A better theoretical and practical understanding of the linkage between paleo-CO2 and climate during geological history is important to enhance the sustainable development of modern human society. Development in plant...A better theoretical and practical understanding of the linkage between paleo-CO2 and climate during geological history is important to enhance the sustainable development of modern human society. Development in plant physiology since the 1980s has led to the realization that fossil plants can serve as a proxy for paleoatmosphere and paleobiosphere. As a relict gymnosperm with evolutionary stasis, Ginkgo is well suited for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. This paper analyzes fossil Ginkgo species from integrated strata in the north of China using anatomic data of plant physiology. Using stomatal parameters, a trend for the paleo-CO2 level during the Early-Middle Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous was obtained, which is consistent with the estimates by GEOCARB. The trend is also similar to that of Mean Global Surface Temperature in geological time. Compared with three other atmospheric CO2 concentration parameters, the trend of paleo-CO2 level based on the stomatal parameter of the fossil Ginkgo specimens from three contiguous strata is more exact.展开更多
The Ordos Basin is an important intracontinental sedimentary basin in western China for its abundant Mesozoic crude oil resources. The southern part of the Tianhuan Depression is located in the southwestern marginal a...The Ordos Basin is an important intracontinental sedimentary basin in western China for its abundant Mesozoic crude oil resources. The southern part of the Tianhuan Depression is located in the southwestern marginal area of this Basin, in which the Jurassic and Triassic Chang-3 are the main oil-bearing strata. Currently, no consensus has been reached regarding oil source and oil migration in the area, and an assessment of oil accumulation patterns is thus challenging. In this paper, the oil source, migration direction, charging site and migration pathways are investigated through analysis of pyrrolic nitrogen compounds and hydrocarbon biomarkers. Oil source correlations show that the oils trapped in the Jurassic and Chang-3 reservoirs were derived from the Triassic Chang-7 source rocks. The Jurassic and Chang-3 crude oils both underwent distinct vertical migration from deep to shallow strata, indicating that the oils generated by Chang-7 source rocks may have migrated upward to the shallower Chang-3 and Jurassic strata under abnormally high pressures, to accumulate along the sand bodies of the ancient rivers and the unconformity surface. The charging direction of the Jurassic and Chang-3 crude oils is primarily derived from Mubo, Chenhao, and Shangliyuan, which are located northeast of the southern Tianhuan Depression, with oils moving toward the west, southwest, and south. The results show that an integration of biomarker and nitrogen-bearing compound analyses can provide useful information about oil source, migration, and accumulation.展开更多
A new Quercus （Fagaceae） morphospecies is described based on well-preserved fossil leaves.The fossils were collected from Yangyi Formation of the Upper Pliocene at the Yangyi coalmine,Baoshan,western Yunnan,China.De...A new Quercus （Fagaceae） morphospecies is described based on well-preserved fossil leaves.The fossils were collected from Yangyi Formation of the Upper Pliocene at the Yangyi coalmine,Baoshan,western Yunnan,China.Details of the microstructure of mesophyll tissue are preserved because lithification of the fossils was not complete.The fossil laminas possess typical characteristics of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus：quite thick and coriaceous cuticle; secondary veins bifurcating near the margin in the middle and top of the leaf; and upper epidermis with adaxial hypodermis.Based on a detailed morphological and anatomical comparison with all living and fossil species of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus,the fossil leaves prove to be different in their sparse and garland-shaped multicellular trichomes on the lower epidermis,and so it is described as a new species Quercus yangyiensis He,Li et Sun sp.nov.The much sparser trichomes of our fossils compare well with those of living Quercus sect.Heterobalanus and indicate a more humid climate during the deposition of the Yangyi Formation in the Late Pliocene.展开更多
Fossil bamboo leaves and pollen from Upper Miocene deposits of the Shengxian Formation in Tiantai and Ninghai counties, eastern Zhejiang, China represent a rare record in Asia. The distinctive pseudopetiole and parall...Fossil bamboo leaves and pollen from Upper Miocene deposits of the Shengxian Formation in Tiantai and Ninghai counties, eastern Zhejiang, China represent a rare record in Asia. The distinctive pseudopetiole and parallel venation of the leaf blades and the clearly thickened annulus of the pollen aperture place them in the subfamily Bambusoideae. Morphological analysis supports the determination of these fossil leaves as belonging to the genus Bambusium and two new species are described. Bambusium latipseudopetiolus Q.J. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. has a distinctly wide pseudopetiole of 0.23 cm in width and 0.40 cm in length, several vascular bundles on parallel veins, and 5-8 lateral veins on both sides of the midrib. Bambusium longipseudopetiolus Q.J. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. has a distinctly long pseudopetiole of 0.60 cm in length and 0.10 cm in width, several vascular bundles on the pseudopetiole, and 6 lateral veins on both sides of the midrib. Pollen grains from the same layer provide additional evidence of bamboos. They are characterized by 32.0-51.0 μm in diameter, a round pore 3.0-4.0 μm in diameter with a broad thickened annulus 2.5-3.5 μm around, and several conspicuous secondary folds on the exine surface. The morphological analysis leads to their assignment to Graminidites bambusoides Stuchlik. These fossils are important for the study of bamboo phytogeography in China. They demonstrate that there were bamboos growing in southeastern China during the Late Miocene and that bamboos in Zhejiang begin to diversify no later than the Late Miocene. In combination with bamboo fossils from other places, it seems that bamboos had a wide distribution across southern China during the Miocene, ranging from southwestern Yun＇nan to southeastern Zhejiang.展开更多
Three Schizolepis species collected from the Lower Cretaceous layer of the Huolinhe Basin, Inner Mongolia, China are described. These fossils are Schizolepis longipetiolus Xu XH et Sun BN sp. nov., which is a new spec...Three Schizolepis species collected from the Lower Cretaceous layer of the Huolinhe Basin, Inner Mongolia, China are described. These fossils are Schizolepis longipetiolus Xu XH et Sun BN sp. nov., which is a new species, Schizolepis cf. heilongjiangensis Zheng et Zhang, and Schizolepis neimengensis Deng. The new species is a well-preserved female cone, slender and cylindrical in shape. The seed-scale complexes have long petioles and are arranged on the cone axis loosely and helically. The seed scales are divided into two lobes from the base. Each lobe is semicircular or elongate ligulate in shape, widest at the middle or the lower middle part, with an obtuse or bluntly pointed apex. The inner margin is almost straight and the outer margin is strongly arched. On the surface of the lobe, there are longitudinal and somewhat radial striations from the base to the margin. The seed is borne on the adaxial surface at the base or middle of each lobe. Schizolepis was estabfished in 1847, and, although more than twenty species have been discovered and reported, its phylogenetic position is controversial because of the imperfection of fossils. Most authors have considered there to be a close evolutionary relationship between Schizolepis and extant Pinaceae. Here, we analyze characteristics and compare Schizolepis with Picea crassifolia Kom, which is morphologically most similar to Schizolepis. The results indicate that the genus probably has a distant evolutionary relationship with extant Pinaceae. A detailed statistical analysis of the global paleogeographic distribution of Schizolepis showed that all the fossils of this genus appeared in strata ranging from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Cretaceous in the North Hemisphere, being rare in the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic, but being very common from the Middle Jurassic to the Lower Cretaceous, and particularly abundant in the Lower Cretaceous. According to the statistical results, we speculate that the genus originated in Europe in the Late Triassic then spread from Europe to Asia between the Late Triassic and the Late Jurassic. In the Early Cretaceous most species existed in China＇s three northeastern Provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and adjacent areas. Combining the paleogeographic distribution of the genus with ancient climatic factors, we deduced that Schizolepis began to decline and became extinct in the Early Cretaceous, and the reason for its extinction is closely related to the icehouse climate during the Early Cretaceous.展开更多
Lindera is a large genus of graceful, pleasantly scented and common native trees and shrubs of southern China and neighboring regions of SE Asia. There is a well-documented Cenozoic fossil record not only in these reg...Lindera is a large genus of graceful, pleasantly scented and common native trees and shrubs of southern China and neighboring regions of SE Asia. There is a well-documented Cenozoic fossil record not only in these regions but also from elsewhere. A new fossil leaf record has been found in diatomite beds from the Upper Pliocene Mangbang Formation of Tuantian, Tengchong County, Yunnan. The leaves are identified and assigned to Lindera acuminatissima K. Q. Dao et B. N. Sun sp. nov., by comparing their leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics with those of 51 extant Lauraceae species and with 15 known fossil Lindera taxa. The specimens have well-preserved cuticles, with typical leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics of the Lanraceae, including entire leaf margin, intramarginal veins, basal ternate acrodromous primary veins, one-cell trichome base, paracytic stomatal apparatus, sunken guard cells, subsidiary hardly staining cells and presence of oil cells. These characteristics are consistent with Lindera sect. Daphnidium but are different from reported fossil and extant species of Lindera. The cuticles of Lindera are fragile and delicate with only three Lindera fossils reported based on this tissue. In terms of paleobiogeography, the fossil record indicates that Lindera is distributed in high- to mid-latitude regions of the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene northern