''Austrosequoia'' was a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coas ...

that existed from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

in what is now Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. Fossils are known from the

Winton Formation The Winton Formation is a Cretaceous geological formation in central-western Queensland, Australia. It is late Albian to early Turonian in age. The formation blankets large areas of central-western Queensland. It consists of sedimentary rocks s ...

, the Little Rapid River in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and the

Tupuangi Formation The Tupuangi Formation is a geological formation in New Zealand, only exposed on Pitt Island in the Chatham Islands. It is the oldest exposed sedimentary unit within the archipelago. It was deposited in terrestrial deltaic to paralic condit ...

. While there have been doubts on its identity as a member of

Sequoioideae Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coas ...

, it does seem likely based on morphological similarity. It is not the only evidence of Sequoioideae members in the Southern Hemisphere, as there is some evidence of a species of

Sequoia Sequoia, Sequoya or Sequoyah may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Sequoioideae, a three-genus subfamily of the cypress family ** ''Sequoia'' (genus), a genus with one living and several fossil species *** ''Sequoia sempervirens'', coas ...

(''Sequoia chilensis'') that once lived in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, though these specimens are questionable. It is not known why ''Austrosequoia'' went extinct with the study that described the last species,''A. tasmanica'', stating that the decline of the conifers in Tasmania was clearly something rather complex which requires extensive study. Regardless, modern attempts in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

have managed to grow the extant

Coastal Redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus ''Sequoia (genus), Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast r ...

(native to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

) with remarkable success. A notable example of this is the Whakarewarewa forest in New Zealand.

Morphology

''Austrosequoia'' is known from cones and leaves. The ovulate cones are ellipsoidal with 29-49 scales. The cone axis is rather slender.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132179670 Sequoioideae Trees Prehistoric gymnosperm genera