Diversification of angiosperm reproductive strategies predated the end-Cretaceous extinction.
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| Title: | Diversification of angiosperm reproductive strategies predated the end-Cretaceous extinction. |
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| Authors: | Lee, Jaemin (AUTHOR), Contreras, Dori L. (AUTHOR), Saulsbury, James G. (AUTHOR), Upchurch, Garland R. (AUTHOR), Looy, Cindy V. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Science. 6/25/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6805, p1380-1383. 4p. |
| Subjects: | Angiosperms, Animal dispersal, Tropical forests, Biological adaptation, Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, Flower seeds |
| Abstract: | Angiosperm reproductive evolution is traditionally linked to the end-Cretaceous biotic crisis and subsequent ecological restructuring. Here, we report diverse and unexpectedly large diaspores (dispersal units) from an in situ late Campanian (74.6 million years ago) tropical forest from the Jose Creek Formation in New Mexico. Nearly 80 distinct diaspore morphotypes demonstrate that the flora had increased morphological specialization and an exceptionally large average and range of diaspore volume comparable to the Cenozoic records. These findings suggest that substantial increases in reproductive investment and specialization preceded the end-Cretaceous extinction. Our results indicate that Cretaceous angiosperms had already evolved diverse dispersal strategies, suggesting that animal-mediated dispersal and dense, angiosperm-integrated canopies were established far earlier than was previously recognized. Editor's summary: Flowering plants have remarkable diversity in fruit and seed size and shape, reflecting morphology for dispersal by wind, water, and animals. This diversity is thought to have only originated during the Paleogene despite an earlier increase in abundance and diversification of angiosperms across the Cretaceous. Lee et al. now suggest an earlier origin of variation in angiosperm diaspores (seeds and fruits). They describe a relatively well-preserved collection of 77 diaspore morphotypes from a Late Cretaceous fossil forest in New Mexico featuring fleshy fruits with an average weight approximately the size of a blueberry. Although likely dispersed by vertebrates, the emergence of these morphotypes may have been part of the shift to shady, humid tropical forests rather than being driven by vertebrate diversification. —Bianca Lopez [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Angiosperm reproductive evolution is traditionally linked to the end-Cretaceous biotic crisis and subsequent ecological restructuring. Here, we report diverse and unexpectedly large diaspores (dispersal units) from an in situ late Campanian (74.6 million years ago) tropical forest from the Jose Creek Formation in New Mexico. Nearly 80 distinct diaspore morphotypes demonstrate that the flora had increased morphological specialization and an exceptionally large average and range of diaspore volume comparable to the Cenozoic records. These findings suggest that substantial increases in reproductive investment and specialization preceded the end-Cretaceous extinction. Our results indicate that Cretaceous angiosperms had already evolved diverse dispersal strategies, suggesting that animal-mediated dispersal and dense, angiosperm-integrated canopies were established far earlier than was previously recognized. Editor's summary: Flowering plants have remarkable diversity in fruit and seed size and shape, reflecting morphology for dispersal by wind, water, and animals. This diversity is thought to have only originated during the Paleogene despite an earlier increase in abundance and diversification of angiosperms across the Cretaceous. Lee et al. now suggest an earlier origin of variation in angiosperm diaspores (seeds and fruits). They describe a relatively well-preserved collection of 77 diaspore morphotypes from a Late Cretaceous fossil forest in New Mexico featuring fleshy fruits with an average weight approximately the size of a blueberry. Although likely dispersed by vertebrates, the emergence of these morphotypes may have been part of the shift to shady, humid tropical forests rather than being driven by vertebrate diversification. —Bianca Lopez [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.adw9457 |
