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Abstract
The specimens (two pairs of part and counterpart) of coniferalean branched leafy shoots were collected from the Jiulongshan Formation (Middle Jurassic) at the village of Daohugou, Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, China. The fossil material displays helical phyllotaxy, dorsiventrally flattened linear, sessile leaves with decurrent base and prominent and single mid-vein. The foliate shoots are assigned toSequoia jeholensis by comparing those of the generaYanliaoa,Sequoia,Metasequoia,Taxodium, andGlyptostrobus, the basal members of the Cupressaceaesensulato.Sequoiajeholensis is the oldestSequoia species to date. It has coriaceous, dimorphic, helically arranged linear and scale leaves, with entire margins, attached obliquely to the axis by their decurrent bases. The leaf cuticle ofS.jeholensis is described here for the first time. Leaves are hypostomatic, with stomata only on the abaxial surface. Anticlinal walls are straight, with single or more often paired pits. The epidermal structures ofSequoia are one of the key characters to distinguish it from similar genera, but they usually could not be used to distinguish the species withinSequoia. The Middle Jurassic of Daohugou represents a lacustrine environment with a warm and humid climate reflected by the species assemblage. So, the extinctSequoia probably had similar climatic requirements to those of extantSequoia sempervirens.
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This study was supported by the Foundation of Beijing Academy of Science and Technology.
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Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, 100050, People’s Republic of China
Qing-Wen Ma, Hai-Ming Liu & Jing-Xian Xu
Department of Paleontology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
David K. Ferguson
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Ma, QW., Ferguson, D.K., Liu, HM.et al. Compressions ofSequoia (Cupressaceaesensulato) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, China.Palaeobio Palaeoenv101, 25–33 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-020-00454-z
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