Discovery of a New Extinct Species from the Eocene of India: A Glimpse into a Lost Angiosperm Lineage

Extinct plant fossils play a crucial role in testing hypotheses about the origins of angiosperms. Here, we report an extinct winged fruit species from the early Eocene sedimentary sequence (~55–52Ma) of the Gurha opencast lignite mine, Rajasthan, western India. A detailed macromorphological analysis and comparative study of both living and fossil angiosperms featuring five‐winged fruits support their recognition as a distinct taxon. The combination of major morphological characters (five enlarged narrowly obovate woody sepals/wings with three‐trace venation radiating from a central region, and a semi‐inferior ovary) of the recovered early Eocene winged fruits does not conform precisely to any known fossil or extant winged fruit. Therefore, we establish a new fossil genus and species, named Pentasepalous gurhaensis A. Ali & M. A. Khan gen. et sp. nov. This discovery offers significant new insights into the diversity of extinct angiosperms in the Indian subcontinent and highlights India's role as a key region for early angiosperm evolution.