hemisphere. Coincidentally, the records of Lindera located on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge possibly support the hypothesis that ancient plants extended via transcontinental exchanges through the Bering Corridor. In the Eocene, ancient Lindera spread to Europe through the Northern Degeer Route and the Southern Thulian Route. At the same time, ancient Lindera spread into Central Asia. Climatic changes and tectonization since the Neogene prevented the propagation of Lindera throughout Asia, North America and Europe, and hence the distribution areas have just regressed to the low-latitude regions in Asia and North America. From the Paleogene to the Neogene, Lindera has changed its distribution by surviving extreme climate changes. Quaternary glaciations ultimately led to Lindera becoming extinct in Europe. The new record from Tengchong, Yunnan, with its lower latitude located in tropical and subtropical regions, indicates that Lindera has lived in those regions since the late Pliocene.展开更多
The palaeo-atmospheric CO2 concentration （pCOz） variation in the Yumen, Gansu Province during the middle Cretaceous has been reconstructed using the newly established plant photosynthetic gas exchange mechanistic mo...The palaeo-atmospheric CO2 concentration （pCOz） variation in the Yumen, Gansu Province during the middle Cretaceous has been reconstructed using the newly established plant photosynthetic gas exchange mechanistic model, and the results show that the pCO2 values are in the range of about 550 -808 ppmv. The present pCO2 values are higher than the pCO2 results （531-641 ppmv） of the previous study according to the Recent standardization of the stomatal ratio method, and much lower than the pCO2 results （882-1060 ppmv） according to the Carboniferous standardization of the stomatal ratio method. The present pCOz variation is not only within the error range of GEOCARB II and GEOCARB Ill but also is similar to the reconstructed results based on the biochemistry and carbon isotope models. Besides, the present Brachyphyllum specimens were collected from four consecutive horizons of the upper Zhonggou Formation of the Hanxia Section, and the reconstructed pCO2 exhibits the reconstructed pCO2 exhibits a decline trend during the late Aptian to early Albian. This decline variation is probably associated with the Oceanic Anoxic Events （OAElb） and the Cold snap event. With the combination of pCO2 during the Albian to Cenomanian recovered by the plant photosynthetic gas exchange mechanistic model, the pCO2 showed a prominent increase during the late Aptian to early Cenominian, which indicates a response to the greenhouse warming during the middle Cretaceous. Therefore, the mechanical model of the plant photosynthetic gas exchange shows a relatively strong accuracy in the reconstruction of thepCO2 and can reflect a strong relation between the atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climatic events.展开更多
A new genus and species, Rebouliothallus huolinhensis sp. nov., and two uncertain species, Ricciopsis sp. and Hepaticites sp., are described. The fossils were collected from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation of ...A new genus and species, Rebouliothallus huolinhensis sp. nov., and two uncertain species, Ricciopsis sp. and Hepaticites sp., are described. The fossils were collected from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation of Huolinhe Basin, northeastern China. The new genus Rebouliothallus was established in the Aytoniaceae family of Marchantiales. Rebouliothallus huolinhensis appears to be quite similar to species of the extant genus Reboulia Raddi. The species is characterized by the relatively large ventral scales. Ventral scales are large, imbricate and arranged in two rows on the ventral surface. Rhizoids are either pegged or smooth. Ricciopsis sp. is characterized by the rosette- forming thallus. Hepaticites sp. shows some similarities to liverworts. Of the forty-nine Early Cretaceous floras of China, only two floras, one from the Huolinhe basin, Inner Mongolia and the other from the Jixi Basin, Heilongjiang Province, contain fossil liverworts. The rare fossil liverwort records in the Early Cretaceous floras of China may be the result of taphonomic bias.展开更多
The present paper reports two new species of Buxus from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, on the basis of several compressed fossil leaves.Buxus ningmingensis sp.nov.is characterized by an elli...The present paper reports two new species of Buxus from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, on the basis of several compressed fossil leaves.Buxus ningmingensis sp.nov.is characterized by an elliptic to ovate shape; pinnate venation with marginal secondary, long hairs on the adaxial side of the midvein base; and amphistomatic, anomocytic stomata with a prominent outer ring.All of these characteristics suggest a closest affinity to the living Buxus microphylla subsp.sinica.Another new species identified as Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp.nov.is characterized by the diagnostic formation of its admedially branched tertiaries, the trunks of which are often strongly thickened by sclereides.This species is most similar to the extant Buxus austroyunnanensis.The co-occurrence of Buxus ningmingensis sp.nov.and Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp.nov.suggests that these two Buxus lived during the Oligocene under a warm, tropical to subtropical climate, similar to the current climate of Ningming.Our findings provide the earliest fossil evidence of Buxus leaves with detailed illustrations of leaf architectural and cuticular features.The occurrence of these two species indicates that Buxus began to diversify in Guangxi no later than the Oligocene.展开更多
