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Abstract PremiseThe Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma) was a greenhouse period with global temperatures estimated as 10–15°C warmer than pre‐industrial conditions, so it is surprising that the most reliable CO₂estimates from this time are <1400 ppm. This low CO₂during a warm period implies a very high Earth‐system sensitivity in the range of 6 to 9°C per CO₂doubling between the Aptian‐Albian and today. MethodsWe applied a well‐vetted paleo‐CO₂proxy based on leaf gas‐exchange principles (Franks model) to twoPseudotorelliaspecies from three stratigraphically similar samples at the Tevshiin Govi lignite mine in central Mongolia (~119.7–100.5 Ma). ResultsOur median estimated CO₂concentration from the three respective samples was 2132, 2405, and 2770 ppm. The primary reason for the high estimated CO₂but with relatively large uncertainties is the very low stomatal density in both species, where small variations propagate to large changes in estimated CO₂. Indeed, we found that at least 15 leaves are required before the aggregate estimated CO₂approaches that of the full data set. ConclusionsOur three CO₂estimates all exceeded 2000 ppm, translating to an Earth‐system sensitivity (~3–5°C/CO₂doubling) that is more in keeping with the current understanding of the long‐term climate system. Because of our large sample size, the directly measured inputs did not contribute much to the overall uncertainty in estimated CO₂; instead, the inferred inputs were responsible for most of the overall uncertainty and thus should be scrutinized for their value choices. 

Abstract Two new Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) species of fossil bennettitalean leaves are described from central Mongolia and assigned to the genus Nilssoniopteris . Nilssoniopteris tomentosa F.Herrera, G.Shi, Tsolmon, Ichinnorov, Takahashi, P.R.Crane, et Herend. sp. nov., isolated from bulk sediment samples collected for mesofossils in the Tevshiingovi Formation at the Tevshiin Govi opencast coal mine, is distinctive in having a dense, well-developed indumentum composed of branched, flattened multicellular trichomes on the abaxial leaf surface. This species provides the first direct evidence of complex multicellular trichomes in Bennettitales and adds to the evidence of leaf anatomical features in the group that were probably advantageous in increasing water use efficiency and/or perhaps had other functions such as deterring insect herbivory. Comparison with other well-preserved leaves of Bennettitales, including Nilssoniopteris shiveeovoensis F.Herrera, G.Shi, Tsolmon, Ichinnorov, Takahashi, P.R.Crane, et Herend. sp. nov., collected as hand specimens from the Khukhteeg Formation at the Shivee Ovoo locality, suggests that the trichome bases seen commonly on the abaxial cuticle of bennettitalean leaves bore trichomes with very low fossilization potential. In some cases these trichomes may have been shed as the leaves matured, but in other cases they probably decayed during diagenesis or were destroyed during the standard processes by which fossil leaf cuticles are prepared.