Fossil of a new plant species discovered in Portugal

A scientific article published in the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology describes a new species of conifer from the Early Cretaceous of […]

A scientific article published in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology describes a new species of conifer from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal, attributable to the family Cheirolepidiaceae.

The new plant species, Frenelopsisantunesii, was discovered and characterized by a team led by Mário Miguel Mendes, researcher at the Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Coimbra (MARE-UC).

It was collected in the Lower Cretaceous of the Juncal area, in the district of Leiria, and, according to the scientists who discovered it, «it is of particular interest, as it brings together morphological and anatomical characteristics that bring it closer to the current genus Tetraclinis, providing important indications of environmental character'.

In other words, clarifies Mário Miguel Mendes, the studies of Portuguese Cretaceous vegetation are «essential for the knowledge of the development and evolution of plants and for the characterization of the paleoenvironments and paleoclimates in which they lived in the past, enabling a fundamental contribution to the establishment of changes events that took place at a particularly significant moment in Earth's history'.

“The hairs observed along the epidermis and on the edges of the leaves of Frenelopsisantunesii, similarly to what happens in the Tetraclinis species, may have acted as surfaces for absorbing atmospheric moisture at night in a semi-arid and dry environment”, says the coordinator. of the study.

The genus Frenelopsis is typical of Cretaceous flora and has been found in several parts of Europe, namely in Portugal. The specific xeromorphic characteristics of frenelopsids, for example, thick cuticle and very reduced leaves, «seem to be closely related to strategies of adaptation and survival of these plants to xeric environments», concludes Mário Miguel Mendes, also a professor at Universidade Fernando Pessoa.

The study was carried out in collaboration with the National Museum in Prague, in the Czech Republic. the scientific article is available here.

 

Author: Cristina Pinto – Press Office – University of Coimbra – Science Communication

 



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