2024 in paleobotany

This paleobotany list records new fossil plant taxa that were to be described during the year 2024, as well as notes other significant paleobotany discoveries and events which occurred during 2024.

Algae

Charophytes

Chlorophytes

Phycological research

• Putative dasycladalean alga Voronocladus dryganti from the Silurian of Ukraine is argued by LoDuca (2024) to be a member of Bryopsidales; the author also reinterprets purported graptolite-like epibionts of V. dryganti, originally described as the new taxon Podoliagraptus algaeoides, as actually representing the uppermost siphons of mature thalli of V. dryganti.
• A diverse charophyte flora, including fossil material of Echinochara cf. peckii representing the oldest record of the family Clavatoraceae reported to date, is described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) marginal marine beds of southern France by Trabelsi, Sames & Martín-Closas (2024).

Lycophytes

Ferns and fern allies

Pteridological research

• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of extant and fossil members of Cyatheales, and on the biogeography of the group throughout its evolutionary history, is published by Ramírez-Barahona (2024).
• Machado et al. (2024) describe fossil material of Pteridium sp. cf. P. esculentum from the Miocene Ñirihuau Formation (Argentina) representing the oldest and southernmost record of Pteridium from South America reported to date.

Bennettitales

Conifers

Cupressaceae

Pinaceae

Podocarpaceae

Other conifers

Conifer research

• Xie, Gee & Griebeler (2024) use growth models based on the height–diameter relationships of extant araucarians to determine heights of araucariaceous logs from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation (Utah, United States).

Flowering plants

Monocots

Arecales

Dioscoreales

Poales

Monocot research

• A study on the phytolith morphology of palms and on the utility of phytoliths for reconstructions of environment of fossils palms is published by Brightly et al. (2024), who find that phytoliths do not reliably differentiate most palm taxa, though they might be useful to determine the presence of more distinct (and possibly environmentally informative) members of the group in the fossil record.
• A study on the affinities of elongated fossil fruits of members of the genus Carex, providing evidence of the continued presence of Carex sect. Cyperoideae in the Old World since the Miocene, is published by Martinetto et al. (2024).

Basal eudicots

• Patel et al. (2024) describe fossil reproductive organ of a member of the genus Nelumbo from the Palana Formation (India), and interpret this finding as indicative of the existence of a freshwater ecosystem in the Rajasthan Basin during the early Eocene.

Superasterids

Caryophyllales

Ericales

Gentianales

Superrosids

Fabales

Fagales

Malpighiales

Myrtales

Rosales

Sapindales

Saxifragales

Vitales

Superrosid research

• Lagrange, Martínez & Del Rio (2024) study the seed morphology of members of the tribe Paropsieae in the family Passifloraceae, and argue that, with exception of distinctive seeds of members of the genus Androsiphonia, fossil Paropsieae cannot be identified confidently based solely on seed characters.

Other angiosperms

• The first fossil record of a flower of a member of the genus Cryptocarya is reported from the Miocene Zhangpu amber (China) by Beurel et al. (2024).

Angiosperm research

• Hošek et al. (2024) report fossil evidence from the northernmost part of the Vienna Basin in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) indicative of survival of trees such as oak, linden and Fraxinus excelsior in the area during the Last Glacial Maximum, and interpret their survival as made possible by the existence of hot springs providing stable conditions for the long-term maintenance of refugia.

Other plants

Other plant research

• Redescription and a study on the affinities of Stauroxylon beckii is published by Durieux et al. (2024).
• A study on the morphological diversity of cycad leaves throughout their evolutionary history, providing evidence of a dynamic history of diversification, is published by Coiro & Seyfullah (2024).
• Zhang et al. (2024) compile a dataset of macroscopic and cuticular traits of fossils of members of the group Czekanowskiales from China, and use it to classify the studied fossils on the basis of quantitative analytical evidence.
• A study on the morphology and affinities of Furcula granulifer is published by Coiro et al. (2024), who interpret the studied plant as a likely relative of pteridosperms such as Scytophyllum and Vittaephyllum, and interpret F. granulifer as a plant that evolved its hierarchical vein system of leaves convergently with the flowering plants.
• Possible caytonialean pteridosperm fossils are described from the Bajocian strata in the Karachay-Cherkessia (Russia) by Naugolnykh & Mitta (2024).

