Pannaulika

Pannaulika triassica is a prehistoric plant species assigned to a small, incomplete leaf and two "flowers".

Pannaulika
Temporal range: Late Triassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
(unranked):
Genus:
Pannaulika
Species:
P. triassica
Binomial name
Pannaulika triassica

It was found in Carnian rock. The incomplete, dicot-like leaf fragment, measuring 32 mm in length, has a vein structure which suggests the plant to be an angiosperm, but it also shares some characteristics with ferns. Possibly, this means that primitive angiosperms from the Jurassic period evolved in tropic highlands. Plants in this type of environment rarely fossilize, but their seeds can be carried beyond the species' natural range of distribution. This theory suggests that angiosperms only managed to spread in subtropic lowlands, where they have been found in Early Cretaceous rock.

References

    • Palmer, Douglas (1999) Life Before Man- The Readers Digest Association Ltd, p. 121


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