2025 in paleobotany

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This paleobotany list records new fossil plant taxa that were to be described during the year 2025, as well as notes other significant paleobotany discoveries and events which occurred during 2025.

Algae

Chlorophytes

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Morelletpora sinica [1]	Sp. nov	Valid	Schlagintweit, Xu & Zhang	Late Cretaceous (Campanian)	Yigeziya Formation	China		A member of Dasycladales belonging to the family Triploporellaceae.

Lycophytes

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Selaginella jorelisiae [2]	Sp. nov	Valid	López-García, Schmidt & Regalado in López-García et al.	Miocene	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic		A species of Selaginella .
Zosterophyllum baoyangense [3]	Sp. nov		Huang & Xue in Huang et al.	Devonian (Pragian)	Mangshan Group	China

Ferns and fern allies

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Krameropteris calophyllum [4]	Sp. nov		Li in Li & Meng	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Kachin amber	Myanmar		A member of the family Dennstaedtiaceae.

Conifers

Pinaceae

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Pinus longlingensis [5]	Sp. nov		Song & Wu in Song et al.	Pliocene	Mangbang Formation	China		A pine.
Pinuxylon anatolica [6]	Sp. nov		Akkemik & Mantzouka	Miocene	Hançili Formation	Turkey		A member of the family Pinaceae.

Podocarpaceae

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Metapodocarpoxylon brasiliense [7]	Sp. nov		Conceição et al.		Missão Velha Formation	Brazil

Flowering plants

Monocots

Monocot research

• Evidence from the study of phytoliths from the Giraffe locality (Northwest Territories, Canada), indicative of presence of palms close to the Arctic Circle over an extensive period of time during the Eocene (approximately 48 million years ago), is presented by Siver et al. (2025). ^[8]

Basal eudicots

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Palaeosinomenium indicum [9]	Sp. nov		Kumar, Manchester & Khan	Cretaceous-Paleocene (Maastrichtian-Danian)	Deccan Intertrappean Beds	India		A member of the family Menispermaceae. Announced in late 2024, published fully in 2025.
Proteaceaefolia [10]	Gen. et sp. nov		Carpenter & McLoughlin	Paleogene		Chile		A member of the family Proteaceae. The type species is P. araucoensis.

Superasterids

Apiales

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Astropanax eogetem [11]	Sp. nov		Pan et al.	Miocene		Ethiopia		A species of Astropanax .

Icacinales

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Miquelia yenbaiensis [12]	Sp. nov		Hung, Huang & Li in Hung et al.	Miocene	Co Phuc Formation	Vietnam		A species of Miquelia .

Superrosids

Fabales

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Peltophorum xingjianii [13]	Sp. nov		Zhao, Wang & Huang in Zhao et al.	Miocene	Sanhaogou Formation	China		A species of Peltophorum .
Pueraria qinghaiensis [14]	Sp. nov		Cao & Xie in Cao et al.	Miocene	Youshashan Formation	China		A species of Pueraria .

Superrosid research

• Hazra & Khan (2025) report the discovery of a diverse assemblage of legume fruits and leaflet remains from the Rajdanda Formation (India), interpreted as evidence of the presence of a warm and humid tropical environment during the Pliocene. ^[15]

General angiosperm research

• Doughty et al. (2025) use a mechanistic model to study the relationship between seed size of flowering plants, their light environment and the size of animals in their environment, and predict a rapid increase of seed size during the Paleocene that eventually plateaued or declined, likely as a result of the appearance of large herbivores that opened the understory, reducing the competitive advantage of plants with large seeds. ^[16]

Other plants

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Fengweioxylon [17]	Gen. et sp. nov		Jiang et al.	Jurassic	Tiaojishan Formation	China		Fossil wood of a corystosperm. The type species is F. sinense.
Neuromariopteris [18]	Gen. et sp. nov		Šimůnek & Haldovský	Carboniferous (Bashkirian)	Kladno-Rakovník Basin	Czech Republic		A member of Callistophytales. The type species is N. scandens.
Palaeopteridium andrenelii [19]	Sp. nov		Correia & Góis-Marques	Carboniferous (Moscovian)		Portugal		A progymnosperm belonging to the group Noeggerathiales.
Shanxioxylon yangquanense [20]	Sp. nov		Wang & Wan in Wang et al.	Carboniferous (Kasimovian)	Benxi Formation	China		A cordaitalean.
Yuzhoua [21]	Gen. et sp. nov		Wang, Lei & Fu	Permian (Asselian)	Lower Shihhotse Formation	China		A plant of uncertain affinities, with similarities to the flowering plants. The type species is Y. juvenilis.

