Recently, whether Archaefructus has bisexual multi-parted flowers or just inflorescences of unisexual flowers, and whether it is ancestral to all angiosperms or a derived eudicot have been debated. Here, from the same...Recently, whether Archaefructus has bisexual multi-parted flowers or just inflorescences of unisexual flowers, and whether it is ancestral to all angiosperms or a derived eudicot have been debated. Here, from the same Yixian Formation, NE China, we report a new Archaefructus species, A. eoflora sp. nov., with the generic characteristics of dissected leaves and bisexual reproductive axes. It is entirely preserved with roots, rhizome, shoots and protogynous reproductive organs at different developmental stages. Its lateral and main fertile shoots form a pseudo-indeterminate pattern, while the reproductive branches on the main shoot form a cymose inflorescence. Subtended by 1-2 bract-like leaves, the section of stamen clusters changes into a much shorter section of carpels that have one row of orthotropous ovules. Significantly, one cluster bearing two carpels and one stamen between the two sections demonstrates a true bisexual flower, an important step of the origin of floral bisexuality, and the homology between the stamen and carpel. The complex reproductive axes represent a mix between flowers and inflorescences, and suggest that A. eoflora sp. nov. possesses the potential to evolve into a variety of diverse flower types as found in modern basal and early fossil angiosperms. A comparison with other two species also leads to a revision of the generic diagnosis.展开更多
We describe a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Borealosaurus wimani gen. et sp. nov., based on a distinctive mid-distal caudal vertebra from the early Late Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation exposed in the Shuangmiao ...We describe a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Borealosaurus wimani gen. et sp. nov., based on a distinctive mid-distal caudal vertebra from the early Late Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation exposed in the Shuangmiao village of Beipiao in Liaoning, China. We provisionally refer an isolated tooth crown, a middle caudal vertebra, and a right humerus from the same locality and horizon to this taxon. Borealosaurus is distinguished from other sauropods in its possession of opisthocoelous mid-distal caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of opisthocoelous caudals in Borealosaurus and the Mongolian sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia raises the possibility that these taxa pertain to an as-yet unrecognized titanosaurian subclade endemic to the Cretaceous Asia.展开更多
The postcranial skeleton of a new specimen of the long-tailed lizard Dalinghosaurus longidigitus was excavated from the Yixian Formation in Lingyuan, western Liaoning. The new specimen provides more anatomical informa...The postcranial skeleton of a new specimen of the long-tailed lizard Dalinghosaurus longidigitus was excavated from the Yixian Formation in Lingyuan, western Liaoning. The new specimen provides more anatomical information about this species, especially about the anterior dorsal vertebrae, shoulder girdle and forelimbs. This lizard can be included within the clade Scleroglossa by its 27 or more presacrals, moderately long pubis, and gently notched distal end of tibia. But the detailed systematic position for this taxon remains undetermined. The features of the much longer hind limbs and pes compared with forelimbs and manus, metatarsal Ⅳ longer than Ⅲ, pedal phalanges robust, and penultimate phalanx not longer than other phalanges etc. suggest that this lizard was a running and ground swelling animal.展开更多
文摘Recently, whether Archaefructus has bisexual multi-parted flowers or just inflorescences of unisexual flowers, and whether it is ancestral to all angiosperms or a derived eudicot have been debated. Here, from the same Yixian Formation, NE China, we report a new Archaefructus species, A. eoflora sp. nov., with the generic characteristics of dissected leaves and bisexual reproductive axes. It is entirely preserved with roots, rhizome, shoots and protogynous reproductive organs at different developmental stages. Its lateral and main fertile shoots form a pseudo-indeterminate pattern, while the reproductive branches on the main shoot form a cymose inflorescence. Subtended by 1-2 bract-like leaves, the section of stamen clusters changes into a much shorter section of carpels that have one row of orthotropous ovules. Significantly, one cluster bearing two carpels and one stamen between the two sections demonstrates a true bisexual flower, an important step of the origin of floral bisexuality, and the homology between the stamen and carpel. The complex reproductive axes represent a mix between flowers and inflorescences, and suggest that A. eoflora sp. nov. possesses the potential to evolve into a variety of diverse flower types as found in modern basal and early fossil angiosperms. A comparison with other two species also leads to a revision of the generic diagnosis.
文摘We describe a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Borealosaurus wimani gen. et sp. nov., based on a distinctive mid-distal caudal vertebra from the early Late Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation exposed in the Shuangmiao village of Beipiao in Liaoning, China. We provisionally refer an isolated tooth crown, a middle caudal vertebra, and a right humerus from the same locality and horizon to this taxon. Borealosaurus is distinguished from other sauropods in its possession of opisthocoelous mid-distal caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of opisthocoelous caudals in Borealosaurus and the Mongolian sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia raises the possibility that these taxa pertain to an as-yet unrecognized titanosaurian subclade endemic to the Cretaceous Asia.
基金This research is supported financially by the"Tenth Five-Year"Special Foundation under the Ministry of Land and Resources to Ji Qiang,the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40272008)to Ji Shu'an,and the Fund for Young Geologist of the former Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources(Qn979827)to Ji Shui'an.
文摘The postcranial skeleton of a new specimen of the long-tailed lizard Dalinghosaurus longidigitus was excavated from the Yixian Formation in Lingyuan, western Liaoning. The new specimen provides more anatomical information about this species, especially about the anterior dorsal vertebrae, shoulder girdle and forelimbs. This lizard can be included within the clade Scleroglossa by its 27 or more presacrals, moderately long pubis, and gently notched distal end of tibia. But the detailed systematic position for this taxon remains undetermined. The features of the much longer hind limbs and pes compared with forelimbs and manus, metatarsal Ⅳ longer than Ⅲ, pedal phalanges robust, and penultimate phalanx not longer than other phalanges etc. suggest that this lizard was a running and ground swelling animal.
