| Meliorchis Temporal range: 15–20 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Miocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Subtribe: | Goodyerinae |
| Genus: | †Meliorchis S.R.Ramírez, Gravend., R.B.Singer,. C.R.Marshall & N.E.Pierce |
| Species: | †M. caribea |
| Binomial name | |
| †Meliorchis caribea S.R.Ramírez, Gravend., R.B.Singer,. C.R.Marshall & N.E.Pierce | |
Meliorchis caribea is an extinct, early to middle Miocene orchid known only from a packet of pollen attached to the wing of a stingless bee, Proplebeia dominicana, trapped in Dominican amber. It was the first fossil orchid ever described, and allowed for a revised estimate of the time of origin of the Orchidaceae to the Mesozoic. Morphology of the pollinium suggests that M. caribea is closely related to the modern genus Ligeophila.
References
- Santiago R. Ramírez; Barbara Gravendeel; Rodrigo B. Singer; Charles R. Marshall; Naomi E. Pierce (30 August 2007). "Dating the origin of the Orchidaceae from a fossil orchid with its pollinator". Nature. 448 (7157): 1042–5. Bibcode:2007Natur.448.1042R. doi:10.1038/nature06039. PMID 17728756. S2CID 4402181.
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