Early Eocene ambers of the Cambay lignite in Gujarat, India, are well known for their diverse insect fauna and dispersed pollen, but the included flowers have received limited attention. The fossil record of Apocynaceae is relatively poor, and the distinctive floral characters of this family have not been recognized in the fossil record before.
METHODS:Remains of tiny flowers in amber were studied by micro-CT scanning, reflected light, and epifluorescence microscopy.RESULTS: Flowers of Maryendressantha succinifera gen. et. sp. n. have actinomorphic, pentamerous, tubular corollas 2.2-2.3 mm wide, and 1.7-2.1 mm deep with sinistrorse aestivation and androecia consisting of a whorl of five stamens attached by short filaments to the lower half of the corolla tube. Anthers are ovate, rounded basally and apically tapered with their connectives convergent with one another in a conical configuration. The pollen is globose, psilate, tricolporate, and very small (10-11 µm). The combined characters indicate a position within the grade known as subfamily Rauvolfioideae.CONCLUSIONS: These fossils, as the oldest remains of Rauvolfioids, complement the fossil records of Apocynoid and Asclepioid fossil seeds from other regions, demonstrating that the Apocynaceae were well established by the early Eocene, mostly consistent with prior divergence estimates for the phylogeny of this family. Potential pollinators, also preserved in the Cambay amber, include mosquitos, gnats, small moths, and stingless bees.
A fossil of a mayfly nymph that shows similarities with the modern genus Teloganella Ulmer, 1939 of the family Teloganellidae is recorded for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. It is systematically described from the Gurha lignite mine of Bikaner, Rajasthan which belongs to the Palana Formation (late Paleocene-early Eocene). As assignment of the fossil to a modern species of Teloganella is difficult due to indistinguishable location of gills in the impression, a new species, Teloganella gurhaensis Agnihotri et al., sp. nov. is instituted to include this fossil naiad resembling the extant Teloganella.
Micro and macrofossil assemblage have been recovered and documented from the lignite beds of the Vastan lignite mines, Cambay Basin, Gujarat. These are extracted after dissolving amber pieces inclusive of pollen spores, epiphyllous fruiting fungal bodies, algal elements, insect fossils with some unidentified biotic groups. Of these, the major dominant flora belongs to angiosperm origin, in accompaniment to pteridophyte spores and fungal elements. Recorded palynotaxa viz. Proxapertites, Spinizonocolpites, Neocouperipollis and Acanthotricolpites are significant elements for tropical humid vegetation. Rich terrestrial amber palynomorphs and palynodebris suggest proximity source vegetation. Characteristic biotic interactions within the dense evergreen tropical rain forest environment is suggestive of mutual association among groups during the Early Eocene and share close affinities with those of Kutch and Barmer, Bikaner and Nagaur basins.
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