''Sphenobaiera'' is a
form genus
Form classification is the classification of organisms based on their morphology, which does not necessarily reflect their biological relationships. Form classification, generally restricted to palaeontology, reflects uncertainty; the goal of s ...
for plant leaves found in rocks from
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
to
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
periods. The genus ''Sphenobaiera'' is used for plants with wedge-shaped leaves that can be distinguished from ''
Ginkgo
''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus withi ...
'', ''
Ginkgoites
''Ginkgoites'' is a genus that refers to extinct plants belonging to Ginkgoaceae. Fossils of these plants have been found around the globe during the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, with fossils also known from the Paleogene. The name was create ...
'' and ''
Baiera'' by the lack of a
petiole.
It became extinct about . The family to which this genus belongs has not been conclusively established; an affinity with the
Karkeniaceae has been suggested on morphological grounds.
Locations
''Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis'' (Seward) Florin f. ''papillata'' Samylina has been found in
Lower Cretaceous
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...
formations of Western
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
, the
Upper Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
of the Asiatic USSR, and the basal rock unit of the Lakota formation of the
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...
, which Fontaine considered to be of Lower Cretaceous age. It is a
ginkgophyte
Ginkgoales are a gymnosperm order containing only one extant species: ''Ginkgo biloba'', the ginkgo tree. It is monotypic, (the only taxon) within the class Ginkgoopsida, which itself is monotypic within the division Ginkgophyta . The order inclu ...
.
In Paleorrota geopark in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Upper Triassic period, the
Santa Maria Formation
The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age ( Late Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, " rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs an ...
.
[Passo das Tropas, Santa Maria, RS. Marco bioestratigráfico triássico na evolução paleoflorística do Gondwana na Bacia do Paraná](_blank)
/ref>
References
Prehistoric gymnosperm genera
Late Cretaceous plants
Ginkgophyta
{{cretaceous-plant-stub