Palynology

Palynological research

• Mamontov, McLean & Gavrilova (2024) study the ultrastructure of Maiaspora concava and M. panopta, providing evidence of similarities with extant Gleicheniales, and interpret the origin of the Gleicheniales stem as related to closure of the Rheic Ocean in the Paleozoic.
• A study on the palynoflora from the Permian Emakwezini Formation (South Africa) is published by Balarino et al. (2024), who interpret the studied fossils as providing evidence of the presence of complex forests during the Guadalupian, with plant diversity greater than indicated by the macrofloral record.
• A study on the fossil record of Early Triassic palynomorphs from the Vikinghøgda Formation (Svalbard, Norway), providing evidence of a shift from lycophyte-dominated to a gymnosperm-dominated vegetation related to the onset of a cooling episode, is published by Leu et al. (2024).
• A study on the age of the Santa Clara Abajo and the Santa Clara Arriba formations and their palynomorph assemblages, previously inferred to be Carnian-Norian in age, is published by Benavente et al. (2024), who determine an upper Anisian age for both formations, and interpret their findings as indicating that the taxonomic composition of Triassic Gondwanan palynomorph assemblages correlates more strongly with latitude than with geologic age.
• The interpretation of Cycadopites and Ricciisporites proposed by Vajda et al. (2023), who considered them to represent, respectively, normal and aberrant pollen produced by the same plant with Lepidopteris ottonis foliage and Antevsia zeilleri pollen sacs, is contested by Zavialova (2024); Vajda et al. (2024) subsequently reaffirm that Antevsia zeilleri produced Cycadopites and Ricciisporites pollen.
• Evidence from pollen and spores from the Jiyuan Basin (China), interpreted as indicative of a relationship between two peaks of wildfires of different types and changes in plant communities during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, is presented by Zhang et al. (2024).
• Evidence of high abundances of malformed fern spores from the Lower Saxony Basin (Germany) during the Triassic–Jurassic transition, interpreted as indicative of persistence of volcanic-induced mercury pollution after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, is presented by Bos et al. (2024).
• Rodrigues et al. (2024) study the palynological assemblages from the Kwanza Basin (Angola) ranging from the late Albian to the Turonian, reporting the presence of pollen indicative of subtropical to tropical climate and dinocysts with higher latitude affinities, and interpret these findings as indicative of existence of an open connection between the Central Atlantic and South Atlantic oceans in the mid-Cretaceous.
• Evidence from fossil pollen assigned to the form genus Classopollis, interpreted as indicative of existence of a refugium of members of the family Cheirolepidiaceae, is reported from the Paleocene Lower Wilcox Group (Texas, United States) by Smith et al. (2024).
• Evidence from fossil pollen interpreted as indicative of existence of ecological corridors linking Andean, Atlantic and Amazonian regions of South America during the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in establishment of complex connectivity patterns between plants from the studied parts of South America, is presented by Pinaya et al. (2024).

General Research

• A study addressing and evaluating the uncertainty of plant fossil phylogenetics is published by Coiro (2024).
• Review of functional traits in the plant fossil record is published by McElwain et al. (2024).
• Evidence of the existence of two plant dispersal routes in the Devonian, connecting the South China and Euramerica–Siberia realms, is presented by Liu et al. (2024).
• Davies, McMahon & Berry (2024) describe plant fossils from the Devonian (Eifelian) Hangman Sandstone Formation (Somerset and Devon, United Kingdom), intepreted as remains of cladoxylopsid-dominated forest and possibly the oldest global evidence for the spacing of growing trees.
• Evidence of changes of composition and diversity of the flora from the Carboniferous coal swamps of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Coalfield (France) in response to climate and landscape changes is presented by Molina-Solís et al. (2024).
• A study on changes of floral communities in southwestern China during the Permian-Triassic transition is published by Hua et al. (2024), who provide evidence indicative of frequent wildfires that destroyed the stability of wetlands prior to the main extinction phase and inhibited recovery in the aftermath of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, and resulted in gradual replacement of fern-dominated floral communities by gymnosperm-dominated ones.
• Gurung et al. (2024) use a new vegetation and climate model to study links between plant geographical range, the long-term carbon cycle and climate, and find that reduced geographical range of plants in Pangaea resulted in increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration during the Triassic and Jurassic periods, while the expande geographical range of plants after the breakup of Pangaea amplified global CO₂ removal.

Deaths

• Estella Leopold, paleobotanist and conservation paleontologist passes on February 25, 2024 at 97. Leopold's work as a conservationist included taking legal action to help save the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado, and fighting pollution. She was the daughter of Aldo Leopold.

References