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Two early eudicot fossil flowers from the Kamikitaba assemblage (Coniacian, Late Cretaceous) in northeastern Japan

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Abstract

Two new fossil taxa referable to the basal eudicot grade are described from the Kamikitaba locality (ca. 89 MYBP, early Coniacian: Late Cretaceous) of the Futaba Group in Japan. These charcoalified mesofossils exhibit well-preserved three-dimensional structure and were analyzed using synchrotron-radiation X-ray microtomography to document their composition and internal structure. Cathiaria japonica sp. nov. is represented by infructescence segments that consist of an axis bearing three to four fruits. The capsular fruits are sessile and dehiscent and consist of a gynoecium subtended by a bract. No perianth parts are present. The gynoecium is monocarpellate containing two pendulous seeds. The carpel is ascidiate in the lower half and conduplicate in the upper part, and the style is deflected abaxially with a large, obliquely decurrent stigma. Pollen grains are tricolpate with a reticulate exine. The morphological features of Cathiaria are consistent with an assignment to the Buxaceae s. l. (including Didymelaceae). Archaestella verticillatus gen. et sp. nov. is represented by flowers that are small, actinomorphic, pedicellate, bisexual, semi-inferior, and multicarpellate. The floral receptacle is cup shaped with a perigynous perianth consisting of several tepals inserted around the rim. The gynoecium consists of a whorl of ten conduplicate, laterally connate but distally distinct carpels with a conspicuous dorsal bulge, including a central cavity. The styles are short, becoming recurved with a ventrally decurrent stigma. Seeds are ca. 10 per carpel, marginal, pendulous from the broad, oblique summit of the locule. Pollen grains are tricolpate with a reticulate exine pattern, suggesting a relationship to eudicots. The morphological features of Archaestella indicate a possible relationship to Trochodendraceae in the basal grade of eudicots. The fossil currently provides the earliest record of the family and documents the presence of Trochodendraceae in eastern Eurasia during the middle part of the Late Cretaceous.

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  • 07 June 2017

    An erratum to this article has been published.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Peter R Crane and Stephen R Manchester for constructive and helpful comments on the manuscript. The study was funded by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (21570092, 24570097 and 16K07477) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to M. T. and NSF Grant DEB-1348456 to P.S.H. Use of the Advanced Photon Source, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory, was supported by the US DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Ikarashi, Nishi-ku, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan

    Masamichi Takahashi

  2. Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL, 60022, USA

    Patrick S. Herendeen

  3. Advanced Photon Source, 9700 S Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL, 60439, USA

    Xianghui Xiao

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  1. Masamichi Takahashi
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Correspondence to Masamichi Takahashi.

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An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-017-0957-x.

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Takahashi, M., Herendeen, P.S. & Xiao, X. Two early eudicot fossil flowers from the Kamikitaba assemblage (Coniacian, Late Cretaceous) in northeastern Japan. J Plant Res 130, 809–826 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-017-0945-1

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