Ovule-containing cupules belonging to the Early Jurassic pteridosperm, Komlopteris nordenskioeldii (Nathorst) Barbacka

Seventy-five cupules of a new type were collected from the Lower Jurassic of the Mecsek Mountains, near Komló and Pécs, Baranya County, Southern Hungary. They appear to contain ovules that are assigned to pteridosperms. Preliminary examination of macerated cuticles and transverse and longitudinal sections of the cupules using both fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, backed up by micro-CT analysis and 3D reconstruction, proved that their organization differs from any similar organs encountered to date and is more complex. The morphology of the outer cuticle of the cupules is consistent with that of the leaf cuticle of Komlopteris nordenskioeldii, which was the dominant pteridosperm in the Early Jurassic fossil flora of the Mecsek Mountains. The peculiar morphology of the cupules, which differs considerably from that of Umkomasia or any other previously described pteridosperm, implies that the genus Komlopteris belongs to a different taxonomic group than others encountered to date.