The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences recently announced they had discovered the earliest angiosperm known in Northwest China through reexamination of fossil specimens.
The researcher in charge of the study Wang Xin told the Global Times that the fossils represent inflorescences or infructescences belonging to angiosperms. Angiosperms are the most evolved, diverse, widely distributed and adaptable group of plants today. “There are over 300,000 species of angiosperms in the extant world.” He added.
The research team reexamined a Jurassic fossil plant from about 170 million years ago in the Northwest of China. The plant was previously thought to be a gymnosperm, and named as Drepanolepis formosa Zhang, 1998.
In the latest study, the team applied micro-CT technology to scan the fossil specimens and found that an inverted ovule with two integuments is enclosed in each carpel or fruit, which is a key feature for determining angiosperms, and they named the fossil plant as Qingganninginfructus formosa.
The study was jointly worked on by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou University, Ningxia Geological Museum and Northwest University. The related research results were recently published in Life, an international biological periodical.
Source: www.globaltimes.cn
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