| Othniophyton Temporal range: Eocene, ~47.33 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Superasterids |
| Genus: | †Othniophyton Manchester, Judd & Correa-Narvaez, 2024 |
| Species: | †O. elongatum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Othniophyton elongatum Manchester, Judd & Correa-Narvaez, 2024 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Othniophyton (meaning "strange plant") is an extinct genus of superastrid plant of possible caryophyllalean affinity from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado and Utah in the United States. The type species is Othniophyton elongatum, which was initially classified as a species of Oreopanax.
Discovery and naming
The earliest-discovered specimens now identified as belonging to Othniophyton were previously named as Apocynophyllurn wilcoxense, Celastrophyllum lesquereuxii, and Ternstroemites viridifluminis in 1929.
The holotype (specimen UCMP 20666) and the paratype (specimen UCMP 20673), which are both single leaves, were identified and described in 1969. The specimens were collected at the Wardell Ranch locality in Colorado, where the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation can be found. The specimens were named by MacGinitie (1969) as Oreopanax elongatum.
Several more specimens were later discovered near the ghost town of Watson, Utah and included isolated leaves alongside specimen UCMP PB 02016-254974, which preserves branches with attached leaves and reproductive organs.
Classification
Othniophyton elongatum was initially placed within the genus Oreopanax within the Arialiaceae by MacGintie (1969). However, after the discovery of more complete specimens, Manchester, Judd & Correa-Narvaez (2024) classified it as a superastrid of possible caryophyllalean affinity.
References
- ^ Manchester, S.; Judd, W.; Correa-Narvaez, J. (2024). "Vegetative and reproductive morphology of Othniophyton elongatum (MacGinitie) gen. et comb. nov., an extinct angiosperm of possible caryophyllalean affinity from the Eocene of Colorado and Utah, USA". Annals of Botany. Accepted manuscript. doi:10.1093/aob/mcae196. PMID 39520137.
- ^ MacGinitie, H.D. (1969). "The Eocene green River flora of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah". University of California Publications in Geological Sciences. 83 (116): 1–202.
- Brown, R.W. (1934). "Chapter C". The recognizable species of the Green River flora (Report). Professional Papers. Vol. 185. United States Geological Survey. pp. 45–77. doi:10.3133/pp185C.
- ^ Manchester, Steven R.; Judd, Walter S. (2022-06-01). "Extinct Anacardiaceous Samaras and Sumac-Like Leaves from the Eocene of Western North America". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 183 (5): 357–366. doi:10.1086/719948. ISSN 1058-5893.