Notonuphar

Notonuphar Temporal range: Early to Middle Eocene ~51  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Fossil seeds
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae
Genus:	† Notonuphar Friis, Iglesias, Reguero & Mörs, 2017
Species:	†N. antarctica
Binomial name
†Notonuphar antarctica Friis, Iglesias, Reguero & Mörs, 2017

Notonuphar is an extinct genus of water lily in the family Nymphaeaceae. It contains a single species, Notonuphar antarctica. It is only known only from the Eocene-aged La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island, Antarctica. ^[1]

Taxonomy

It is notable for being the first water lily known to have inhabited Antarctica. It is known from numerous fossil seeds which are abundant throughout certain horizons of the La Meseta Formation, constituting over 95% of fossil seeds in some areas. The anatomy of these seeds supports a close relationship with the genus Nuphar , a genus presently restricted to the Northern Hemisphere . Morphological analysis also recovers it as being the sister genus of Nuphar. It is the first Gondwanan plant known to be related to Nuphar. ^{[1] [2]}

The genus name Notonuphar is derived from the Greek word "notos" (meaning "south") and Nuphar, literally translating to "southern Nuphar." The specific epithet antarctica refers to the species being discovered on the continent of Antarctica. ^{[1] [2]}

Paleobiology

During the Eocene, Antarctica was not yet glaciated and had a climate and ecosystem similar to the modern Valdivian temperate rain forest of Chile. Notonuphar is the first discovered Antarctic fossil species known to have inhabited freshwater habitats. It was likely a common plant of freshwater wetlands near the coast, where rivers may have washed the seeds of Notonuphar out to sea, where they later fossilized. Notonuphar likely shared its freshwater habitat with an undescribed aquatic plant possibly related to Nelumbo (the extant lotus genus), as well as a large frog of the genus Calyptocephalella (which was found at the same type locality). ^{[1] [3]}

See also

• Antarctic flora

References

1. Friis, Else M.; Iglesias, Ari; Reguero, Marcelo A.; Mörs, Thomas (2017-08-01). "Notonuphar antarctica, an extinct water lily (Nymphaeales) from the Eocene of Antarctica". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 303 (7): 969–980. Bibcode:2017PSyEv.303..969F. doi: 10.1007/s00606-017-1422-y . hdl: 11336/49547 . ISSN   2199-6881. S2CID   23846066.
2. "Notonuphar E.M.Friis, A.Iglesias, Reguero et Mörs | Plant Fossil Names". www.plantfossilnames.org. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
3. Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo; Vasilyan, Davit (2020-04-23). "First fossil frog from Antarctica: implications for Eocene high latitude climate conditions and Gondwanan cosmopolitanism of Australobatrachia". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 5051. Bibcode:2020NatSR..10.5051M. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61973-5. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   7181706 . PMID   32327670.