# Peltandra primaeva

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{{Short description|Extinct species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Ypresian}}
| genus = Peltandra
| species = primaeva
| authority = [Hickey](/source/Leo_J._Hickey), 1977
| extinct = yes
}}

'''''Peltandra primaeva''''' is an [extinct](/source/extinction) [species](/source/species) of [monocot](/source/monocot) in the family [Araceae](/source/Araceae) known from a [Ypresian](/source/Ypresian) age [Eocene](/source/Eocene) [fossil](/source/fossil) found in western [North Dakota](/source/North_Dakota), USA.<ref name="Hickey1977">{{cite book |title=Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of the Golden Valley Formation (Paleogene) of Western North Dakota |last=Hickey |first=Leo |year=1977 |publisher=Geological Society of America |location=Boulder, Colorado |isbn=0-8137-1150-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/stratigraphypale0000hick/page/110 110 & Plate 5] |url=https://archive.org/details/stratigraphypale0000hick/page/110 }}</ref>

The species was described from a single leaf specimen found at the White Butte locality, [USNM](/source/National_Museum_of_Natural_History) number 14048.  This locality is placed in the Camels Butte member of the [Golden Valley Formation](/source/Golden_Valley_Formation).<ref name="Hickey1977"/>  The Camels Butte member outcrops at a number of sites in western [North Dakota](/source/North_Dakota), and is designated the [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(geology)).<ref name="Hickey1977"/>

The [holotype](/source/holotype) specimen, number ''USNM 43184'', is preserved in the [National Museum of Natural History](/source/National_Museum_of_Natural_History) collections of the [Smithsonian Institution](/source/Smithsonian_Institution).<ref name="Hickey1977"/>   The single specimen was studied by [paleobotanist](/source/paleobotanist) [Leo J. Hickey](/source/Leo_J._Hickey) of the [Yale University Geology Department](/source/Yale_University).  Hickey published the 1977 [type description](/source/Type_(biology)) for ''P. primaeva'' in the [Geological Society of America](/source/Geological_Society_of_America) memoir 150, ''Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of the Golden Valley Formation (Paleogene) of Western North Dakota''.<ref name="Hickey1977"/>  Hickey chose the [specific name](/source/species) ''primaeva'',  noting the species to be the first and only [megafossil](/source/fossil) record for the genus ''[Peltandra](/source/Peltandra)'' described.<ref name="Hickey1977"/>

The holotype of ''Peltandra primaeva'' is a distal [leaf portion](/source/leaf) displaying a short slightly pointed tip.  The preserved section shows a distinct pattern of veins running parallel to the margin with reticulation in the veins forming abaxially.  The only modern member of [Araceae](/source/Araceae) to show this structuring is ''Peltandra'', hence the placement in the genus.  Unlike the modern species ''P. primaeva'', it has between eight and ten veins parallel to the margin and forms a {{convert|3.5|to|6|mm|in}} costal zone which is larger than in modern species.  The preservation of the fossil suggests the leaf would have been chartaeous, thin and paper-like, in life.<ref name="Hickey1977"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7161743}}

Category:Aroideae
Category:Prehistoric angiosperms
Category:Plants described in 1977
Category:Eocene plants
Category:Extinct flora of North America
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1977

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peltandra primaeva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltandra_primaeva) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltandra_primaeva?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.