Monetianthus Explained

Monetianthus mirus was a species of fossil plant, which occurred in the early Cretaceous period of Portugal.^[1]

Description

Generative characteristics

Monetianthus mirus had small, bisexual, actinomorphic flowers with 9-10 tepals. The androecium consists of 20 stamens. The pollen grains are monocolpate and reticulate. The gynoecium consists of 12 syncarpous carpels. The ovules are anatropous.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was published by Else Marie Friis, Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen, Maria von Balthazar, Guido W. Grimm, and Peter Robert Crane in 2009.

Type specimen

The type specimen was collected in Vale de Agua in western Portugal.

Position within Nymphaeales

It is placed in the family Nymphaeaceae.^[2]

Etymology

The generic name Monetianthus honours Claude Monet. The specific epithet mirus, from the Latin mirus, means wonderful, remarkable, or extraordinary.

Notes and References

1. Friis, E. M., Pedersen, K. R., von Balthazar, M., Grimm, G. W., & Crane, P. R. (2009). "Monetianthus mirus gen. et sp. nov., a nymphaealean flower from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal." International Journal of Plant Sciences, 170(8), 1086-1101.
2. Fossilworks: Monetianthus mirus. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2024, from http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=207951