The rapid Cretaceous diversification of flowering plants remains Darwin's 'abominable mystery' despite numerous fossil flowers discovered in recent years. Wildfires were frequent in the Cretaceous and many such early flower fossils are represented by charcoalified fragments, lacking complete delicate structures and surface textures, making their similarity to living forms difficult to discern. Furthermore, scarcity of information about the ecology of early angiosperms makes it difficult to test hypotheses about the drivers of their diversification, including the role of fire in shaping flowering plant evolution. We report the discovery of two exquisitely preserved fossil flower species, one identical to the inflorescences of the extant crown-eudicot genus Phylica and the other recovered as a sister group to Phylica, both preserved as inclusions together with burned plant remains in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (~99 million years ago). These specialized flower species, named Phylica piloburmensis sp. nov. and Eophylica priscastellata gen. et sp. nov., exhibit traits identical to those of modern taxa in fire-prone ecosystems such as the fynbos of South Africa, and provide evidence of fire adaptation in angiosperms.
Amber , Rhamnaceae , Ecosystem , Fossils , Myanmar
Sphaeraphodius gaohani Kakizoe, Jiang Wang, a new genus and new species of the tribe Aphodiini, is described based on two female specimens from Guangxi, China. This new genus differs considerably from any previously known genera of Aphodiini by dorsally swollen body covered by considerably long setae, and lack of transverse setiferous carinae on outer surfaces of meso- and metatibiae. This new taxon is found sympatrically with the termite Macrotermes sp. in the field. Therefore, this species is perhaps termitophilous, but we cannot conclude it at this time due to the insufficient information available in the field.
Coleoptera/chemistry , Animals , China , Coleoptera/physiology , Female , Isoptera
Macadamia tetraphylla (Proteaceae) is one of the two macadamia plants that are edible and of cultivated value. Only two chloroplast genomes were reported in Proteaceae so far. In this study, we report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of M. tetraphylla, which is the third reported chloroplast genome in Proteaceae. The chloroplast genome is 159,195 bp long and includes 113 genes. Its LSC, SSC and IR regions are 87,951, 18,748 and 26,248 bp long, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that M. tetraphylla was clustered with other two species of Proteaceae, the M. integrifoia and M. ternifolia.
