†Tropidogyne pikei K. L. Chambers, Poinar & R. T. Buckley, representing a new genus and species, is described from an Early Cretaceous flower preserved in Burmese amber. †Tropidogyne may occupy a stem or early crown position in the phylogeny of the rosid clade. Its floral morphology, while largely plesiomorphic, can be compared with the modern family Cunoniaceae. The flower of the fossil taxon is small, bisexual, epigynous, apetalous, with five regular sepals slightly connate at the base, 10 stamens, the one preserved anther having two thecae that dehisce by longitudinal slits, an ovary of three carpels surmounted by a conspicuous disc, three short, acute styles, and a 10-ribbed inferior ovary. At the summit of each rib of the †Tropidogyne ovary is a small, darkly stained patch of tissue, interpreted here as a secretory gland.
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18 March 2010
Tropidogyne, a New Genus of Early Cretaceous Eudicots (Angiospermae) from Burmese Amber
Kenton L. Chambers,
George Poinar Jr.,
Ron Buckley
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Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature
Vol. 20 • No. 1
March 2010
Vol. 20 • No. 1
March 2010
amber
Burma (Myanmar)
Cunoniaceae
Early Cretaceous
eudicot flower
eurosid clade
fossilized resin