Table Of ContentFUNGIFORMS AND
CRETACIFILIX AN
GEN. EUPOLYPOD
FERN
NOV.,
SP.
(POLYPODIALES) EARLY CRETACEOUS
IN BURMESE AMBER
George
0. Poinar, Ron
Buckley
Jr.
Department
ofZoology
Oregon
State University
Oregon
Corvaiiis, 97331,
U.S.A.
Amber
from Burma
(Myanmar), which has been known
for centuries, contains a variety of insect and plant
A
fossils (Poinar et al. 2006). recent discovery revealed the remains of four pinnules an eupolypod
fertile of
fern in a piece of Burmese amber. Fern remains are rare in amber and only three species have been
described.
They
are Aleihopteris serrata Caspary and
(1881) Pecopteris humboldtiana Goppert and Berendt from
(1845)
Eocene amber
Baltic (both of the above extinct genera had been
established previously Carboniferous
for
and Gomez
ferns) Grammitis
succinea (1982) in Miocene- Oligocene Dominican
amber.
The
present study describes the Burmese amber fern using characters associated with the sori, indusia,
sporangia and
spores.
AND
MATERIALS METHODS
The amber was derived from mine Hukawng
a first excavated in 2001, in the Valley, southwest of Maing-
khwan
in the state of Kachin (26°20'N, 96°36'E) in Burma (Myanmar). This new amber known
site, as the
Bum
Summit
Noije 2001 was
Site, assigned to the Upper Albian of the Early Cretaceous on
the basis of
&
paleontological evidence (Cruickshank Ko
2003). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and
spectra the
wood
presence of araucaroid amber Bum
fibers in samples from the Noije 2001 Summit
an
indicate
site
araucanan
-.probably Agathis) tree source for the amber (Poinar 2007).
et
al.
The
amber
single piece of containing the fern remains was roughly
(Fig. 1) rectangular in shape,
mm mm
mm
measuring
12 long, 6 wide and
1 in depth. Observations, drawings, and photographs were
made with Nikon SMZ-10 R
a
stereoscopic microscope and Nikon Optiphot compound
microscope
(with
magnifications up
to 700x). not possible determine whether
It is to the blades were
pinnate, bipinnate or
tupmnate. The
lengths of the four fertile pinnules in the amber are: pinnule A, 3 mm; pinnule mm;
B, 4.9
mm
pinnule and mm.
C, 5.2 pinnule D, 2.4 Each pinnule contains one more on
or
sori their abaxial surfaces
(Figs.
1, 5).
journal ofthe Botanical Research Institute of Texas 2(2)
1176
DESCRIPTION
&
&
Cretacifilix G.O. Poinar R. Buckley, gen. nov. Type Species: Cretacifilixjungiformis G.O. Poinar R. Buckley (Polypodiales).
unknown mostly
and unknown. Fronds of length; pinnules lobed,
Rhizome, rachis costa
Diagnosis.— stipe,
on and margins; veins not reaching margins, not
glabrous with few scattered unicellular hairs surface free,
ending hydathodes; sori medial, orientated mostly in alternate positions in two rows, with mostly one,
in
ends
sometime two bone on single pinnule lobe, deeply embossed, resulting adaxial pustules at of
but sori
with
round reniform, persistant indusia stalk
covered by brown, thick, glabrous, multicellular, to
veins; sori
and openings; some indusia bent backwards, revealing
attached by inner end of sinus with distal lateral
composed
composed 1-3 rows sporangia oval, thick-walled, walls
ribbed stalks; sporangial stalks of of cells;
not extending more than half circumference
annulus short, broad,
narrow, elongate vertical,
of small, cells;
monolete.
ruggose-tuberculate,
of sporangia, with less than 10 thick walled cells; spores small, oval,
&
Bum
myanmar. 2001
fungiforms G.O. Poinar R. Buckley, sp. nov. (Figs. 1-5). Type: Kachin: Noije
Cretacifilix
SW 2005-2007, unknown
Summit Hukawng of Maingkhwan in the state of Kachin (26°20'N, 96°36'E), collector
Site in the Valley,
Further
available for study.
# amber is
holottpe: catalogue B- 1 1 collection
(
233
(N = opening outward, 416(360-504) urn in width,
Four pinnules: indusia 22)
Description.— fertile
142(104-208) urn wide, width of cap, 183(90-436) urn; cells of indusia thick
urn in length; indusial stalk
many minute bodies ranging from 3-4 urn in length and 1-2 urn in
with bacilliform
walled, filled discrete,
com-
capsule walls
from sporangia oval-shaped;
ribbed (possibly desiccation);
width; stalk of indusia often
115(81-150)
(N = 158(140-189) urn in length,
sporangia
posed of thick walled, narrow, elongate cells; 10),
and extending no more than half
urn in width; annulus short, containing less than 10 thick-walled cells
annulus (N = 53(24-72) urn; width annulus (N = 53(24- 72); spores
circumference of sporangia; length 5), 3),
perispore
ruggose-tuberculate,
= 21(16-29) urn long and 14(11-20) urn wide, surface
(N monolete,
oval,
8)
on margins and veins of pinnules range from 28-195 urn in length.
not evident; hairs
Cretaceous
Etymology.— derived from the Latin Cretaceus for "chalky" indicating the
Cretacifilix is
mushroom
and
derived from the Latin "fungi" for
period and from the Latin for fern: fungijormis is
"filix"
bodies of chanterelles
the Latin "forma" for shape in reference to the resemblance of the indusia to fruiting
mushrooms.
and some
shelf-like
DISCUSSION
on
unknown, placement based the
systematic
Since the vegetative structures and habit of Cretafilix art is
reproductive characters. The presence of a vertical annulus that partially encircles the spore case (Figs. 2,
Smith 2006).
places the fossil in the Eupolypods clade of the Polypodiales (Schneider et al. 2004; et al.
