An asterid flower from neotropical mid-Tertiary amber

Abstract

Fossils preserved in amber may provide significant palaeoevolutionary and biogeographical data regarding the evolution of life on Earth¹. Although amber is particularly noted for its detailed preservation of arthropods, the same degree of preservation can be found for vascular plant remains². Mid-Tertiary Dominican amber is a rich source for such fossils, and representatives of several angiosperm families have been described. However, no fossilized examples of the large asterid plant clade have yet been reported. Here we describe the first fossil neotropical flowers found in amber from a representative of the asterids. The asterids are one of the largest lineages of flowering plants, containing groups such as the sunflower, potato, coffee and mint families, totalling over 80,000 species³. The new fossils are only known as flowers, more precisely corollas with stamens and styles. We here describe them as a new species, Strychnos electri sp. nov, in the plant family Loganiaceae (Gentianales).