Cupressinocladus Seward is a fossil genus of conifers and conifer fossils with reproductive organs are very rare. In general, it is difficult to understand the natural affinities with other conifers. In this paper, a ...Cupressinocladus Seward is a fossil genus of conifers and conifer fossils with reproductive organs are very rare. In general, it is difficult to understand the natural affinities with other conifers. In this paper, a new species, Cupressinocladus guyangensis P.H. Jin et B.N. Sun sp. nov., is reported based on branches with immature female cones from the Lower Cretaceous Guyang Formation of the Guyang Basin in Inner Mongolia, northern China. The foliage shoots are decussate. Leaves are decussate, imbricate, scale-like, weakly dimorphic, and bear longitudinal glands on the abaxial view. Stomata complexes are haplocheilic, monocyclic, irregularly arranged, and spread along the leaf margin. Immature female cones are subglobose with 6-8 cone scales, and three subglobose ovules arranged in a row at the base of the cone scales. Moreover, we performed cluster analysis using a statistics and machine learning toolbox for 23 fossils and extant species based on 16 morphological characters. The result implies that the new species bears a close resemblance to the extant Cupressusfunebris Endl. and might have nearest systematic affinities to it.展开更多
In Europe, fossil fruits and seeds of Rhodoleia（Hamamelidaceae） have been described from the Upper Cretaceous to the Miocene, whereas no fossil record of Rhodoleia has been reported in Asia, where the modern species...In Europe, fossil fruits and seeds of Rhodoleia（Hamamelidaceae） have been described from the Upper Cretaceous to the Miocene, whereas no fossil record of Rhodoleia has been reported in Asia, where the modern species occur.Herein, 21 fossil leaves identified as Rhodoleia tengchongensis sp.nov.are described from the Upper Pliocene of Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, Southwest China.The fossils exhibit elliptic lamina with entire margins, simple brochidodromous major secondary veins, mixed percurrent intercostal tertiary veins, and looped exterior tertiaries.The leaf cuticle is characterized by pentagonal or hexagonal cells, stellate multicellular trichomes, and paracytic stomata.The combination of leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics suggests that the fossil leaves should be classified into the genus Rhodoleia.The fossil distributions indicate that the genus Rhodoleia might originate from Central Europe, and that migrated to Asia prior to the Late Pliocene.Additionally, insect damage is investigated, and different types of damage, such as hole feeding, margin feeding, surface feeding, and galling, are observed on the thirteen fossil leaves.Based on the damage frequencies for the fossil and extant leaves, the specific feeding behavior of insects on Rhodoleia trees appears to have been established as early as the Late Pliocene.The high occurrence of Rhodoleia insect herbivory may attract the insect-foraging birds, thereby increasing the probability of pollination.展开更多
Well-preserved Ginkgo pollen organs are analyzed from the Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Formation of the Turpan–Hami Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, and are described as a new species, Ginkgo...Well-preserved Ginkgo pollen organs are analyzed from the Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Formation of the Turpan–Hami Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, and are described as a new species, Ginkgo hamiensis Z.X. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. The immature male cones are cylindrical and catkin-like, with two longitudinal stripes on the stalk. The pollen sacs are shaped like a long oval with two pollen sacs fused together for each microsporophyll, and the microsporophyll tip is a triangular cystidium. The pollen grains are oblong or fusiform and monocolpate; both ends are blunt or sharp. By comparison with previously reported fossil records of Ginkgo plants, we determined that the current fossils are different from all other reported species; thus, the present fossil is referred to as a new species of Ginkgo. The reproductive organs of the Ginkgo fossils described herein can provide valuable information for the study of Ginkgo plants. Further, there are two probable evolutionary trends in the Ginkgo pollen cones. One trend is that the number of pollen sacs changed from three or four during the Jurassic and Cretaceous to two at the present day; the other is that the number of pollen sacs has remained two from the Middle Jurassic to the present day. In addition, the pollen cones described herein are similar to the pollen cones of the extant Ginkgo, which strongly indicates that the morphology of Ginkgo plants may have remained highly conserved over millions of years.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(No.2006CB701400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.40372012,40772012)the Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Paleobiology and Stratigraphy,Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.063101).
