Droserapites
Extinct genus of carnivorous plants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Droserapites is a genus of extinct plants of somewhat uncertain droseracean affinity. It is a form taxon known only from fossil pollen.
| Droserapites Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Droseraceae (?) |
| Genus: | †Droserapites Huang (1978)[1] |
| Species: | †D. clavatus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Droserapites clavatus Huang (1978) | |
Droserapites pollen grains are united in tetrads (groups of four). Individual grains are inaperturate. The exine is mixed with dense, superposed clavate and baculate processes, whereas the sexine is reticulate.[1]
Pollen of D. clavatus has been found in the Miocene Peliao Sandstone of Taiwan.[1] It generally matches that of extant Drosera in morphology.[2] In his formal description of the genus, Tseng-Chieng Huang suggested that Droserapites may be related to Droseridites and Quadrisperites.[1]
The tetrads of D. clavatus are tetrahedral and 34–40 μm in diameter. Individual grains are subspheroidal and measure 18–25 μm in width. They have a roughly circular amb that is abruptly acute at the distal pole. The exine is 0.5–1 μm thick, with 2–3 μm long clavae or bacula.[1]
