Albian deposits in western Eurasia (northeastern Spain) is presented. These plant fossil remains consist of several silicified false trunks measuring up to 1.20 m long, some of which still preserve the apex. Rhizomes and petioles are more abundant in the apical zone of the false trunk. Some false trunks preserve charcoalified tissues that can be interpreted as evidence that palaeo-wildfires affected the false trunks several times from mostly the same direction. Sedimentological evidence suggests that the fern habitat was close to coastal, tidally influenced environments. These new fossils from the Albian of Spain fill the chronological and distributional gap of Tempskya that existed in Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous. Temporal and spatial changes in Tempskya distributions are proposed on several palaeogeographical maps.