Fossil evidence of eupolypod ferns in the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar

Regalado, Ledis; Schmidt, Alexander R.; Krings, Michael; Bechteler, Julia; Schneider, Harald; Heinrichs, Jochen

doi:10.1007/s00606-017-1439-2

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…five tonnes per year) is excavated from these deposits. Eight fossils of different families within the Polypodiales and many sporangia and spores have been found in Burmese amber (Poinar & Buckley, 2008;Schneider et al, 2016;Regalado et al, 2017aRegalado et al, , 2017bRegalado et al, , 2018Regalado et al, , 2019Li et al, 2018Li et al, , 2019 and several taxa await description. Four fern species were described from Dominican amber, so far (Gómez, 1982;Lóriga et al, 2014;Schneider et al, 2015;Sundue & Poinar, 2016).…”

Section: Fern Diversity In Baltic Ambermentioning

confidence: 99%

How diverse were ferns in the Baltic amber forest?

Sadowski

Seyfullah

Regalado³

et al. 2019

J of Sytematics Evolution

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Diverse temperate forest types and a high atmospheric humidity have recently been suggested for the Eocene source area of Baltic amber. However, ferns are astonishingly rare as inclusions in this amber, which is in contrast to other seed‐free land plants, fungi, and lichens. Moreover, the identities of some of the few described putative fern taxa are dubious, and some fossils were even assigned to the Paleozoic seed fern genera Alethopteris, Pecopteris and to the form genus Sphenopteris containing Paleozoic and Mesozoic fern‐like leaf fossils. Here, we review previously described fern inclusions from Baltic amber and identify further fern‐like leaf inclusions as belonging to the extant angiosperm genus Comptonia (sweet ferns, Myricaceae). We conclude that only one taxon, Matonia striata (Matoniaceae), can with confidence be identified as a Polypodiopsida representative. Although “Pecopteris” humboldtiana is so far only known as sterile foliage, its leaf morphology strongly suggests that also this taxon belongs to the Polypodiopsida rather than to any other tracheophyte lineage. We propose accommodating “Pecopteris” humboldtiana in the new genus Berendtiopteris. “Alethopteris” serrata and “Sphenopteris” phyllocladoides are not to be regarded as evidence of ferns from Baltic amber. Reinvestigation of the holotypes of these two taxa did not reveal to which tracheophyte lineages these fossils belong. We suggest that the scarcity of fern remains from Baltic amber may reflect both a relatively low fern diversity in the source area of the fossil resin, and an absence or rarity of epiphytic and climbing ferns as observed in modern temperate forest ecosystems.

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Section: Fern Diversity In Baltic Ambermentioning

confidence: 99%

How diverse were ferns in the Baltic amber forest?

Sadowski

Seyfullah

Regalado³

et al. 2019

J of Sytematics Evolution

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“…This study demonstrates the value of new discoveries in broadening our understanding of the complexity of the vegetation that grew in ancient landscapes. Heinrichsia cheilanthoides, together with recently discovered fossils of members of several other fern families, including Thyrsopteridaceae, Cystodiaceae, Dennstaedtiaceae, Lindsaeaceae, and eupolypods incertae sedis, in Burmese amber (Poinar & Buckley, 2008;Regalado et al, 2017aRegalado et al, , 2017bRegalado et al, , 2018bSchneider et al, 2016b;Li et al, 2018Li et al, , 2019, suggests that the Cretaceous amber forests of Myanmar were characterized by a rich fern flora, which appears to have been dominated by polypods based on the evidence gathered to date (Schneider et al, 2016b). We are well aware of the facts that this assessment is very preliminary and that detailed observations of many more specimens and forms will be necessary to complete the inventory of ferns in Burmese amber.…”

Section: Concluding Remarkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heinrichsia cheilanthoides gen. et sp. nov., a fossil fern in the family Pteridaceae (Polypodiales) from the Cretaceous amber forests of Myanmar

Regalado¹,

Schmidt

Müller³

et al. 2019

J of Sytematics Evolution

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Divergence time estimates suggest that most clades constituting the fern family Pteridaceae (Polypodiales) were in existence by the Early Cretaceous. However, fossil evidence to corroborate this remains exceedingly rare. Burmese amber is an important source of new information on the radiation of derived fern lineages during the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution. This study describes Heinrichsia cheilanthoides gen. et sp. nov., a fern with suggested affinities to Pteridaceae, based on fertile foliage portions preserved in Early Cretaceous (~100 Ma) amber from Myanmar. Heinrichsia cheilanthoides is characterized by a pinnate‐pinnatifid frond that bears apical, marginal sori protected by a pseudoindusium. Sporangia are of the polypod type and contain tetrahedral‐globose, trilete spores with a striate perine. This discovery provides a new calibration point to test and refine molecular clock‐based concepts of the evolutionary history of the Pteridaceae. Heinrichsia cheilanthoides further substantiates the suggestion that the Cretaceous forests of Myanmar were home to a rich fern flora.

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“…Although a range of molecular dating methods is now available, they all share a vital dependence on fossils as one of important age calibrations. It is therefore of prime importance to thoroughly document and critically evaluate new and informative fern fossils, especially those fossils from those periods of geologic time that are believed to represent important phases in the establishment and/or radiation of new fern lineages [6]. However, so far, no single study based on fossils from stratigraphic depositions has provided unequivocal evidence for a Cretaceous or pre-Cretaceous occurrence for Eupolypods [2] [7] [8] [9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the recent years, it has been found that approximately 100 million-year-old Myanmar ambers provide a unique source of polypod fossils. Eight fossils of different families and numerous sporangia, spores, and scales have been found in Myanmar ambers [6] [10]- [15], including eupolypod-like fossil Cretacifilix fungiformis [10], the first compelling eupolypod fossil Holttumopteris burmensis [6], eupolypod fossil scales, and spores ( Figure 2). All these findings suggest that a diversity of eupolypod ferns was present already in the mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber forests, clearly showing that Eupolypods originated before mid-Cretaceous, probably as early as the Early Jurassic, consistent with the divergence time estimates from the study of Testo and Sundue [5].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversification of Eupolypods in Mid-Cretaceous—Evidenced by Myanmar Amber Forest

Li¹,

Zhang²

2019

OJG

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The evolutionary history of Eupolypods still remains unclear, especially on its diversification scenarios. In recent years, it has been found that approximately 100 million-year-old Myanmar amber provides a unique source of polypod fossils. Different families and numerous sporangia, spores, and scales have been found in Myanmar amber. These discoveries are nevertheless important because they provided the first unequivocal fossil evidence that the diversity of eupolypod ferns was present already in the mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber forest. This clearly shows that Eupolypods originated before mid-Cretaceous, probably as early as the Early Jurassic, which is consistent with the recent divergence time estimate based on molecular dating.

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Fossil evidence of eupolypod ferns in the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar

Cited by 22 publications

References 67 publications

How diverse were ferns in the Baltic amber forest?

How diverse were ferns in the Baltic amber forest?

Heinrichsia cheilanthoides gen. et sp. nov., a fossil fern in the family Pteridaceae (Polypodiales) from the Cretaceous amber forests of Myanmar

Diversification of Eupolypods in Mid-Cretaceous—Evidenced by Myanmar Amber Forest

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