Dating the origin of the Orchidaceae from a fossil orchid with its pollinator

@article{Ramrez2007DatingTO,
  title={Dating the origin of the Orchidaceae from a fossil orchid with its pollinator},
  author={Santiago R. Ram{\'i}rez and Barbara Gravendeel and Rodrigo Bustos Singer and Charles R. Marshall and Naomi E. Pierce},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2007},
  volume={448},
  pages={1042-1045}
}
Since the time of Darwin, evolutionary biologists have been fascinated by the spectacular adaptations to insect pollination exhibited by orchids. However, despite being the most diverse plant family on Earth, the Orchidaceae lack a definitive fossil record and thus many aspects of their evolutionary history remain obscure. Here we report an exquisitely preserved orchid pollinarium (of Meliorchis caribea gen. et sp. nov.) attached to the mesoscutellum of an extinct stingless bee, Proplebeia… 
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