Other plant research

• Partial leaf representing the first record of a fossil Cycas from Australia is described from the Miocene Stuarts Creek site by Greenwood, Conran & West (2025). ^[22]

Palynology

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Sparganiaceaepollenites intertrappeansis [23]	Nom. nov		DeBenedetti et al.	Late Cretaceous-Paleocene (Maastrichtian-Danian)	Mandla Formation	India	Sparganiaceaepollenites annulatus Thakre et al. 2024 (junior homonym of S. annulatus De Benedetti, 2023).	Fossil pollen; a replacement name for Sparganiaceaepollenites reticulatus Samant et al. (2022).
Sparganiaceaepollenites oczkowicensis [23]	Nom. nov		DeBenedetti et al.	Miocene		Poland		Fossil pollen; a replacement name for Sparganiaceaepollenites microreticulatus Grabowska & Ważyńska (2009).

Palynological research

• Nhamutole et al. (2025) study the composition of palynological assemblages from the Permian (Lopingian) strata of the Maniamba Basin (Mozambique), reporting evidence of the presence of plants indicative of lowland fluvial setting. ^[24]
• Evidence from the study of palynofloral assemblages from the Germig Section (Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; Tibet, China), interpreted as indicative of a shift from floras dominated by seed ferns and conifers to floras dominated by cheirolepids during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, is presented by Li et al. (2025). ^[25]
• A study on palynofloral assemblages from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain), providing evidence of gradual shift from conifer-dominated floras to ones with increased presence of flowering plants through the Albian–Cenomanian, is published by Rodríguez-Barreiro et al. (2025). ^[26]
• Evidence from the study of palynomorph and palynofacies from the Bahariya Formation (Egypt), interpreted as indicative of warm and humid climate during the early-middle Cenomanian with a short episode of semi-arid to arid conditions during the late early Cenomanian, is presented by Abdelhalim et al. (2025). ^[27]
• Rull (2025) revises purported fossil pollen records of Pelliciera found outside the Neotropics, and argues that only a subset of Cenozoic pollen records from tropical West Africa can be confirmed as likely fossils of members of Pelliciera. ^[28]

General research

• Evidence of the presence of a plant community dominated by ferns belonging to the family Osmundaceae, similar to extant plant communities such as those from swamp settings from the Parana Forest in northeastern Argentina, is reported from the Jurassic La Matilde Formation (Argentina) by García Massini et al. (2025). ^[29]
• Silva et al. (2025) study the taphonomy of exceptionally preserved plant remains from the Upper Cretaceous Santa Marta Formation (Antarctica). ^[30]
• Evidence from the study of phytoliths from the Lunpola Basin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, interpreted as indicative of presence mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene, is presented by Zhang et al. (2025). ^[31]
• A study on ancient DNA from sediment cores from lakes in Alaska and Siberia, providing evidence of plant extinctions associated with environmental changes during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, is published by Courtin et al. (2025). ^[32]

References

1. Schlagintweit, F.; Xu, Y.; Zhang, S. (2025). "Calcareous green algae (Dasycladales, Halimedaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the western Tarim Basin, NW China: Systematic palaeontology, microfacies, and palaeobiogeographic significance". Carnets Geol. 25 (4): 89–108. doi: 10.2110/carnets.2025.2504 .
2. López-García, A. G.; Schmidt, A. R.; Serguera, M.; Regalado, L. (2025). "First record of Selaginella from Miocene amber". Fossil Record. 28 (1): 57–66. doi: 10.3897/fr.28.e138310 .
3. Huang, P.; Wang, J.-S.; Wang, Y.-L.; Liu, L.; Zhao, J.-Y.; Xue, J.-Z. (2025). "The smallest Zosterophyllum plant from the Lower Devonian of South China and the divergent life-history strategies in zosterophyllopsids". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292 (2038). 20242337. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2337 . PMC   11732410 . PMID   39809313.
4. Li, C.X.; Meng, F.W. (2025). "A New Species of Krameropteris (Dennstaedtiaceae) from Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber". Taxonomy. 5 (1). 3. doi: 10.3390/taxonomy5010003 .
5. Song, Z.-H.; Wang, Z.-E.; Cao, R.; Wang, Z.-S.; Wang, H.; Chen, G.-H.; Wu, J.-Y. (2025). "Fossil wood of Pinus from the Pliocene of western Yunnan, China and its palaeoclimatic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105279. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105279.
6. Akkemik, Ü.; Mantzouka, D. (2025). "A review of the Early Miocene Pinuxylon species of Türkiye with a new species". Turkish Journal of Botany. 49 (1): 52–63. doi:10.55730/1300-008X.2841.
7. Conceição, D. M.; Esperança Júnior, M. G. F.; Gobo, W. V.; Iannuzzi, R.; Batista, M. E. P.; Nascimento Jr., D. R.; Silva Filho, W. F.; Horodysk, R. S.; Bamford, M. K.; Kunzmann, L. (2025). "Unique conifer assemblage from Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous deposits (NE Brazil) unveils the paleoclimate and paleobiogeography in the interior of equatorial Gondwana". Cretaceous Research. 106099. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106099.
8. Siver, P. A.; Reyes, A. V.; Pisera, A.; Buryak, S.; Wolfe, A. P. (2025). "Palm phytoliths in subarctic Canada imply ice-free winters 48 million years ago during the late early Eocene". Annals of Botany. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaf021 . PMID   39928565.
9. Kumar, S.; Manchester, S. R.; Khan, M. A. (2024). "Oldest menispermaceous endocarp fossil from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds of Central India and its biogeographic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105249. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105249.
10. Carpenter, R. J.; McLoughlin, S. (2025). "A new leaf species of Proteaceae and other Gondwanan elements from the early Paleogene Lota–Coronel flora of south–central Chile". Australian Systematic Botany. doi:10.1071/SB24033.
11. Pan, A. D.; Jacobs, B. F.; Currano, E. D.; Gostel, M. R.; Lowry, P. P.; Plunkett, G. M.; Hoffmann, J.; Geier, C.; Grímsson, F. (2025). "Fossil Astropanax Seem. (Araliaceae) from the early Miocene (21.73 Mya) Mush Valley plant assemblages of Ethiopia". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boaf011.
12. Hung, N. B.; Huang, J.; Del Rio, C.; Hoa, N. T. M.; Truong, D. V.; Pha, P. D.; Su, T.; Li, S.-F. (2025). "First endocarp record of Miquelia (Icacinaceae) from the late Miocene of northern Vietnam and its phytogeographical and paleoecological implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105285. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105285.
13. Zhao, Y.-S.; Wang, T.-X.; Xiao, S.-M.; Li, S.-F.; Huang, J. (2025). "Fossil pods of tropical tree Peltophorum (Caesalpinioideae, Fabaceae) from southwestern China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105282. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105282.
14. Cao, Z.-D.; Xie, S.-P.; Liu, L.-M.; Li, X.-M.; Zhang, S.-H.; Zhang, Y.-H.; Yan, D.-F. (2025). "A moderate elevation and warm-humid climate of the Wulan Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau in the Middle Miocene indicated by Pueraria macrofossils". Journal of Palaeogeography. doi: 10.1016/j.jop.2024.08.012 .
15. Hazra, T.; Khan, M. A. (2025). "Late Neogene diversity of Fabaceae in the Chotanagpur Plateau, eastern India: palaeoecological implications". Earth History and Biodiversity. doi: 10.1016/j.hisbio.2025.100020 .
16. Doughty, C. E.; Wiebe, B. C.; Keany, J. M.; Gaillard, C.; Abraham, A. J.; Kristensen, J. A. (2025). "Ecosystem engineers alter the evolution of seed size by impacting fertility and the understory light environment". Palaeontology. 68 (1). e70002. doi:10.1111/pala.70002.
