Nilssoniopteris binggouensissp. nov. (Bennettitales) from the Lower Cretaceous of Northeast China

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to International Journal of Plant Sciences. Premise of research. A new species, Nilssoniopteris binggouensis (Bennettitales), is recognized from the Lower Cretaceous Binggou Formation from western Liaoning Province, northeast China. This is the first time that fossil plants are reported from the Early Cretaceous Binggou Formation from Liaoning Province. The new species is one of the youngest-known Bennettitales from China.Methodology. Fossil specimens were examined using SEM and LM and were compared with other published taxa.Pivotal results. Based on leaf morphology and epidermal characters, we describe a new species, N. binggouensis. The leaf is petiolate with entire margin and fine, parallel lateral veins. The leaf lamina is hypostomatic. The anticlinal walls of epidermal cells are strongly and tightly folded. The stomatal apparatus is brachyparacytic (psyndetocheilic).Conclusions. The occurrence of the new species in the late Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province significantly extends the stratigraphic and geographic distribution of the genus Nilssoniopteris in the Northern Hemisphere. It represents one of the easternmost occurrences of this predominantly Eurasian genus. This report increases our knowledge of this Early Cretaceous fossil site and improves our understanding of the diversity of the Bennettitales.

A Taxus leafy branch with attached ovules from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, North China

“…According to the composition and characteristics of the flora and the characters of the deposits, the Lisangou and Guyang formations are considered to equal the Shahai and Fuxin formations in the Fuxin Basin of northeastern China (Tan and Zhu, 1982;Deng et al, 2012). The age of the Shahai Formation is considered to be Aptian, and the Fuxin Formation is interpreted as AptianeAlbian (He et al, 2004;Sha, 2007;Chang et al, 2009;Kusuhashi et al, 2009a, b;Na et al, 2014). Therefore, the age of the Guyang Formation is tentatively considered to be AptianeAlbian.…”