The megafossil record of early angiosperms in China since 1930s

Abstract

The study history of early angiosperms in China can be dated back to 1930s, and there have been numerous papers published. Most of the publications are about leaves of angiosperms, especially in the early days. More attention is attracted to Chinese fossil materials when increasing fertile parts of early angiosperms come into light since the late 1990s. In this review, I will summarise the related studies. By referring to the previous literature, I play a role introducing to readers the references that usually are eclipsed by the shining glamour of recent discoveries. Readers interested in any specific taxon should refer to the original and related publications for detailed information.

Keywords::

• early angiosperms
• China
• fossil
• flowers
• leaves
• fruits

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [grant number 2012CB821901]; Team Program of Scientific Innovation and Interdisciplinary Cooperation, CAS (2013–2015); Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant number KZCX2-YW-154]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 91114201]. I thank BMC Evolutionary Biology, Springer, Acta Geologica Sinica, Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, and Palaeoworld for allowing me to reproduce figures in this paper.