| Abstract: | Palaeoskapha sichuanensis gen. et sp. nov. of Menispermaceae is described here for the first time based on a well preserved fossil fruit. The specimen was found in the Relu Formation of western Sichuan, West China. The specimen, straight, boat-shaped endocarp with large ventral condyle, clearly belongs to the tribe Tinosporeae. The wide aperture of the double condyle, combined with a whole shape not deeply invaginated, indicates a genus different from what was already known to science for this tribe. This fossil widens the distribution of the tribe during Eocene from North America and Europe to Asia, where it was formerly unknown. |
