Zamites

Zamites
Temporal range: Triassic to Oligocene
Fossil leaf of Zamites mariposana from the Jurassic.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Superdivision: Spermatophyta
Division: Cycadophyta
Subdivision: Cycadophyta
Class: Spermatopsida
Order: Bennettitales
Genus: Zamites
Brongniart, 1828

Zamites is a genus of fossil tree known from the Mesozoic of North America, Europe and India through the Oligocene of North America. It is a form taxon for leaves that resemble the extant cycad Zamia. The fronds are linear or lanceolate in shape, and pinnately compound, with pinnae with parallel veins and smooth margins, and symmetrical and constricted at the base where they are attached obliquely to the upper surface of the rachis.[1][2][3]

Species include:[4]

References

  1. Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants (Second Edition), Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor and Michael Krings, p. 701, 2008, ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8.
  2. 052133344X Solnhofen: A Study in Mesozoic Palaeontology by K. Werner Barthel, Nicola Helga Margaret Swinburne and Simon Conway Morris, p. 107, 1990
  3. 0300164351 Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: Hidden Birds of China by Feduccia, Alan, p. 75, 2012
  4. Zamites in the Paleobiology Database


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