''Droseridites'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of extinct

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

s of possible droseracean or nepenthacean affinity. It is a

form taxon Form classification is the classification of organisms based on their morphology, which does not necessarily reflect their biological relationships. Form classification, generally restricted to palaeontology, reflects uncertainty; the goal of s ...

known only from fossil pollen. Species assigned to this genus originate from numerous regions of the world, including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

(from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

),Krutzsch, W. 1985. Über ''Nepenthes''-Pollen im europäischen Tertiär. ''Gleditschia'' 13: 89–93.

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

,Saxena, R.K. & G.K. Trivedi 2006. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow.

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

,Ibrahim, M.I.A. 1996. Aptian-Turonian palynology of the Ghazalat-1 Well (GTX-1), Qattara Depression, Egypt. ''Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology'' 94(1–2): 137–168. the Arabian Peninsula, and the Kerguelen Islands.Meimberg, H., A. Wistuba, P. Dittrich & G. Heubl 2001. Molecular phylogeny of Nepenthaceae based on cladistic analysis of plastid trnK intron sequence data. ''Plant Biology (Stuttgart)'' 3(2): 164–175. This genus is characterised by inaperturate and spinose pollen grains that are united in loose tetrahedral tetrads (groups of four). The grains are

prolate A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters. A spheroid has circ ...

striate In geology, a striation is a groove, created by a geological process, on the surface of a rock or a mineral. In structural geology, striations are linear furrows, or linear marks, generated from fault movement. The striation's direction revea ...

, and tricolpate. The colpi are slender and long, whereas the

striae Stretch marks, also known as striae () or striae distensae, are a form of scarring on the skin with an off-color hue. Over time they may diminish, but will not disappear completely. Striae are caused by tearing of the dermis during periods of r ...

are very fine, densely packed, and situated parallel to the polar axis.

Species

''Droseridites spinosus'', the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

, has been recorded from the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

of the Kerguelen IslandsEhrendorfer, F. 1989
''Woody Plants—Evolution and Distribution Since the Tertiary
Springer-Verlag, Vienna. and the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, including the Warkalli Formation ( Bharathi and Kundra Clay Mines,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

) and the Sindhudurg Formation ( Mavli Mine at Redi,

Sindhudurg District Sindhudurg district (Marathi pronunciation: in̪d̪ʱud̪uɾɡ is an administrative district of the Konkan division in India, which was carved out of the erstwhile Ratnagiri district. The district headquarters are located at Oros and the di ...

, Maharashtra). It is of possible nepenthacean affinity. Specimens identified in the literature as ''D.''

cf. The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...

''spinosus'' have also been reported from Hungarian

deposits. ''Droseridites baculatus'' was described from the Ghazalat-1 Well,

Qattara Depression The Qattara Depression ( ar, منخفض القطارة, Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert of Egypt. The Qattara Depressi ...

, Egypt. ''Droseridites echinosporus'' has been recorded from

strata and is a member of a group of similar species that have been interpreted as belonging to the genus '' Nepenthes''. Sites for ''D. major'', a possible nepenthacean species, include the Tertiary of Europe and the Palaeocene-early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

Rekmangiri Coalfield of

Garo Hills The Garo Hills (Pron: ˈgɑ:rəʊ) are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited by the Garo people. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion. De ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

, India. ''Droseridites parvus'' was originally described from the lower Eocene Cherry Formation of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, India. It has also been recorded from the Palaeocene Tura Formation of the "'' Retialetes emendatus'' zone" in Assam and the Oligocene- Neogene Dharmsala and Siwalik (

Dharmsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

and Nurpur areas,

Kangra District Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch. In 175 ...

, Himachal Pradesh). The species is characterised by wart-like sculpturing and is "presently impossible to interpret". Pollen matching the description of ''D. senonicus'' has been found in formations of the Arabian Peninsula dating to as early as the

Middle Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of t ...

to late

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', th ...

, and it has been suggested that this species may represent an early

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

taxon. Unidentified ''Droseridites''

palynomorph Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and ''-logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposit ...

s have been recorded from numerous sites in India, including the

Cuddalore Formation (Neyveli Lignitefield,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

), the Palaeocene Tura Formation (Langrin Coalfield,

Khasi Hills The Khasi Hills () is a low mountain formation on the Shillong Plateau in Meghalaya state of India. The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia range and connects with the Purvanchal Range and larger Patkai Range further east. Khasi Hil ...

, Meghalaya), the Palaeocene Seam No. 1 (Rekmangiri Coalfield,

, Meghalaya), and the Oligocene-Neogene Dharmsala and Siwalik.

Taxonomy

Pollen of a number of species originally described under the genus ''Droseridites'' has been tentatively assigned to '' Nepenthes''. In 1985, Wilfried Krutzsch transferred three species of the "''D. echinosporus'' group", creating the new combinations ''Nepenthes echinatus'', ''N. echinosporus'', and ''N. major''.Krutzsch, W. 1989. Paleogeography and historical phytogeography (paleochorology) in the Neophyticum. ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 162(1–4): 5–61. Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. ''Flora Malesiana'' 15: 1–157. However, at more than 40 μm in diameter, the tetrads of ''D. major'' are larger than those of any known extant ''Nepenthes'', and within the lower range of extant ''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

'' tetrads. Pollen from the Kerguelen Islands originally described as ''D. spinosus'' has also been interpreted as belonging to ''Nepenthes''. Some authors consider ''D. major'' and ''D. parvus'' as synonyms of ''Nepenthidites laitryngewensis'' of the Palaeocene Lakadong Sandstone in Laitryngew,

, Meghalaya, India.Kumar, M. 1995. Pollen tetrads from Palaeocene sediments of Meghalaya, India: comments on their morphology, botanical affinity and geological records. ''Palaeobotanist'' 43(1): 68–81.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5308571 Droseraceae Extinct carnivorous plants Prehistoric angiosperm genera Paleocene life