Inflorescences of Mauldinia sp. (Lauraceae) and associated fruits from the Cenomanian of Languedoc Roussillon,France |
| |
| Institution: | 1. SNSB-Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany;2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany;3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7534, USA;4. Forschungsstelle für Paläobotanik am Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | Inflorescences of Mauldinia (Lauraceae) are described from the middle Cenomanian Pauletian facies of Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon, south-eastern France. This is the first record of the genus from this part of Europe. Mauldinia sp. is described based on peduncles and lateral units. Isolated, slender peduncles show spirally arranged scars or rarely attached lateral units. Isolated lateral units consist of cladode-like structures showing up to seven flower/fruit scars. Some isolated fruits were found associated with peduncles and lateral units. Fruits are ovoid fruits contain a single, elongated seed. The pericarp consists of epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. The seed consists of two cotyledons containing well-developed reserve cells. Mauldinia sp. from Gard differs from known Mauldinia species by having longer internodes along the peduncle and by the shape of the lateral units. Sedimentological and palaeontological evidence suggests that Mauldinia sp. from Gard grew in a protected, littoral environment with limited marine influence. This report provides new information to the relatively poorly known Cretaceous record of angiosperms in France. The occurrence of Mauldinia in the lower Upper Cretaceous of Gard corroborates the widespread occurrence of the genus in marginal littoral environments during the mid-Cretaceous. |
| |
| Keywords: | Fossil angiosperm Inflorescences Lauraceae Cenomanian X-ray synchrotron microtomography |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
