Welwitschiophyllum
| Welwitschiophyllum Temporal range: Early Cretaceous (late Aptian)
| |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Gnetophyta |
| Class: | Gnetopsida |
| Order: | Welwitschiales |
| Family: | Welwitschiaceae |
| Genus: | †Welwitschiophyllum Dilcher, Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Pons et Lott, 2005 |
| Species: | †W. brasiliense
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense Dilcher, Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Pons et Lott, 2005
| |
Welwitschiophyllum (lit. 'Welwitschia leaf') is an extinct genus of plant in the family Welwitschiaceae known from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil.[1] It appears to have been adapted for drought resistance, as it possesses regular pitted structures on the convex sides of its leaves which are morphologically similar to Stomatal crypts.[2] Welwitschiophyllum was the first plant with preserved gum identified in the fossil record.[3]
References
- ^ Dilcher, David L.; Bernardes-De-Oliveira, Mary E.; Pons, Denise; Lott, Terry A. (2005). "Welwitschiaceae from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil". American Journal of Botany. 92 (8): 1294–1310. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.8.1294. ISSN 1537-2197.
- ^ Roberts, Emily A.; Loveridge, Robert F.; Weiß, Jörg; Martill, David M.; Seyfullah, Leyla J. (2020-08-01). "Reinvestigating the fossil leaf Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil". Cretaceous Research. 112 104471. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104471. ISSN 0195-6671 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
- ^ Roberts, Emily A.; Seyfullah, Leyla J.; Loveridge, Robert F.; Garside, Paul; Martill, David M. (2020-02-25). "Cretaceous gnetalean yields first preserved plant gum". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 3401. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-60211-2. ISSN 2045-2322.