''Montsechia'' is an extinct genus of aquatic plants containing the species ''Montsechia vidalii'', discovered in Spain. ''Montsechia vidalii'' lived about 130 million years ago, during the
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...
age, and appears to be the earliest known
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
macrofossil. It has affinities with the modern genus ''
Ceratophyllum
''Ceratophyllum'' is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants including four accepted living species in 2016, commonly found in ponds, marshes, and quiet streams in tropical and in temperate regions. It is the only extant genus in the family Ce ...
''.
See also
*''
Archaefructus
''Archaefructus'' is an extinct genus of herbaceous aquatic seed plants with three known species. Fossil material assigned to this genus originates from the Yixian Formation in northeastern China, originally dated as late Jurassic but now thou ...
''
References
Early Cretaceous plants
Cretaceous angiosperms
Prehistoric angiosperm genera
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