文摘A better theoretical and practical understanding of the linkage between paleo-CO2 and climate during geological history is important to enhance the sustainable development of modern human society. Development in plant physiology since the 1980s has led to the realization that fossil plants can serve as a proxy for paleoatmosphere and paleobiosphere. As a relict gymnosperm with evolutionary stasis, Ginkgo is well suited for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. This paper analyzes fossil Ginkgo species from integrated strata in the north of China using anatomic data of plant physiology. Using stomatal parameters, a trend for the paleo-CO2 level during the Early-Middle Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous was obtained, which is consistent with the estimates by GEOCARB. The trend is also similar to that of Mean Global Surface Temperature in geological time. Compared with three other atmospheric CO2 concentration parameters, the trend of paleo-CO2 level based on the stomatal parameter of the fossil Ginkgo specimens from three contiguous strata is more exact.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2012CB822003)Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No. 20120211110022)the National Science and Technology Major Projects (2011zx05001-004)
文摘The Ordos Basin is an important intracontinental sedimentary basin in western China for its abundant Mesozoic crude oil resources. The southern part of the Tianhuan Depression is located in the southwestern marginal area of this Basin, in which the Jurassic and Triassic Chang-3 are the main oil-bearing strata. Currently, no consensus has been reached regarding oil source and oil migration in the area, and an assessment of oil accumulation patterns is thus challenging. In this paper, the oil source, migration direction, charging site and migration pathways are investigated through analysis of pyrrolic nitrogen compounds and hydrocarbon biomarkers. Oil source correlations show that the oils trapped in the Jurassic and Chang-3 reservoirs were derived from the Triassic Chang-7 source rocks. The Jurassic and Chang-3 crude oils both underwent distinct vertical migration from deep to shallow strata, indicating that the oils generated by Chang-7 source rocks may have migrated upward to the shallower Chang-3 and Jurassic strata under abnormally high pressures, to accumulate along the sand bodies of the ancient rivers and the unconformity surface. The charging direction of the Jurassic and Chang-3 crude oils is primarily derived from Mubo, Chenhao, and Shangliyuan, which are located northeast of the southern Tianhuan Depression, with oils moving toward the west, southwest, and south. The results show that an integration of biomarker and nitrogen-bearing compound analyses can provide useful information about oil source, migration, and accumulation.
基金financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(No.2012CB822003)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41172022)Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(No.20120211110022)
文摘A new Quercus （Fagaceae） morphospecies is described based on well-preserved fossil leaves.The fossils were collected from Yangyi Formation of the Upper Pliocene at the Yangyi coalmine,Baoshan,western Yunnan,China.Details of the microstructure of mesophyll tissue are preserved because lithification of the fossils was not complete.The fossil laminas possess typical characteristics of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus：quite thick and coriaceous cuticle; secondary veins bifurcating near the margin in the middle and top of the leaf; and upper epidermis with adaxial hypodermis.Based on a detailed morphological and anatomical comparison with all living and fossil species of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus,the fossil leaves prove to be different in their sparse and garland-shaped multicellular trichomes on the lower epidermis,and so it is described as a new species Quercus yangyiensis He,Li et Sun sp.nov.The much sparser trichomes of our fossils compare well with those of living Quercus sect.Heterobalanus and indicate a more humid climate during the deposition of the Yangyi Formation in the Late Pliocene.