17. Jiang, Z.; Tian, N.; Wang, Y.; Li, F.; Pei, J.; Uhl, D.; Li, Y.; Wu, H.; Ning, Z.; Hao, R. (2025). "A new exceptionally preserved corystosperm wood from the Jurassic of East Asia". Science China Earth Sciences. doi:10.1007/s11430-024-1480-6.
18. Šimůnek, Z.; Haldovský, J. (2025). "New callistophytalean species from the Duckmantian of the Kladno-Rakovník Basin, Czech Republic". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105283. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105283.
19. Correia, P.; Góis-Marques, C. A. (2025). "Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov., a new noeggerathialean species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Portugal with new insights on the Noeggerathiales". Geological Magazine. 162. e1. doi:10.1017/S0016756824000438.
20. Wang, K.; Jia, G.; Dong, L.; Wang, J.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.; Wan, M. (2025). "Shanxioxylon yangquanense sp. nov., a new Kasimovian cordaitalean axis from the Benxi Formation (Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous) of Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, North China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105287. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105287.
21. Wang, X.; Lei, Y.; Fu, Q. (2025). "Yuzhoua juvenilis: Another Angiosperm Seen in the Early Permian?". Life. 15 (2). 286. doi: 10.3390/life15020286 .
22. Greenwood, D. R.; Conran, J. G.; West, C. K. (2025). "A Cycas L. (Cycadaceae) Leaf from the Miocene of Northern South Australia". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 186 (2): 114–126. doi:10.1086/733819.
23. DeBenedetti, F.; Zamaloa, M. C.; Gandolfo, M. A.; Cúneo, N. R.; Fensome, R. A.; Gravendyck, J. (2025). "Nomenclatural and taxonomic notes on the fossil pollen genus Sparganiaceaepollenites Thiergart 1937". Palynology. doi:10.1080/01916122.2025.2463407.
24. Nhamutole, N.; Bamford, M.; Souza, P. A.; Félix, C. M.; Carmo, D. A.; Zimba, A.; Bande, P. (2025). "New palynological data from Maniamba Basin, Mozambique (Karoo): Correlations and implications for Lopingian floristic ecosystem reconstruction". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105310. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105310.
25. Li, J.-H.; Peng, J.-G.; Slater, S. M.; Vajda, V. (2025). "Palynofloras across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest China". Palaeoworld. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2025.200910.
26. Rodríguez-Barreiro, I.; Santos, A. A.; Villanueva-Amadoz, U.; Hernández, J. M.; McLoughlin, S.; Diez, J. B. (2025). "Angiosperm radiation, diversification, and vegetation shifts through the Albian–Cenomanian of the northern Iberian Peninsula: Palynological evidence from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark". Cretaceous Research. 106086. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106086.
27. Abdelhalim, L. A.; Mansour, A.; Tahoun, S. S.; Abdelrahman, K.; Wagreich, M. (2025). "Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic trends during the early-middle Cenomanian in northeastern Africa (Egypt): Insights from palynomorph and palynofacies analyses". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105297. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105297.
28. Rull, V. (2025). "A critical evaluation of fossil pollen records from the mangrove tree Pelliciera beyond the Neotropics: Biogeographical and evolutionary implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105299. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105299.
29. García Massini, J. L.; Nunes, G. C.; Yañez, A.; Escapa, I. H.; Guido, D. (2025). "Jurassic Osmundaceous Landscapes in Patagonia: Exploring the Concept of Ecological Stasis in the Deseado Massif, Argentina". Plants. 14 (2). 165. doi: 10.3390/plants14020165 . PMC   11768899 .
30. Silva, E.; Iglesias, A.; Atkinson, B.; Smith, S. Y.; Olivero, E. B. (2025). "Exceptional preservation of plants in calcareous concretions from Santa Marta Formation (Late Cretaceous), James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula". Ameghiniana. doi:10.5710/AMGH.29.01.2025.3611.
31. Zhang, X.-W.; Liu, J.; Spicer, R. A.; Gao, Y.; Yao, X.-R.; Qin, X.-Y.; Zhou, Z.-K.; Su, T. (2025). "Vegetation history of the central Tibetan region during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. doi:10.1111/jse.13152.
32. Courtin, J.; Stoof-Leichsenring, K. R.; Lisovski, S.; Liu, Y.; Alsos, I. G.; Biskaborn, B. K.; Diekmann, B.; Melles, M.; Wagner, B.; Pestryakova, L.; Russell, J.; Huang, Y.; Herzschuh, U. (2025). "Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe". Nature Communications. 16 (1). 645. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x . PMC   11733255 . PMID   39809751.