5)
because unique combination of characters.
an extant family of
was not possible to place Cretacifilix in its
It
and Woodsiaceae (and
Dryopteridaceae
with reniform indusia are characters of the families
Surficial sori
denned
and Lomariopsidaceae) as
known from some members ofthe Thelypteridaceae, Tectariaceae
are also
and Woodsiaceae possess reniform,
by Smith (2006). However members of the Dryopteridaceae trilete
et
al.
usually not
and monolete. Also the indusia of these families are
spores and the spores of Cretacifilix are oval
and with (Bower 1928; Sledge 1973).
multicellular thick as Cretacifilix
embossed
Woodsiaceae the deeply
not found in the Dryopteridaceae or is
Another character of
Cretacifilix
This character closely resembles that found in the North American Pleopeltis polypodioides (L.)
sori (Plate
2).
& commonly known
the
Andrews Windham ofthe Polypodiaceae (Cobb et 2005). This species, as
al.
E.G.
up and appearing dead during periods of drought, but
has the characteristic of curling
resurrection fern,
during periods
then recovering when conditions are favorable. If embossed sori are associated with survival
The
would might have been subjected to similar climatic conditions.
suggest that
of aridity, Cretacifilix
it
and
which
on branches (Cobb 2005), a likely habitat for Cretacifilix
resurrection fern occurs tree et al. is
how made contact with resin on the trunk of the araucaroid tree.
would explain fronds of the fossil
=
mm.
Scale Bar 1 .2 B. Pinnule B. Arrows
).
and
nov. (Polypodiales)
sp.
i.
Ohwi,
Asian dryopterid species with similar sori are Arachniods standishii (Moore) Dryopteris lacera
(Thumb.) O. Kuntze and Dry opteris chinensis (Bak.) Koidz. However, in the former two species, the veins
extend to the tips of the pinnules and the sori are either on the veins or in opposite rows, and in the latter
species, the annulus has 17 thick- walled cells and extends more than half way around the circumference
sporangium
of the (Lee 1999).
The annulus of extant leptosporangiate ferns extends at least two thirds around the circumference of the
sporangial capsule (Moran 2004). The short annuli, thick, narrow cell walls of the sporangial capsules and
small, oval spores appear to be unique features of Cretacifilix. The small bacilliform bodies in the indusial
No
cells could indicate a symbiotic association. reports of similar bodies in the indusial cells of extant ferns
could be found.
The presence of an eupolypod fern in the Early Cretaceous supports other records of fossil Polypodiales
ferns from the same period (Deng 2002). Based on molecular studies, eupolypod subclades are thought
to have diversified in the Late Cretaceous (Schneider et al. 2004), but it is obvious that they were already
present in the Early Cretaceous and evolving concurrently with early angiosperms, several of which have
»
Jf-
=
portion of wall removed, revealing four spores (arrows). Scale Bar 25 um.
Poinar and Buckley, Cretacifilix fungiformis gen. and sp. nov. (Polypodiales)
&
Chambers Poinar
same Burmese amber (Poinar 2004; Poinar 2005; et
been recovered from the fossil site
2007).
al.
many
with
Burmese amber was a tropical-subtropical rainforest
evidence indicates that the forest
All
New The Waipoua the only
Waipoua Northern Zealand. forest is
kauri in
characteristics of the forest
floral
and comprises mixed dense ecosystem of flowering plants, ferns,
virgin Agathis forest in the world today a
km Of been recorded, 178 species are seed
lycopods and moss on 90 sq of land. the 241 plants that ave
(McGregor
bearing and 63 are ferns or lycopods 1948).
Bernhardt
Peter
The authors thank Alan Smith for assistance throughout this study, 1
1
and Roberta Poinar
supplying pertinent literature for c
for
The
1928. ferns Vol.
Bower, (Filicales).
F.D.
II
881 Ober neue fossile Pflanzen c
Caspary,
R.
1
.
Konigsberg 22:22-31.
Physik.-Ok.onom. Gesellsch.
karzes. Schrift.
nd Houghton
Cobb, Farnsworth, and C. Lowe. 2005. A field Guide to ferns and their related families. 2 Ed. Mifflin
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Boston.
Co.,
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Cruickshank, R.D. Ko.
K.
21:441-455.
Earth
Sci.
Deng, 2002. Ecology of the Cretaceous
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2.
1 1 1
New
Gomez, Grammitis
L.D.P. 982. succinea, the World fern found amber. Amer.
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