基金conducted under the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41172022)Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(Grant No.20120211110022,20100211110019)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.lzujbky2014-285)
文摘Fossil bamboo leaves and pollen from Upper Miocene deposits of the Shengxian Formation in Tiantai and Ninghai counties, eastern Zhejiang, China represent a rare record in Asia. The distinctive pseudopetiole and parallel venation of the leaf blades and the clearly thickened annulus of the pollen aperture place them in the subfamily Bambusoideae. Morphological analysis supports the determination of these fossil leaves as belonging to the genus Bambusium and two new species are described. Bambusium latipseudopetiolus Q.J. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. has a distinctly wide pseudopetiole of 0.23 cm in width and 0.40 cm in length, several vascular bundles on parallel veins, and 5-8 lateral veins on both sides of the midrib. Bambusium longipseudopetiolus Q.J. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. has a distinctly long pseudopetiole of 0.60 cm in length and 0.10 cm in width, several vascular bundles on the pseudopetiole, and 6 lateral veins on both sides of the midrib. Pollen grains from the same layer provide additional evidence of bamboos. They are characterized by 32.0-51.0 μm in diameter, a round pore 3.0-4.0 μm in diameter with a broad thickened annulus 2.5-3.5 μm around, and several conspicuous secondary folds on the exine surface. The morphological analysis leads to their assignment to Graminidites bambusoides Stuchlik. These fossils are important for the study of bamboo phytogeography in China. They demonstrate that there were bamboos growing in southeastern China during the Late Miocene and that bamboos in Zhejiang begin to diversify no later than the Late Miocene. In combination with bamboo fossils from other places, it seems that bamboos had a wide distribution across southern China during the Miocene, ranging from southwestern Yun＇nan to southeastern Zhejiang.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program No. 2012CB822003)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 41172022)the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant 20120211110022)
文摘Three Schizolepis species collected from the Lower Cretaceous layer of the Huolinhe Basin, Inner Mongolia, China are described. These fossils are Schizolepis longipetiolus Xu XH et Sun BN sp. nov., which is a new species, Schizolepis cf. heilongjiangensis Zheng et Zhang, and Schizolepis neimengensis Deng. The new species is a well-preserved female cone, slender and cylindrical in shape. The seed-scale complexes have long petioles and are arranged on the cone axis loosely and helically. The seed scales are divided into two lobes from the base. Each lobe is semicircular or elongate ligulate in shape, widest at the middle or the lower middle part, with an obtuse or bluntly pointed apex. The inner margin is almost straight and the outer margin is strongly arched. On the surface of the lobe, there are longitudinal and somewhat radial striations from the base to the margin. The seed is borne on the adaxial surface at the base or middle of each lobe. Schizolepis was estabfished in 1847, and, although more than twenty species have been discovered and reported, its phylogenetic position is controversial because of the imperfection of fossils. Most authors have considered there to be a close evolutionary relationship between Schizolepis and extant Pinaceae. Here, we analyze characteristics and compare Schizolepis with Picea crassifolia Kom, which is morphologically most similar to Schizolepis. The results indicate that the genus probably has a distant evolutionary relationship with extant Pinaceae. A detailed statistical analysis of the global paleogeographic distribution of Schizolepis showed that all the fossils of this genus appeared in strata ranging from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Cretaceous in the North Hemisphere, being rare in the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic, but being very common from the Middle Jurassic to the Lower Cretaceous, and particularly abundant in the Lower Cretaceous. According to the statistical results, we speculate that the genus originated in Europe in the Late Triassic then spread from Europe to Asia between the Late Triassic and the Late Jurassic. In the Early Cretaceous most species existed in China＇s three northeastern Provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and adjacent areas. Combining the paleogeographic distribution of the genus with ancient climatic factors, we deduced that Schizolepis began to decline and became extinct in the Early Cretaceous, and the reason for its extinction is closely related to the icehouse climate during the Early Cretaceous.
