A eudicot leaf from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian, Araripe Basin) Crato Konservat‐Lagerstätte

Premise The Crato Konservat‐Lagerstätte in Brazil preserves an exceptionally rich assemblage of plant macrofossils from the Early Cretaceous (late Aptian), including rare early angiosperm fossils related to Nymphaeales, monocots, and magnoliids, and a variety of angiosperms of uncertain affinities....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of botany 2021-10, Vol.108 (10), p.2055-2065
Main Authors: Pessoa, Edlley M., Ribeiro, Alexandre C., Jud, Nathan A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiosperms
Brazil
Cretaceous
Ferns
Flora
Fossils
Gymnosperms
Leaves
macrofossil
Morphology
New species
Physical characteristics
Plant communities
Plant populations
Pollen
Quarries
Ranunculales
Teeth
Venation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Premise The Crato Konservat‐Lagerstätte in Brazil preserves an exceptionally rich assemblage of plant macrofossils from the Early Cretaceous (late Aptian), including rare early angiosperm fossils related to Nymphaeales, monocots, and magnoliids, and a variety of angiosperms of uncertain affinities. Macrofossils of eudicot angiosperms have not been described previously, despite the presence of tricolpate pollen. We describe a fossil leaf with morphology characteristic of eudicot angiosperms. Methods The fossil was collected from a quarry in the Lower Cretaceous (late Aptian) Crato Formation of northeastern Brazil in the state of Ceará. We compared the leaf architecture with that of ferns, gymnosperms, and similar living and fossil angiosperms. Results The leaf of Baderadea pinnatissecta gen. et sp. nov. is simple and petiolate, with leaf architecture similar to that of some herbaceous Ranunculales. The blade is 5 cm long and the margin is untoothed and twice pinnately lobed with narrow lobes (pinnatisect). The primary vein framework is pinnate and there are multiple orders of reticulate venation. Conclusions The combination of characters preserved in the fossil supports the interpretation that B. pinnatissecta was an herbaceous eudicot similar to some members of Ranunculales and distinguished from other lobate Aptian angiosperms by leaf shape, presence of multiple orders of reticulate venation, and the absence of glandular teeth. The presence of eudicots in the flora of the Crato was already supported by pollen; the discovery of macrofossils like these provides additional information about their morphology and ecological role in low‐latitude Early Cretaceous plant communities.
ISSN:0002-9122
1537-2197
DOI:10.1002/ajb2.1751