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Permineralized osmundaceous and gleicheniaceous ferns from the Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, NE China

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Abstract

Structurally preserved fossil ferns are extremely significant for exploring the origin and evolution of this plant clade; however, they are quite scarce and limited in the Mesozoic. Here, we report some well-preserved fern rhizomes and rachides with anatomical details from the Upper Jurassic Manketouebo Formation in Inner Mongolia, NE China. Two taxa, including Ashicaulis liaoningensis (Zhang et Zheng) Tidwell referred to Osmundaceae and Gleicheniorachis sinensis sp. nov. referred to Gleicheniaceae, are recognized. Anatomically, Ashicaulis liaoningensis consists of a heterogeneous pith, an ectophloic dictyoxylic siphonostele, a two-layered cortex, C-shaped leaf traces, and a mantle of petiole bases. The petiole base is characterized by a heterogeneous sclerotic ring with an abaxial thick-walled fiber arc. Gleicheniorachis sinensis sp. nov. consists of a C-shaped vascular bundle with two incurved adaxial hooks, a distinct sclerenchyma sheath, an endodermis, and a heterogeneous cortex. In particular, the finding of Gleicheniorachis sinensis sp. nov. represents the first report of unequivocal Jurassic record of Gleicheniaceae in northern China, as well as the first record of a Jurassic permineralized gleicheniaceous fern in the Northern Hemisphere. This study provides new data and evidence for exploring the anatomical diversity and evolution of Mesozoic ferns, and contributes to further understanding the floral composition of Late Jurassic flora in Northeast China.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Mihai Popa and Prof. Harufumi Nishida for their detailed comments and valuable suggestions that improved this paper.

Funding

This study was jointly supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB18000000 & XDPB05), the State Key Program of Research and Development of Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2016YFC0600406), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41302004, 41790454, 41688103, 41272010 & 41402010), the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (NIGPAS, CAS) (Grant Nos. 133113 & 173124), Shenzhen Science and Technology R&D Funds Basic Research Program (Grant No. JC201005310692A), the Special Fund of Liaoning Provincial Universites’ Fundamental Scientific Research Project (LQN201718), the Talent Fund of Shenyang Normal University (Grant No. 91400114006). This is also a contribution to IGCP 632.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Palaeontology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, 110034, China

    Ning Tian & Zhi-Peng Zhu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Ning Tian & Yong-Dong Wang

  3. Key Laboratory of Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Land and Resources, Shenyang, 110034, China

    Ning Tian

  4. Shenyang Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Land and Resources, Shenyang, 110034, China

    Wu Zhang & Shao-Lin Zheng

  5. The National Orchid Conservation Center of China, Orchid Conservation and Research Center of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518114, China

    Zhong-Jian Liu

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This article is a contribution to the special issue “Jurassic biodiversity and terrestrial environments”

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Tian, N., Wang, YD., Zhang, W. et al. Permineralized osmundaceous and gleicheniaceous ferns from the Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, NE China. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 98, 165–176 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-017-0313-0

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