Felinanthus: A New Normapolles Genus from the Late Cretaceous of Central Europe
- Autor(en)
- Zuzana Heřmanová, Maria von Balthazar, Jiří Kvaček, Jürg Schönenberger
- Abstrakt
Premise of research.?The genus Walbeckia is partially revised here, and specimens from the Late Cretaceous of Aachen (Germany), South Bohemia (Czech Republic), and Walbeck (Germany) previously described as W. aquisgranensis, W. guttaeformis, and W. scutata are transferred to a newly established genus, Felinanthus gen. nov. The genus includes three species: F. aquisgranensis comb. nov. (the type species), F. guttaeformis comb. nov., and F. scutatus comb. nov. In addition, specimens previously described as Walbeckia fricii are here reinterpreted as Zlivifructus fricii comb. nov. on the basis of the presence of a tetramerous perianth and tetramerous androecium, which is characteristic of the Normapolles genus Zlivifructus.Methodology.?Morphological and anatomical investigations of the fossil fruits were carried out using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray micro?computed tomography.Pivotal results.?Flowers of Felinanthus gen. nov. are structurally bisexual and epigynous. The perianth consists of two small tepals and an androecium of two stamens (only filament bases are preserved). Pollen grains are triangular-oblate and triaperturate. The gynoecium is syncarpous, bilocular at the very base and unilocular above. The ovary surface is characterized by longitudinal ribs that run from the ovary base to the tepals. The fruits are one-seeded, and the seeds are attached basally.Conclusions.?Based on the triangular-oblate and triaperturate pollen grains of the Normapolles type, the genus Felinanthus gen. nov. is here treated as part of the Normapolles complex (Fagales). Our study also shows that the remaining species and specimens of the genus Walbeckia Erw.Knobloch et Mai still form a rather heterogeneous group that needs further revisions, which will have to await the discovery of additional and hopefully better-preserved specimens from the Late Cretaceous of Central Europe.
- Organisation(en)
- Department für Botanik und Biodiversitätsforschung
- Externe Organisation(en)
- Národní muzeum
- Journal
- International Journal of Plant Sciences
- Band
- 186
- Seiten
- 53-67
- Anzahl der Seiten
- 15
- ISSN
- 1058-5893
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1086/732627
- Publikationsdatum
- 2025
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ÖFOS 2012
- 106008 Botanik, 106042 Systematische Botanik, 106012 Evolutionsforschung
- Schlagwörter
- Link zum Portal
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/ad157137-e90f-45f0-a32a-6f400a68151d