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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area
Published on: October 25, 2024
Early angiosperm ecology: evidence from the Albian-Cenomanian of Europe
C Coiffard1, B Gomez, J Kvacek
1UCB Lyon 1 et UMR 5125, Paléobotanique, 7 rue Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
Background And Aims:
The mid-Cretaceous is a period of sudden turnover from gymnosperm to angiosperm-dominated floras. The aim was to investigate the fossil plant ecology in order to follow the spread of angiosperm taxa.
Methods:
Floristic lists and localities from the latest Albian-Cenomanian of Europe are analysed with Wagner's Parsimony Method, a clustering method currently used in phylogeny (cladistics).
Key Results:
Wagner's Parsimony Method points out that (a) gymnosperms dominated brackish water-related environments while angiosperms dominated freshwater-related environments (e.g. swamps, floodplains, levees, channels), (b) angiosperms showed the highest diversity in stable, freshwater-related environments, (c) a single angiosperm, 'Diospyros' cretacea, is restricted to brackish water-related environments and (d) the families Lauraceae and Platanaceae were exclusive to disturbed, braided river environments, implying a opportunist strategy for early tree angiosperms.
Conclusions:
During the Mid-Cretaceous, European floras were characterized by (a) coastal gymnosperms, (b) highly diversified fluvial angiosperms and (c) the first European brackish water-related angiosperm.
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