Proencistemon portugallicus E.M.Friis, P.R.Crane, K.R.Pedersen, M.M.Mendes et J.Kvaček

Plant Fossil Names Registry Number: PFN002789

Act LSID: urn:lsid:plantfossilnames.org:act:2789

Authors: E. M. Friis, P. R. Crane, K. R. Pedersen, M. M. Mendes & J. Kvaček

Rank: species

Genus: Proencistemon E.M.Friis, P.R.Crane, K.R.Pedersen, M.M.Mendes et J.Kvaček

Reference: Friis, E. M., Crane, P. R., Pedersen, K. R., Mendes, M. M. & Kvaček, J. (2022): The Early Cretaceous mesofossil flora of Catefica, Portugal: angiosperms. – Fossil Imprint 78(2): 341–424.

Page of description: 355

Illustrations or figures: text-figs 8a–f, 9a–g

Name is type for

Types

Original diagnosis/description

Staminate inflorescences spherical with closely packed, unisexual flowers radiating from the central axis. Each flower delimited by a bract subtending one or two stamens. Anthers sessile, or almost sessile, narrowly elongate, dithecate and tetrasporangiate, lacking a well-developed filament but with a short flattened apical connective. Anther dehiscence lateral by longitudinal slits. Pollen small, trichotomocolpate, circular in outline, semitectate-reticulate, columellate, with long, scattered columellae and a homobrochate reticulum. Muri with a rounded profile and supratectal ornamentation composed of minute verrucae aligned in two to three longitudinal rows that create poorly defined transverse ridges over the muri. Aperture margin indistinct. Aperture membrane irregularly verrucate. Orbicules spherical with fine verrucate-spiny ornamentation.
[As for the genus with the following addition]: anthers very narrowly elliptical and of the same width from base to apex.

Etymology

From Portugal where the fossils were recovered.

Stratigraphy

Cretaceous, Upper Cretaceous
Almargem Formation, Early Cretaceous (Aptian-early Albian)

Locality

Portugal
Catefica (39° 03ʹ 30ʺ N; 09°14ʹ 30ʺ W), between the villages of Catefica and Mugideira, about 4 km south of Torres Vedras.