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Flowers from the Early Cretaceous

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The Dawn Angiosperms

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Abstract

Fossil angiosperms from the Early Cretaceous are of special interest because currently the earliest widely-accepted angiosperms are of this age. Chaoyangia, Archaefructus, Sinocarpus, Callianthus, Liaoningfructus, Baicarpus, and Nothodichocarpum are representative angiosperms from the Yixian Formation (125 Ma, Early Cretaceous). Their early age, distinct morphology, and reproductive features not only display an aspect of early angiosperms, but also, if monophyly of angiosperms is assumed, strongly suggest that the origin of angiosperms must have occurred even earlier.

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  1. Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Xin Wang

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Wang, X. (2018). Flowers from the Early Cretaceous. In: The Dawn Angiosperms. Springer Geology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58325-9_5

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