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Zhangwuia: an enigmatic organ with a bennettitalean appearance and enclosed ovules.
- Source :
- Earth & Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Feb2019, Vol. 108 Issue 4, p419-428, 10p
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- The feature distinguishing typical angiosperms from gymnosperms is that their ovules are enclosed before pollination. Bennettitales were formerly related to angiosperms because of the flower-like organisation of the former's reproductive organs. There is little information on how the naked ovules of Bennettitales became enclosed in angiosperms because fossil evidence for such a transition, if it exists, has not been described. Here, we report a reproductive organ, Zhangwuia gen. nov., from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. Like many Bennettitales, the arrangement of the foliar parts around the female part in Zhangwuia demonstrates a resemblance to typical angiosperm flowers. It is noteworthy that the ovule is secluded from the exterior space in Zhangwuia , therefore implying the existence of angio-ovuly. Although Bennettitales have been related to angiosperms for more than a hundred years, their way of ovule-enclosing was not previously revealed. The discovery of Zhangwuia prompts a rethinking of the relationship between Bennettitales and angiosperms, as well as of the origin of angiosperms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17556910
- Volume :
- 108
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Earth & Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 135036949
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755691018000257