Matoniaceae is one of the three families of ferns in the Gleicheniales order of the Polypodiopsida class.[1][2] Fossil records reveal that Matoniaceae ferns were abundant during the Mesozoic era (about 250-million to 66-million years ago), during which they lived on every continent, including Antarctica, with eight genera and 26 species, with the oldest known specimens being from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica.[3] Today the family is much less abundant, and also less diverse, with only two extant genera and four species,[4] which are limited to portions of southeastern Asia.[5]
The following diagram shows a likely phylogenic relationship with the other two families of the Gleicheniales.[6]
Gleicheniales Gleicheniaceae6 extant genera
Dipteridaceae2 extant genera
MatoniaceaeSome common Mesozoic Matoniaceae genera and a sampling of their species include:
