| Matoniaceae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Matonia pectinata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Gleicheniales |
| Family: | Matoniaceae C.Presl 1847 |
| Genera | |
| |
Matoniaceae is one of the three families of ferns in the Gleicheniales order of the Polypodiopsida class. [1] [2] Fossil records reveal that Matoniaceae ferns were abundant during the Mesozoic era (about 250-million to 66-million years ago), during which they lived on every continent, including Antarctica, with eight genera and 26 species, with the oldest known specimens being from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. [3] Today the family is much less abundant, and also less diverse, with only two extant genera and four species, [4] which are limited to portions of southeastern Asia. [5]
The following diagram shows a likely phylogenic relationship with the other two families of the Gleicheniales. [6]
| Gleicheniales |
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Some common Mesozoic Matoniaceae genera and a sampling of their species include: