| The Crato Formation paleoflora is one of the few equatorial floras of the Early Cretaceous. It is diverse, with many angiosperms, especially representatives of the clades magnoliids, monocotyledons and eudicots, which confirms the assumption that angiosperm diversity during the last part of the Early Cretaceous was reasonably high. The morphology of a new fossil monocot is studied and compared to all other Smilacaceae genus, especially in the venation. Cratosmilax jacksoni gen. et sp. nov. can be related to the Smilacaceae family, becoming the oldest record of the family so far. Cratosmilax jacksoni is a single mesophilic leaf with entire margins, ovate shape, with acute apex and base, four venation orders and main acrodromous veins. It is the first... |