基金conducted under the National Basic Research Program of China (973: No. 2012CB822000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41172022 and 41172021)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. lzujbky-2012-127)
文摘Lindera is a large genus of graceful, pleasantly scented and common native trees and shrubs of southern China and neighboring regions of SE Asia. There is a well-documented Cenozoic fossil record not only in these regions but also from elsewhere. A new fossil leaf record has been found in diatomite beds from the Upper Pliocene Mangbang Formation of Tuantian, Tengchong County, Yunnan. The leaves are identified and assigned to Lindera acuminatissima K. Q. Dao et B. N. Sun sp. nov., by comparing their leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics with those of 51 extant Lauraceae species and with 15 known fossil Lindera taxa. The specimens have well-preserved cuticles, with typical leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics of the Lanraceae, including entire leaf margin, intramarginal veins, basal ternate acrodromous primary veins, one-cell trichome base, paracytic stomatal apparatus, sunken guard cells, subsidiary hardly staining cells and presence of oil cells. These characteristics are consistent with Lindera sect. Daphnidium but are different from reported fossil and extant species of Lindera. The cuticles of Lindera are fragile and delicate with only three Lindera fossils reported based on this tissue. In terms of paleobiogeography, the fossil record indicates that Lindera is distributed in high- to mid-latitude regions of the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene northern hemisphere. Coincidentally, the records of Lindera located on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge possibly support the hypothesis that ancient plants extended via transcontinental exchanges through the Bering Corridor. In the Eocene, ancient Lindera spread to Europe through the Northern Degeer Route and the Southern Thulian Route. At the same time, ancient Lindera spread into Central Asia. Climatic changes and tectonization since the Neogene prevented the propagation of Lindera throughout Asia, North America and Europe, and hence the distribution areas have just regressed to the low-latitude regions in Asia and North America. From the Paleogene to the Neogene, Lindera has changed its distribution by surviving extreme climate changes. Quaternary glaciations ultimately led to Lindera becoming extinct in Europe. The new record from Tengchong, Yunnan, with its lower latitude located in tropical and subtropical regions, indicates that Lindera has lived in those regions since the late Pliocene.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41402007,41602023,40972025)the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy,Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology,CAS(No.153102)
文摘The palaeo-atmospheric CO2 concentration （pCOz） variation in the Yumen, Gansu Province during the middle Cretaceous has been reconstructed using the newly established plant photosynthetic gas exchange mechanistic model, and the results show that the pCO2 values are in the range of about 550 -808 ppmv. The present pCO2 values are higher than the pCO2 results （531-641 ppmv） of the previous study according to the Recent standardization of the stomatal ratio method, and much lower than the pCO2 results （882-1060 ppmv） according to the Carboniferous standardization of the stomatal ratio method. The present pCOz variation is not only within the error range of GEOCARB II and GEOCARB Ill but also is similar to the reconstructed results based on the biochemistry and carbon isotope models. Besides, the present Brachyphyllum specimens were collected from four consecutive horizons of the upper Zhonggou Formation of the Hanxia Section, and the reconstructed pCO2 exhibits the reconstructed pCO2 exhibits a decline trend during the late Aptian to early Albian. This decline variation is probably associated with the Oceanic Anoxic Events （OAElb） and the Cold snap event. With the combination of pCO2 during the Albian to Cenomanian recovered by the plant photosynthetic gas exchange mechanistic model, the pCO2 showed a prominent increase during the late Aptian to early Cenominian, which indicates a response to the greenhouse warming during the middle Cretaceous. Therefore, the mechanical model of the plant photosynthetic gas exchange shows a relatively strong accuracy in the reconstruction of thepCO2 and can reflect a strong relation between the atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climatic events.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (no.2012CB822003)the Funds of Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS (No.Y421140303)+2 种基金Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant 20120211110022)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant lzujbky-2015-201)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 41172022, 41272026 and 41202001)
文摘A new genus and species, Rebouliothallus huolinhensis sp. nov., and two uncertain species, Ricciopsis sp. and Hepaticites sp., are described. The fossils were collected from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation of Huolinhe Basin, northeastern China. The new genus Rebouliothallus was established in the Aytoniaceae family of Marchantiales. Rebouliothallus huolinhensis appears to be quite similar to species of the extant genus Reboulia Raddi. The species is characterized by the relatively large ventral scales. Ventral scales are large, imbricate and arranged in two rows on the ventral surface. Rhizoids are either pegged or smooth. Ricciopsis sp. is characterized by the rosette- forming thallus. Hepaticites sp. shows some similarities to liverworts. Of the forty-nine Early Cretaceous floras of China, only two floras, one from the Huolinhe basin, Inner Mongolia and the other from the Jixi Basin, Heilongjiang Province, contain fossil liverworts. The rare fossil liverwort records in the Early Cretaceous floras of China may be the result of taphonomic bias.
基金financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No.2012CB822003)the Funds of Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources, Gansu Province (No.SZDKFJJ20150603)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.41172022, 41272026)the Funds of Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS (No.Y421140303)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.lzujbky-2014-285)
文摘The present paper reports two new species of Buxus from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, on the basis of several compressed fossil leaves.Buxus ningmingensis sp.nov.is characterized by an elliptic to ovate shape; pinnate venation with marginal secondary, long hairs on the adaxial side of the midvein base; and amphistomatic, anomocytic stomata with a prominent outer ring.All of these characteristics suggest a closest affinity to the living Buxus microphylla subsp.sinica.Another new species identified as Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp.nov.is characterized by the diagnostic formation of its admedially branched tertiaries, the trunks of which are often strongly thickened by sclereides.This species is most similar to the extant Buxus austroyunnanensis.The co-occurrence of Buxus ningmingensis sp.nov.and Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp.nov.suggests that these two Buxus lived during the Oligocene under a warm, tropical to subtropical climate, similar to the current climate of Ningming.Our findings provide the earliest fossil evidence of Buxus leaves with detailed illustrations of leaf architectural and cuticular features.The occurrence of these two species indicates that Buxus began to diversify in Guangxi no later than the Oligocene.
