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Link to original content: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-023-00572-4
A new fossil fern of the Dryopteridaceae (Polypodiales) from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber | Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Skip to main content
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A new fossil fern of the Dryopteridaceae (Polypodiales) from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

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Abstract

Dryopteridaceae are the basal family of Eupolypods I (Polypodiales) and include abundant extant species, but fossil occurrences are limited, particularly from a temporal perspective. Although DNA-based molecular studies indicate that the origin of Dryopteridaceae dates to the Early Cretaceous, no unambiguous fossil of the family has been reported from the Cretaceous period. Here, we report a new fern taxa based on well-preserved fertile specimen frond from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Based on sporangia with interrupted, vertical annulae; monoletee spores; and the absence of indusia, the fertile fern fossil has been assigned to a new genus of Dryopteridaceae (Polypodiales). This represents the first fossil record of Dryopteridaceae from the Mesozoic and its mid-Cretaceous age is largely consistent with molecular-based estimates of divergence time. The fossil extends our understanding of polypod fern diversity in Mesozoic forests.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Wei-Cai Song (Qingdao, China) for his help in taking specimen photos, and to Professor Yongdong Wang and an anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments on the manuscript.

Funding

The study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO.31801022 and NO.31701090), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (Grant No. ZR2019BC094), and State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS) (NO. 213119).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Science and Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China

    Xiaoxuan Long, Yuan Peng, Qi Feng, Chao Shi & Shuo Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing, 210000, China

    Shuo Wang

  3. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KA, 66045, USA

    Michael S. Engel

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  1. Xiaoxuan Long
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Correspondence to Chao Shi or Shuo Wang.

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Long, X., Peng, Y., Feng, Q. et al. A new fossil fern of the Dryopteridaceae (Polypodiales) from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 103, 489–494 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-023-00572-4

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