Abstract
Ephedroid macrofossils have been widely documented in Cretaceous deposits,including numerous from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of NE China.However,few ephedroid macrofossils have been reported from South America.Herein,we describe a new plant of the family Ephedraceae,Arlenea del-icata gen.et sp.nov.,from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of the Araripe Basin,Northeast Brazil,based on the vegetative and reproductive structures.It has the typical morphological characteristics of ephedroid plants,including fertile reproductive branches,opposite phyllotaxy,terminal female cones,a sympodial branching system,longitudinally striated internodes,and swollen nodes.Our new finding is unusual in having inner chlamydosperms subtended by two pairs of bracts,reproductive units connected to branches through swollen receptacles and a smooth seed surface.This new ephedroid taxon from the Crato Formation increases our understanding of plant diversity of this group during the Early Cretaceous.Furthermore,the general morphology(fleshy bracts and enlarged receptacles)of this new fossil dis-covery indicates that seeds of this plant may have been dispersed by animals such as pterosaurs(mainly the Tapejaridae)and birds(Enantiomithes and Ornituromorpha).If true,this would explain the cosmopolitan distribution of Ephedraceae in the Lower Cretaceous.
基金项目
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico CNPq Processon(406902/2022-4INCT PALEOVERT)
Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-CAPES for the financial support grant(88887520216/2020-00)
Funda??o Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-FUNCAP for the financial support grant to R.A.M.Banti(BMD-0124-00302.01.01/19)
A.A.F.Saraiva(BP3-013900202.01.00/18)