''Notonuphar'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

water lily Water lily or water lilies may refer to: Plants * Members of family Nymphaeaceae * Formerly, members of the genus ''Nelumbo'' (the genus to which lotus belongs) * Some members of the genus ''Nymphoides'' Other uses * ''Water Lilies'' (Monet ...

in the family

Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water li ...

. It contains a single species, ''Notonuphar antarctica''. It is only known only from the

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

-aged

La Meseta Formation The La Meseta Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the Eocene. The formation is found on Seymour Island, Antarctica. Description La Meseta Formation lies unconformably on the Cretaceous Lopez de Bertodano Formation. It is an app ...

Seymour Island Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Taxonomy

It is notable for being the first water lily known to have inhabited Antarctica. It is known from numerous fossil seeds which are abundant throughout certain horizons of the La Meseta Formation, constituting over 95% of fossil seeds in some areas. The anatomy of these seeds supports a close relationship with the genus '' Nuphar'', a genus presently restricted to the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

''.'' Morphological analysis also recovers it as being the

sister genus In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of ''Nuphar''. It is the first Gondwanan plant known to be related to ''Nuphar''. The genus name ''Notonuphar'' is derived from the Greek word "notos" (meaning "south") and ''Nuphar'', literally translating to "southern ''Nuphar''." The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''antarctica'' refers to the species being discovered on the continent of Antarctica.

Paleobiology

During the Eocene, Antarctica was not yet glaciated and had a climate and ecosystem similar to the modern Valdivian temperate rain forest of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. ''Notonuphar'' is the first discovered Antarctic fossil species known to have inhabited

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

habitats. It was likely a common plant of freshwater wetlands near the coast. Rivers may have washed ''Notonuphar'' seeds from these wetlands into the sea, where they later fossilized. ''Notonuphar'' likely shared its freshwater habitat with an undescribed aquatic plant possibly related to '' Nelumbo'', as well as a large, undescribed

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

of the genus ''

Calyptocephalella ''Calyptocephalella'' is a genus of frogs in the family Calyptocephalellidae. It is represented by a single living species, ''Calyptocephalella gayi'', commonly known as the helmeted water toad, Chilean helmeted bull frog or wide-mouth toad. Addi ...

'' (which was found at the same type locality).

References

{{Reflist †Notonuphar Eocene plants Prehistoric angiosperm genera Paleogene life of Antarctica Fossils of Antarctica Fossil taxa described in 2017

Taxonomy

Paleobiology

See also

References