The Cretaceous “high-fire” period was a global event that reached almost all continental masses during that period in Earth’s history. The extensive wildfires directly affected plant communities. Significant palaeobotanical records in the Antarctic Peninsula have been studied from the James Ross Sub-Basin, especially from the Santa Marta Formation. However, there is no described evidence for palaeo-wildfires in the area so far. Here, we present the first occurrence of fossilized macro-charcoal coming from James Ross Island, confirming that palaeo-wildfires occurred in the Campanian vegetation preserved in the Santa Marta Formation. The new charcoal material has a gymnospermous taxonomic affinity, more specifically with the Araucariaceae, which is in accordance with previous palaeobotanical records from James Ross Island. This occurrence adds new information to the construction of the palaeo-wildfire scenario for Gondwana.

白垩纪“大火”时期是地球历史上那个时期几乎影响到所有大陆质量的全球性事件。广泛的野火直接影响了植物群落。南极半岛重要的古植物记录已从 James Ross 次盆地，特别是 Santa Marta 地层进行了研究。然而，到目前为止，还没有描述该地区发生古野火的证据。在这里，我们展示了来自詹姆斯罗斯岛的首次出现的大型木炭化石，证实了在圣玛尔塔地层保存的坎帕尼亚植被中发生了古野火。新的木炭材料具有裸子植物分类学亲和力，更具体地说是与南洋杉科，这与詹姆斯罗斯岛之前的古植物记录一致。