首次在波罗的海琥珀中发现的无可争议的石南属（冬青目：冬青科）花朵化石。

First indisputable fossil Ilex (Aquifoliales: Aquifoliaceae) flower found in Baltic amber.

机构信息

Natural History Museum of Denmark, Science, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The European Synchrotron Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS40220, 38043, Grenoble Cedex 9, France.

出版信息

Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 12;14(1):27730. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-78892-4.

DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-78892-4

PMID:39532992

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11557822/

Abstract

The genus Ilex (holly) in the monotypic family Aquifoliaceae contains more than 600 species distributed worldwide. Pollen fossils and macrofossils of fruits of Ilex are known from the late Cretaceous (90 Ma) and verified leaves from the upper Miocene (10 Ma), but until now only a few more or less incomplete flower fossils have been suggested as referable to this genus. This paper reviews the fossil flowers earlier attributed to Ilex and presents a complete and indisputable staminate Ilex flower from Baltic amber (34-38 Ma) examined in detail with synchrotron X-ray tomography. This finding may challenge the hypothesis of late Neogene dispersal of the genus from a center of origin in subtropical East Asia.

摘要

冬青属（冬青）在单种科冬青科中包含分布于全球的超过 600 个物种。冬青的花粉化石和果实大化石已知来自晚白垩世（90 Ma），并经证实叶片来自上新世中期（10 Ma），但直到现在，只有少数或多或少不完整的花化石被认为是属于这个属的。本文回顾了以前被认为属于冬青属的化石花，并展示了一个完整且无可争议的来自波罗的海琥珀（34-38 Ma）的雄花化石，该化石用同步加速器 X 射线断层扫描进行了详细研究。这一发现可能会挑战该属从亚热带东亚起源中心在新近纪晚期扩散的假说。