Botanica Pacifica

Research paper

Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation Preprint
Article first published online: 23 OCT 2015 | DOI: 10.17581/bp.2015.04215

Wielandiella villosa comb. nov. from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, China: More Evidence for Divaricate Plant Architecture in Williamsoniceae

Christian Pott 1, Wang Xiaoli 2 & Zheng Xiaoting 2,3

1 Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Palaeobiology, Box 50007, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
2 Linyi University, Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi, Shandong, 276005, China
3 Shandong Tianyu Museum of Natural History, Pingyi, Shandong, 273300, China

Recently discovered fossils yielding branched axes with attached foliage are described from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds, Inner Mongolia, China. The leaves of the plant were earlier described as isolated and disarticulated foliage and assigned to Anomozamites villosus; the plant architecture, however, necessitates the re-assignment of the fossils under study to Wielandiella, a bennettitalean whole-plant fossil taxon that includes stems, leaves and unisexual ovuliferous reproductive structures. Wielandiella villosa is the second known species attributable to Wielandiella and extends the taxon’s range from the Rhaetian into the Middle Jurassic. Wielandiella villosa is interpreted to encompass specialised shrubs that are regarded to have thrived in swampy settings but also potentially extended to other lowland habitats, especially where conditions of physiological drought prevailed; conditions that, in modern vegetation, are considered to favour the development of divaricate plant growth forms. The foliage and reproductive organs of these medium-sized shrubs would have been of suitable size for ground-based animals to browse, potentially also stimulating a divaricate growth form in Wielandiella villosa. The ecological pressures promoting indumentum development and the protruding hairs on the leaves of Wielandiella villosa are interpreted as predominantly an adaptation for passive defence against herbivores rather than xeromorphic features. The latter add to ongoing investigations of the depositional setting of the fossils in order to unravel the plant’s habitat and micro-climate at Daohugou.

Потт Х., Ван С., Чжен С. Wielandiella villosa comb. nov. из среднеюрских отложений Даохугоу, Внутренная Монголия, Китай: дополнительное подтверждение ветвистой структуры побегов представителей Williamsoniceae. Недавно обнаруженные окаменелости побегов, несущих разветвленные оси с прикрепленными листьями, описаны из среднеюрских отложений Даохугоу, Внутренняя Монголия, Китай. По листьям растение идентифицировано как Anomozamites villosus, ранее описанный по изолированным и расчлененным листьям. Архитектура растения однако требует отнесения фоссилий к Wielandiella, описанному на основе целого экземпляра таксона беннеттита, который включает стебли, листья и однополые семенные репродуктивные структуры. Wielandiella villosa – второй вид из ныне известных в роде, что расширяет временной диапазон существования таксона от рэта до средней юры. Реконструированное растение сравнивается с Wielandiella angustifolia из европейского рэта, обсуждаются его экологические характеристики, которые дают представление о жизненном цикле и адаптациях к факторам среды, а также информацию об особенностях осадконакопления в Даохугоу в существовавших климатических условиях.

Keywords: Bennettitales, Anomozamites, Middle Jurassic, Inner Mongolia, Daohugou Biota, whole-plant fossil taxon, средний отдел юрского периода, Внутренняя Монголия, биота Даохугоу, ископаемый таксон на основе целого растения

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