Abstract

The Early Jurassic angiosperm Nanjinganthus has triggered a heated debate among botanists, partially due to the fact that the enclosed ovules were visible to naked eyes only when the ovary is broken but not visible when the closed ovary is intact. Although traditional technologies cannot confirm the existence of ovules in a closed ovary, newly available Micro-CT can non-destructively reveal internal features of fossil plants. Here, we performed Micro-CT observations on three dimensionally preserved coalified compressions of Nanjinganthus. Our outcomes corroborate the conclusion given by Fu et al., namely, that Nanjinganthus is an Early Jurassic angiosperm.

Details

Title
Micro-CT results exhibit ovules enclosed in the ovaries of Nanjinganthus
Author
Fu, Qiang 1 ; Hou, Yemao 2 ; Yin, Pengfei 2 ; Diez, José Bienvenido 3 ; Pole, Mike 4 ; García-Ávila, Manuel 3 ; Wang, Xin 1 

 Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing, China (GRID:grid.9227.e) (ISNI:0000000119573309) 
 Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.9227.e) (ISNI:0000000119573309) 
 Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Xeociencias Mariñas e Ordenación do Territorio, Vigo, Spain (GRID:grid.6312.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 6738); Universidade de Vigo (CIM-UVIGO), Centro de Investigación Mariña, Vigo, Spain (GRID:grid.6312.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 6738) 
 Queensland Herbarium, Toowong, Australia (GRID:grid.6312.6) 
Pages
426
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2762570149
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.