A new fossil species of Corylopsis (Hamamelidaceae), C. grisea Quirk & Hermsen sp. nov, based on seeds from the early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site (GFS), eastern Tennessee, USA, is described. The assignment of the seeds to Hamamelidaceae, subfamily Hamamelidoideae, is based on the overall size of the seeds, smooth testa, lack of a seed wing, and the presence of a terminal hilar scar. The assignment to the genus Corylopsis is based on seed size as well as the presence of a hilar facet, in addition to the hilar scar. Although Corylopsis persists only in East Asia today, its fossil record indicates that the genus was widespread across the Northern Hemisphere in the past. Prior to its discovery at GFS, Corylopsis was only known from the Paleogene in North America. The presence of C. grisea at GFS extends the fossil record of Corylopsis in North America to the Neogene and reinforces the interpretation of GFS as a forested refugium that provided a relatively moist, equable environment where subtropical to warm temperate plants could persist during a time of cooling and drying in the continental interior of North America. Its presence provides additional evidence for the biogeographic connection between the GFS paleoflora and the modern flora of eastern Asia.

中文翻译：

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来自田纳西州东部的新近纪 Corylopsis 种子

Corylopsis (Hamamelidaceae), C. grisea Quirk & Hermsen sp. 的新化石种。nov，基于来自美国田纳西州东部上新世早期灰色化石遗址 (GFS) 的种子。将种子归入金缕梅科（Hamamelidoideae）亚科，是基于种子的整体大小、光滑的种皮、缺乏种子翼以及存在终末肺门疤痕。除了肺门疤痕之外，对Corylopsis属的分配还基于种子大小以及肺门小面的存在。尽管Corylopsis今天仅在东亚存在，但其化石记录表明该属在过去曾广泛分布于北半球。 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 在 GFS 发现之前，Corylopsis仅在北美洲的古近纪发现。C. grisea在 GFS的存在将北美Corylopsis的化石记录扩展到了新近纪，并加强了 GFS 的解释，认为它是一个森林化的避难所，提供了一个相对潮湿、平等的环境，亚热带到暖温带植物可以在北美大陆内部的冷却和干燥。它的存在为 GFS 古植物群与东亚现代植物群之间的生物地理联系提供了额外的证据。