Whole-Plant Reconstruction of Pagiophyllum Maculosum (Cheirolepidiaceae) from the Early Jurassic of China: Insights from New Fossil Material

This study reports the first record of Pagiophyllum maculosum from the Early Jurassic of China, based on well-preserved specimens with attached reproductive structures that enable unambiguous assignment to the Cheirolepidiaceae. Using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and 3D X-ray microscopy, we provide a comprehensive re-examination of leafy shoots, cuticles, male cones, and female cones containing seeds. The penultimate and ultimate shoots bear helically arranged hypostomatic leaves with 2–3 parastichies; stomata are arranged in distinct rows without papillae, and stomatal complexes are elliptic with 4–6 subsidiary cells. Female cones are elliptical, comprising 36–40 helically arranged bract-scale complexes, while pollen cones are subspheroidal with peltate microsporophylls. The co-occurrence of typical Pagiophyllum shoots with both male and female cones in organic connection provides conclusive evidence for the natural taxonomic placement of this genus, and our detailed morphological descriptions, systematic comparisons, and illustrative reconstructions offer new insights into the whole-plant morphology of Upper Jurassic Cheirolepidiaceae.