Wingia, Wang & Dilcher, 2018

Wang, Hongshan & Dilcher, David L., 2018, Early Cretaceous angiosperm leaves from the Dakota Formation, Hoisington III locality, Kansas, USA, Palaeontologia Electronica (34 A) 21 (3), pp. 1-49 : 33-34

Genus WINGIA gen. nov.

Generic diagnosis. Leaf simple, irregularly five-lobed; lamina margin with glandular teeth at or near apex of lobes, strongly reinforced; sinus rounded, bracing accomplished by two secondary veins originated from adjacent primary veins; serrations minute, simple, typically three veins entering a tooth, medial vein originating from exmedial side of secondary vein, basal vein tertiary in order and running very close to the margin before entering the tooth, vein of apical side not well developed. Petiole long and thin, enlarged both distally and proximally (perhaps these are pulvini). Primary venation basal actinodromous; primary vein stout to massive, multi-stranded; medial primary vein straight in course; inner lateral primary veins apically curved; outer primary veins apically curved or recurved. Secondary venation predominately brochidodromous or semicraspedodromous when margin is toothed near apex; secondary veins thin relative to primary veins; originating from primary veins at wide acute to angle, straight or slightly curved and then abruptly curved very close to the margin to join superadjacent secondary veins to form rectangular or rhomboidal intercostal regions; Intersecondary veins common, composite. Tertiary veins orthogonal reticulate, forming predominately quadrangular meshes.

Type species. Wingia expansolobum (Upchurch and Dilcher) Wang and Dilcher (designated here).

Derivation of generic name. In honor of Scott Wing in recognition of his contribution to angiosperm paleobotany.

Remarks. Upchurch and Dilcher (1990, p. 48-49, plate 31, text figure 25) established a new species based upon one specimen from the Rose Creek locality, Nebraska and assigned this species to Dicotylophyllum . This species differs from all other lobed leaves from the Dakota Formation of Kansas, including “ Aralia ” quinquepartita Lesquereux (1871, p. 302, 1874, plate 15, figure 6) and “Sterculia” lugubris Lesquereux (1883, plate 6, figures 1- 3), in having small teeth and five lobes. The genus Dicotylophyllum , first established by Saporta (1894), is heterogeneous and it may only include probable nymphaealean leaves (see Halamski, 2013, p. 429-430 for detailed discussion). Therefore, we establish a new genus for this species from the Dakota Formation.