Mongolitria: A New Type Of Seed From The Early Cretaceous Of China And Mongolia

The new fossils are about ~125 million years old and are three-dimensionally preserved, showing remarkable morphological and anatomical details. The team studied more than 300 specimens using scanning electron microscopy, anatomical sectioning, light microscopy, synchrotron radiation X‐ray microtomography, and cuticle preparations. The two new species, Mongolitria friisae and Mongolitriae exesum, are unique in that germination occurred by the seed coat splitting into three valves, versus two, as found in many living and extinct gymnosperm seed plants. Mongolitria seeds are similar to other fossil seeds that have been assigned to Cycadales. However, the three-valve splitting is not observed in any living or extinct cycadaceous plant, leaving its higher‐level systematic affinities uncertain. Thanks to the excellent preservation of the seeds, one fossil species shows clear evidence of likely insect‐induced damage (for a 3-D volume rendering video of M. exesum showing the internal insect damage, click here). Maya spent countless hours mapping the internal damage to virtually reconstruct the intricate tunnel-like lesions left in the fossil seed. The type of insect that caused the damage is still unknown, but the new research shows that these gymnosperm seeds were also likely targeted for their nutritive value during the Early Cretaceous.
February 9. 2024