基金financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(No. 2012CB822003)the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(No. 20120211110022)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41402007)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.lzujbky2016-201)the US Louisiana Board of Regents under grant LEQSF(2017-20)-RD-A-29
文摘Cupressinocladus Seward is a fossil genus of conifers and conifer fossils with reproductive organs are very rare. In general, it is difficult to understand the natural affinities with other conifers. In this paper, a new species, Cupressinocladus guyangensis P.H. Jin et B.N. Sun sp. nov., is reported based on branches with immature female cones from the Lower Cretaceous Guyang Formation of the Guyang Basin in Inner Mongolia, northern China. The foliage shoots are decussate. Leaves are decussate, imbricate, scale-like, weakly dimorphic, and bear longitudinal glands on the abaxial view. Stomata complexes are haplocheilic, monocyclic, irregularly arranged, and spread along the leaf margin. Immature female cones are subglobose with 6-8 cone scales, and three subglobose ovules arranged in a row at the base of the cone scales. Moreover, we performed cluster analysis using a statistics and machine learning toolbox for 23 fossils and extant species based on 16 morphological characters. The result implies that the new species bears a close resemblance to the extant Cupressusfunebris Endl. and might have nearest systematic affinities to it.
基金granted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.41302009, 41402008, 41172022 and 41172021)the Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Paleobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, CAS (No.133102)the NSF EAR-0746105 to YSL
文摘In Europe, fossil fruits and seeds of Rhodoleia（Hamamelidaceae） have been described from the Upper Cretaceous to the Miocene, whereas no fossil record of Rhodoleia has been reported in Asia, where the modern species occur.Herein, 21 fossil leaves identified as Rhodoleia tengchongensis sp.nov.are described from the Upper Pliocene of Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, Southwest China.The fossils exhibit elliptic lamina with entire margins, simple brochidodromous major secondary veins, mixed percurrent intercostal tertiary veins, and looped exterior tertiaries.The leaf cuticle is characterized by pentagonal or hexagonal cells, stellate multicellular trichomes, and paracytic stomata.The combination of leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics suggests that the fossil leaves should be classified into the genus Rhodoleia.The fossil distributions indicate that the genus Rhodoleia might originate from Central Europe, and that migrated to Asia prior to the Late Pliocene.Additionally, insect damage is investigated, and different types of damage, such as hole feeding, margin feeding, surface feeding, and galling, are observed on the thirteen fossil leaves.Based on the damage frequencies for the fossil and extant leaves, the specific feeding behavior of insects on Rhodoleia trees appears to have been established as early as the Late Pliocene.The high occurrence of Rhodoleia insect herbivory may attract the insect-foraging birds, thereby increasing the probability of pollination.
基金conducted under the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41172022)the Funds of Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources,Gansu Province (No.SZD-KFJJ20150603)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.lzujbky-2016-202)
文摘Well-preserved Ginkgo pollen organs are analyzed from the Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Formation of the Turpan–Hami Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, and are described as a new species, Ginkgo hamiensis Z.X. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. The immature male cones are cylindrical and catkin-like, with two longitudinal stripes on the stalk. The pollen sacs are shaped like a long oval with two pollen sacs fused together for each microsporophyll, and the microsporophyll tip is a triangular cystidium. The pollen grains are oblong or fusiform and monocolpate; both ends are blunt or sharp. By comparison with previously reported fossil records of Ginkgo plants, we determined that the current fossils are different from all other reported species; thus, the present fossil is referred to as a new species of Ginkgo. The reproductive organs of the Ginkgo fossils described herein can provide valuable information for the study of Ginkgo plants. Further, there are two probable evolutionary trends in the Ginkgo pollen cones. One trend is that the number of pollen sacs changed from three or four during the Jurassic and Cretaceous to two at the present day; the other is that the number of pollen sacs has remained two from the Middle Jurassic to the present day. In addition, the pollen cones described herein are similar to the pollen cones of the extant Ginkgo, which strongly indicates that the morphology of Ginkgo plants may have remained highly conserved over millions of years.
