The Early Cretaceous Mesofossil Flora Of Catefica, Portugal: Angiosperms
Author
Friis, Else Marie
Author
Crane, Peter R.
Author
Pedersen, Kaj Raunsgaard
Author
Mendes, Mário Miguel
Author
Kvaček, Jiří
text
Fossil Imprint
2022
2022-12-20
78
2
341
424
http://dx.doi.org/10.37520/fi.2022.016
journal article
10.37520/fi.2022.016
2533-4069
7522801
Serialis
communis
E.M.FRIIS, P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN, 2019
Text-fig. 17a
D e s c r i p t i o n a n d r e m a r k s. The material includes several fruits with three to five permanently adhering seeds assignable to
Serialis
communis
(
Text-fig. 17a
). The fruit wall is thin and typically almost entirely lost by abrasion. The seeds are anatropous, and bitegmic with a thick mesotestal-endotestal seed coat. The micropyle is formed from the inner integument and the micropylar region is seen on the seed surface as a transverse slit in the testa (
Text-fig. 17a
). In all details the seeds are comparable to the
type
material from the Famalicão mesofossil flora (
Friis et al. 2019c
).
A f f i n i t y a n d o t h e r o c c u r r e n c e s. Fruits and seeds assigned to the extinct genus
Serialis
are among the most diverse fossils in Early Cretaceous mesofossil floras from
Portugal
and nine different species have been recognized (
Friis et al. 2019c
). Phylogenetic analysis indicates a close relationship of
Serialis
to
Magnoliales
, but the genus cannot be placed confidently in any extant taxon within the order. The
type
material of
Serialis
communis
is from the Famalicão mesofossil flora where
S
.
communis
is the most abundant species and more than 2,230 specimens are known.
Serialis
communis
is also reported from the Arazede and Vale de Água localities (
Friis et al. 2019c
) and is also present in the Chicalhão mesofossil flora (“Fruits with co-adhering seeds in row
type
1”;
Mendes et al. 2014
).