<i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian?
“How old are angiosperms” is a frequently asked but still unanswered question. Although the underlying reason includes a lack of consensus on the criterion for fossil angiosperms, limited fossil finds, and other factors, the final answer to the question apparently lies in fossils, not wrangling amon...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Xin Wang Yinggang Lei Qiang Fu |
| author_facet | Xin Wang Yinggang Lei Qiang Fu |
| author_sort | Xin Wang |
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| description | “How old are angiosperms” is a frequently asked but still unanswered question. Although the underlying reason includes a lack of consensus on the criterion for fossil angiosperms, limited fossil finds, and other factors, the final answer to the question apparently lies in fossils, not wrangling among different schools. The currently mainstream idea in palaeobotany is that angiosperms cannot have existed earlier than the Early Cretaceous. This 64-year-old stereotype was recently iterated again in 2017. However, another hard-to-ignore fact is that this view is challenged by increasing pre-Cretaceous fossil evidence of angiosperms as well as molecular clock estimates. Here, we report a Permian angiosperm, <i>Yuzhoua</i> gen. nov. from Henan Province, China. This fossil plant has enclosed ovules, a defining feature idiosyncratic of angiosperms. In addition, a conspicuous style is seen on the top of the ovary, underscoring its distinction from known fossil seeds in gymnosperms. The combination of the Permian (Palaeozoic) age and these two unique features of <i>Yuzhoua</i> indicates that angiosperms first appeared much earlier than widely accepted, implying a much longer history of flowering plants. The occurrence of four specimens preserved in various states and unique morphology of <i>Yuzhoua</i> are beyond the expectations of all known theories on plant evolution, shedding new light on a previously unknown aspect of plant evolution in geological history. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a79949b0aa16453b8ebd44b587903fbc |
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| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-a79949b0aa16453b8ebd44b587903fbc2025-08-20T02:44:50ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292025-02-0115228610.3390/life15020286<i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian?Xin Wang0Yinggang Lei1Qiang Fu2State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China“How old are angiosperms” is a frequently asked but still unanswered question. Although the underlying reason includes a lack of consensus on the criterion for fossil angiosperms, limited fossil finds, and other factors, the final answer to the question apparently lies in fossils, not wrangling among different schools. The currently mainstream idea in palaeobotany is that angiosperms cannot have existed earlier than the Early Cretaceous. This 64-year-old stereotype was recently iterated again in 2017. However, another hard-to-ignore fact is that this view is challenged by increasing pre-Cretaceous fossil evidence of angiosperms as well as molecular clock estimates. Here, we report a Permian angiosperm, <i>Yuzhoua</i> gen. nov. from Henan Province, China. This fossil plant has enclosed ovules, a defining feature idiosyncratic of angiosperms. In addition, a conspicuous style is seen on the top of the ovary, underscoring its distinction from known fossil seeds in gymnosperms. The combination of the Permian (Palaeozoic) age and these two unique features of <i>Yuzhoua</i> indicates that angiosperms first appeared much earlier than widely accepted, implying a much longer history of flowering plants. The occurrence of four specimens preserved in various states and unique morphology of <i>Yuzhoua</i> are beyond the expectations of all known theories on plant evolution, shedding new light on a previously unknown aspect of plant evolution in geological history.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/2/286angiospermPermianPalaeozoicevolutionChina<i>Yuzhoua</i> |
| spellingShingle | Xin Wang Yinggang Lei Qiang Fu <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? Life angiosperm Permian Palaeozoic evolution China <i>Yuzhoua</i> |
| title | <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? |
| title_full | <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? |
| title_fullStr | <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? |
| title_short | <i>Yuzhoua juvenilis</i>: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian? |
| title_sort | i yuzhoua juvenilis i another angiosperm seen in the early permian |
| topic | angiosperm Permian Palaeozoic evolution China <i>Yuzhoua</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/2/286 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xinwang iyuzhouajuvenilisianotherangiospermseenintheearlypermian AT yingganglei iyuzhouajuvenilisianotherangiospermseenintheearlypermian AT qiangfu iyuzhouajuvenilisianotherangiospermseenintheearlypermian |