Fothergilla malloryi

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Fothergilla malloryi
Temporal range: Ypresian 49.5  Ma
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Fothergilla malloryi without scale 01.jpg
Fothergilla malloryi specimen
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Hamamelidaceae
Genus: Fothergilla
Species:
F. malloryi
Binomial name
Fothergilla malloryi
Radtke, Pigg, & Wehr, 2005

Fothergilla malloryi is an extinct species of flowering plant in the family Hamamelidaceae known from fossil leaves found in the early Eocene [1] Klondike Mountain Formation deposits of northern Washington state. [2] The F. malloryi leaves are the earliest appearance in the fossil record of a member of the witchalder genus Fothergilla , which includes the living species F. gardenii , and F. major , both of which are native to the southeastern United States. [2] The genus also includes three or four other fossil species with two Asian Miocene species, F. viburnifolia from China, F. ryozenensis from Japan along with one Miocene North American species, F. praeolata of Oregon. Fothergilla durhamensis described from Eocene sediments in King County, Washington is considered dubious in placement, [2] and it was transferred to the genus Platimeliphyllum by Huegele et al. (2021). [3]

Contents

History and classification

Fothergilla malloryi is represented by a single counterpart compression fossil specimen from the Ypresian [1] aged Klondike Mountain Formation which outcrops in Republic, Ferry County, Washington. The age of the formation is based on Argon–argon dating, which has returned a date of 49.4 ±0.5 million years old. [2] The fossil was recovered from "Boot Hill", University of Washington site UWBM B4131 located within the city limits of Republic. [4]

The holotype specimen for Fothergilla malloryi is numbered UWBM 56625 and currently preserved in the paleobotanical collections of University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. [2] The specimen was studied by paleobotanists Meghan G. Radtke and Kathleen B. Pigg of the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University and Wesley C. Wehr of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. Radtke, Pigg and Wehr published their 2005 type description for F. malloryi in the International Journal of Plant Sciences . The etymology of the specific name malloryi was derived from V. Standish Mallory, University of Washington professor of geology and paleontology, [5] in honor of his contributions to the Tertiary paleontology of Washington State. [2]

Description

The specimen used for the description of F. malloryi is a simple, ovate leaf having a slightly asymmetric base. The overall length of the leaf is 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in) and is 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) at the widest point near the base. The pinnate secondary veins diverge from the primary vein at an angle of 53° and form a craspedodromous patterning. The leaf margin has large rounded, possibly glandular teeth each with a single major vein. F. malloryi is similar in size range to the extant F gardenii and the Miocene F. viburnifolia, but differs in the structuring of the leaf base. F. malloryi is generally shorter and less elongated then the Miocene species F. ryozenensis while the Oregon species F. praeolata has a notably different overall shape and petiole structure. [2]

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<i>Trochodendron nastae</i> Extinct species of flowering plant

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The Klondike Mountain Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) geological formation located in the northeast central area of Washington state. The formation, named for the type location designated in 1962, Klondike Mountain north of Republic, Washington, is composed of volcanic rocks in the upper unit and volcanics plus lacustrine (lakebed) sedimentation in which a lagerstätte with exceptionally well-preserved plant and insect fossils has been found, along with fossil epithermal hot springs.

<i>Corylopsis reedae</i> Extinct species of flowering plant

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<i>Rhus boothillensis</i> Extinct species of flowering plant

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<i>Rhus garwellii</i> Extinct species of flowering plant

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Rhus republicensis is an extinct species of flowering plant in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. The species is known from fossil leaves found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state in the United States. The species was first described from fossil leaves found in the Klondike Mountain Formation. R. republicensis likely hybridized with the other Klondike Mountain formation sumac species Rhus boothillensis, Rhus garwellii, and Rhus malloryi.

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Paraconcavistylon is an extinct genus of flowering plant in the family Trochodendraceae comprises a single species, Paraconcavistylon wehrii. The genus is known from fossil fruits and leaves found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state, United States, and southern British Columbia, Canada. The species was initially described as a member of the related extinct genus Concavistylon as "Concavistylon" wehrii, but subsequently moved to the new genus Paraconcavistylon in 2020 after additional study.

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References

  1. 1 2 Manchester, S.; Pigg, K (2008). "The Eocene mystery flower of McAbee, British Columbia". Botany. 86 (9): 1034–1038. doi:10.1139/B08-044.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Radtke, M.G.; Pigg, K.B.; Wehr, W.C. (2005). "Fossil Corylopsis and Fothergilla Leaves (Hamamelidaceae) from the Lower Eocene Flora of Republic, Washington, U.S.A., and Their Evolutionary and Biogeographic Significance". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 166 (2): 347–356. doi:10.1086/427483. S2CID   20215269.
  3. ↑ Huegele, I.B.; Zhu, H.; Zhao, B.; Wang, Y.-F.; Manchester, S. R. (2021). "Trans-Beringial Distribution of Platimeliphyllum (Platanaceae) in the Eocene of Eastern Asia and Western North America". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 183 (2): 139–153. doi:10.1086/717692. S2CID   239529168.
  4. ↑ Pigg, K.B.; Manchester, SR; Wehr, WC (2003). "Corylus, Carpinus, and Palaeocarpinus (Betulaceae) from the Middle Eocene Klondike Mountain and Allenby Formations of Northwestern North America". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164 (5): 807–822. doi:10.1086/376816. S2CID   19802370.
  5. ↑ V.-Standish-Mallory Encyclopædia Britannica>
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