Sphenobaiera

Sphenobaiera
Temporal range: Early Triassic–Late Cretaceous
Sphenobaiera digitata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Division:
Ginkgophyta
Class:
Ginkgoopsida
Order:
Ginkgoales
Family:
incertae familiae
Genus:
Sphenobaiera

Florin emend Harris & Millington[1]

Sphenobaiera is a form genus for plant leaves belonging to the order Ginkgoales found in rocks from Triassic to Cretaceous periods. The genus Sphenobaiera is used for plants with wedge-shaped leaves that can be distinguished from Ginkgo, Ginkgoites and Baiera by the lack of a petiole.[1] It became extinct about 72.6 million years ago. The family to which this genus belongs has not been conclusively established; an affinity with the Karkeniaceae has been suggested on morphological grounds.[2]

  1. ^ a b Susannah J. Lydon, Joan Watson & Nicola A. Harrison (2003). "The lectotype of Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis (Seward) Florin, a ginkgophyte from the Lower Cretaceous of western Greenland". Palaeontology. 46 (2): 413–421. Bibcode:2003Palgy..46..413L. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00304.
  2. ^ Wang, Yongdong; et al. (April 2005). "Cuticular Anatomy of Sphenobaiera Huangii (Ginkgoales) from the Lower Jurassic of Hubei, China" (PDF embedded in HTML). American Journal of Botany. 92 (4): 709–721. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.4.709. PMID 21652450.