Discovery and Significance of the Genus Caulopteris from the Wuda Area of Inner Mongolia

Caulopteris wudaensis sp. nov. was collected from the Shanxi Formation of the early Early Permian in the Wuda area of Inner Mongolia, China. The genus Caulopteris is considered as the impression fossils of the tree fern stems. Most of the species under the genus Caulopteris are mainly distributed in the Eurameriean Province, whereas they are very rare in the Cathaysian Province. The discovery of the new species will provide some important evidences for the geographical distribution, ecology and evolution of the genus Caulopteris.