Serialis communis E.M.FRIIS, P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN, 2019

Friis, Else Marie, Crane, Peter R., Pedersen, Kaj Raunsgaard, Mendes, Mário Miguel & Kvaček, Jiří, 2022, The Early Cretaceous Mesofossil Flora Of Catefica, Portugal: Angiosperms, Fossil Imprint 78 (2), pp. 341-424 : 366

Serialis communis E.M.FRIIS, P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN, 2019

Text-fig. 17a

Description and remarks. 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).

Affinity and other occurrences. 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).

Figures

Text-fig. 17. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of fruits of Serialis communis (a) and Serialis crassitesta (b); Catefica locality, Portugal. a) Oblique lateral view of fruit showing three laterally coherent seeds from which the fruit wall has been almost completely lost showing the prominent micropylar region; b) Oblique lateral view of fruit containing three or four laterally coherent seeds with their micropylar regions oriented to the left. Specimens, Catefica MM92-P0167 (a), Catefica MM92-P0169 (b). Scale bars = 300 Μm (a, b).