Abstract:

We report a new species of the genus Weltrichia Braun with a special Bennettitalean male reproductive organ—W. daohugouensis Li et Zheng sp. nov., which was discovered from Haifanggou Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Daohugou Village, Shantou Town, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Autonomous Region, China. It is a unisexual male strobile which was a laterally compressed preserved specimen being fan-shaped and appearing as half of a whole. Its base and peduncle are lost while the lower part of the strobile consists of eleven narrowly wedged segments fused together into a funnel or cup-like. In the upper part of the strobile these segments separate into free structure (microsporophylls), each bearing two rows of pollen sacs (synangia). In this paper a new species W. daohugouensis Li et Zheng sp. nov. is described and the identification of the W. huangbanjigouensis Sun et Zheng is emended.

Key words: Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, Haifanggou Formation, Bennettitalean male strobile, Weltrichia daohugouensis sp. nov.