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Flabellariopteris, a new aquatic fern leaf from the Late Triassic of western Liaoning, China

  • Article
  • Geology
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

An aquatic fern leaf, Flabellariopteris mii Sun gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Triassic of Western Liaoning, China, is described and proposed as the type species of the new morphortaxon of the Marsileaceae. The fossil leaves are preserved as impression. No fertile and rhizomatic materials are found. The leaves attached at a common point on the top of the petiole are composed of two leaflets joined basally in an opposite arrangement. The petiole is slender. The leaflet is fan-shaped or semi-circular, and commonly divided into four wedge-shaped lobes. Terminal margin of lobes is usually incised, incisions shallow or deep, with bluntly rounded or notched apex. The veins are conspicuously dichotomous, but anastomoses and marginal vein are absent. The unique morphological features, including two-parted thin leaflets, size, shape, veins and slender petiole, indicate that the present specimen represents an aquatic fern, which is the oldest fossil record and the first megafossil evidence assignable to Marsileaceae from the Triassic floras.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank W.B.K. Holmes and H.M. Anderson for their kindly providing information of Australia. The authors also thank Shusheng Hu (Peabody Museum) for valuable discussions. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their careful and suggestive reviews, and the editors for overseeing the editorial process. This work was supported by China Geological Survey Grant (1212011120149), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41172009), Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (2010006110034), the National Project of China’Higher Education and Program for Introducing Talents of Discipline of Universities of China (Jilin University).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life and Environment in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130026, China

    Chunlin Sun, Tao Li, Yuling Na, Wenhao Wu & Yunfeng Li

  2. Research Center of Paleontology & Stratigraphy of Jilin University, Changchun, 130026, China

    Chunlin Sun, Tao Li, Yuling Na, Wenhao Wu & Yunfeng Li

  3. Bureau of Fossil Protection and Management of Liaoning, Shenyang, 110032, China

    Lixia Wang & Lijun Zhang

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  1. Chunlin Sun
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  2. Tao Li
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  3. Yuling Na
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Correspondence to Chunlin Sun.

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Sun, C., Li, T., Na, Y. et al. Flabellariopteris, a new aquatic fern leaf from the Late Triassic of western Liaoning, China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 2410–2418 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0359-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0359-6

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