Matoniaceae
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| Matoniaceae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Matonia pectinata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Gleicheniales |
| Family: | Matoniaceae C.Presl 1847 |
| Genera | |
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Matoniaceae is one of the three families of ferns in the Gleicheniales order of the Polypodiopsida class.[1][2] Fossil records reveal that Matoniaceae ferns were abundant during the Mesozoic era (about 250-million to 66-million years ago), during which they lived on every continent, including Antarctica, with eight genera and 26 species, with the oldest known specimens being from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica.[3] Today the family is much less abundant, and also less diverse, with only two extant genera and four species,[4] which are limited to portions of southeastern Asia.[5]
The following diagram shows a likely phylogenic relationship with the other two families of the Gleicheniales.[6]
| Gleicheniales |
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