DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0pt
title: Data from: Fossil endocarps of Menispermaceae from the late Paleocene of Paris Basin, France

description: Menispermaceae are an angiosperm family of mostly climbing plants
 distributed throughout tropical regions. The fruits in this family have a
 strong sclerified endocarp and can be used for reliable species-level
 identifications, even in a fossilized form. New Paleocene-age
 menispermaceous endocarps have recently been discovered in South America
 and Asia, while in Europe, they are mostly found in the Eocene. This paper
 focuses on the study of fossil endocarps belonging to Menispermaceae,
 found in the Petit-Pâtis locality (Rivecourt, France), which is one of the
 few Paleocene localities in Europe. The locality is dated to the late
 Paleocene (57–56 Ma) and the fossils represent flora and fauna in the
 Paris Basin before the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.
 Lignitised fossils were photographed and their morphology was analyzed
 using computed tomography, scanning electron microscope, and geometric
 morphometric analysis. The analysis of thirty-six fossils belonging to
 Menispermaceae revealed that three genera (Stephania, Palaeosinomenium,
 Tinospora) were present in the Late Paleocene of Paris Basin. Differences
 in internal morphology and a more inflated endocarp base led to a
 description of a new fossil species – Palaeosinomenium oisensis sp. nov.
 The occurrence of these genera in the Paleocene of France is consistent
 with the suggestions that megathermal flora was present in the Paris Basin
 before the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. These three genera are
 currently the oldest occurrences in Europe, highlighting the connection
 between paleofloras of the Americas, Europe, and Asia in the Paleocene.
description: # Fossil endocarps of Menispermaceae from the late Paleocene of Paris
 Basin, France
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0pt](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0pt) **3D models** Three fossil endocarps of Menispermaceae (*Tinospora excavata* Riv.PPB 215; *Palaeosinomenium oisensis* Riv. PPB 242 and Riv.PPB 237) were CT-scanned via the AST-RX platform of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France, MNHN) and visualized using the Mimics Innovation Suite software (not a free software). In this dataset you will find: 1. 3D models of three fossils created with the Mimics software (.stl). Possible to view with Paint 3D application 2. processed input images from ImageJ (zip folders) that were used to create the 3D models 3. Original input images from the computed tomography scanner (.tif) in zip folders <br> **Geometric morphometrics** Pictures depicting lateral faces of 17 endocarps of *Palaeosinomenium* were used for geometric morphometric analysis. Depending on the preservation, one or both lateral faces of each endocarp were used for capturing lateral ridge (color code: FF0000), vascular trace (color code: FFFF00), general outline (color code: 33FF00), and scale bar (color code: 3333FF) with a curve drawing tool in Adobe Illustrator. We exported these lines in postscript and used them for further statistical analysis in R. If you have an interest in the script, you can contact co-author Jérémie Bardin jeremie.bardin@mnhn.fr In this dataset you will find: 1. Adobe Illustrator files of drawn lines used for geometric morphometrics 2. Pictures of the endocarps that were used as a base for creating the lines 3. TIF file illustrating the workflow with the relevant packages and software ## Description of the data and file structure **3D models** 1. 3D objects (.stl): file name indicates the specimen number 2. processed input images (.tif) from ImageJ (zip folders) - folder name (for example, P.oisensis_Riv._PPB_242_contrast_8bit_rotata_crop_reslice) shows the manipulations applied to images in ImageJ. Specimen number in the folder name. Correct specimen name in the folder, file names are not relevant. 3. original input image slices (.tif) in zip folders (for example, P.oisensis_Riv.PPB 237_coupes): specimen number in the folder name. Correct specimen name in the folder, file names are not relevant. **Geometric morphometrics** Workflow with the used tools is shown in the file "supmat_workflow.tif" 1. Adobe Illustrator files of hand-drawn lines (scripts) used for geometric morphometrics. The lines were drawn using pictures of the fossils (see the following point). Zip folder "scriptswithoutline" contains Adobe Illustrator scripts. Example of file name: meni 20_lat2_L &gt; meni X = Menispermaceae endocarp with a number; lat 1 or 2 = indicates the lateral faces of endocarp. For scripts the orientation of the endocarp was specified so L means "left" and R means "right". The numbers in file names do not correspond to the repository. 2. Pictures of the endocarps (.jpg) that were used as a base for creating the drawn lines: zip folder "endocarps for analysis" contains pictures of *Palaeosinomenium* endocarps: file name example: "meni 2_lat2" &gt; meni X = Menispermaceae endocarp with a number; lat 1 or 2 = lateral faces of endocarp. Some endocarps have two faces, some only one. Although selection of intact endocarps was made, not all of these pictures resulted in Illustrator files because of their incomplete preservation. The numbers in file names do not correspond to the repository.