| Citation: |
Li-jun Chen, Ye-mao Hou, Peng-fei Yin, Xin Wang, 2020. An edible fruit from the Jurassic of China, China Geology, 3, 8-15. doi: 10.31035/cg2020010
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An edible fruit from the Jurassic of China
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Abstract
Frugivory is an important ecological tie between animals and angiosperms. It plays an important role in the evolution of food webs and energy flow networks in the ecosystem. However, little is known about how old this relationship can be due to lack of relevant fossil evidence. Here, the authors report a fossil fruit, Jurafructus gen. nov., a putative angiosperm from the Middle−Late Jurassic (>164 Ma) of Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China, which provides the currently earliest evidence of frugivory. The fossil is a more or less three-dimensionally preserved coalified drupe that has been damaged by animals in two different ways. The pericarp, in addition to the seed coat surrounding parenchyma seed contents, is suggestive of an angiospermous affinity, as such a 3+3 structure is distinct from a three-layered seed coat in gymnosperms. The seed possesses a distal micropyle, attached on the base of the pericarp, suggestive of a former orthotropous ovule in the gynoecium. The damaged pericarp ofJurafructus suggests that frugivory can be dated back to the Middle−Late Jurassic. Apparently, the ecological relationship between angiosperms and animals extends deep into the fossil record.
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Keywords:
- Jurafructus /
- Jurassic /
- Angiosperm /
- Evolution /
- Animals /
- Frugivory /
- Fruit /
- China
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References
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Li-jun Chen, Ye-mao Hou, Peng-fei Yin, Xin Wang, 2020. An edible fruit from the Jurassic of China, China Geology, 3, 8-15. doi: 10.31035/cg2020010
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Figure 1.
Geographical information of the fossil locality of Jurafructus gen. nov., Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China (b). The inset map (a) shows northeastern China, and the rectangular region is enlarged in (b). The main map (b) shows the junction region among Liaoning Province, Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia. The arrow points to the fossil locality of Daohugou Village.
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Figure 2.
General view of Jurafructus. a−coalified more or less three-dimensionally preserved fruit; b−the same as in Fig. 2a, but using SEM. Note the attachment (between arrows) of seed (S) on the bottom of the urceolate pericarp (P). The rectangular regions are shown in detail in Fig. 3.
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Figure 4.
Micro-CT renderings of Jurafructus. a−longitudinal planar view of the fruit, showing the seed (s) separated from the enclosing pericarp (p) at its top. Note the missing patchy portion of pericarp and/or seed coat; b−detailed view of the pericarp at the fruit tip; c−longitudinal view of the fruit tip, showing the pericarp (p) and micropyle (arrow) at the seed top; d−longitudinal section of the fruit tip, showing seed tip (s) sandwiched by the pericarp (p). Note the separation (arrow) between the pericarp and seed; e−f−two longitudinal views of the fruit showing the damaged surface (broken lines between arrows) in seed (s) and pericarp (p); g−longitudinal view of the fruit showing tissue residue (arrow) after damaging and the original surface (broken line); h−longitudinal view of the fruit, showing the distal appendages (arrow). Bottom of the fruit is to the left of the figure.
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Figure 5.
Diagram of Jurafructus showing a section through the center of the fruit. Not to scale. Note the appendages (1) at the apex and stalk at the base (11), three-layered pericarp (2, 3, 4) fully enclosing three layered seed coat (5, 6, 7), which surrounds the seed contents (8), piercing damage (9) and patchy damage (12) on the fruit surface. The seed is attached at the base (10) and has a micropyle at the top (13).
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Figure 3.
SEM views of Jurafructus. a−detailed view of the upper-right rectangle in Fig. 2b, showing the surface view of the seed coat (white line) and seed contents (SC) inside; b−detailed surface view of the seed coat, showing longitudinally oriented elongated cells, enlarged from the upper rectangle in Fig. 3a; c−detailed view of the seed coat, showing rugose surface texture, enlarged from the lower rectangle in Fig. 3a; d−detailed view of the lower-right rectangle in Fig. 2b, showing the seed contents (SC) and surrounding 3+3 organization (three-layered seed coat (S3, S2, S1) PLUS three-layered pericarp (P3, P2, P1)). Note that the P2 is not continuous but interrupted at the position corresponding to the depression on fruit surface (arrow); e−detailed view of seed coat with three layers (S1, S2, S3); f−detailed view of the left rectangle in Fig. 2b, showing the epidermis (ep), three-layered pericarp (P1, P2, P3); g−spongy subcellular details of the parenchymatous cells in the seed contents; h−texture on the sclerenchymatous cells in S2 layer of seed coat.
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