Paurodendron stellatum: a new Permian permineralized herbaceous lycopsid from the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica
2015 (English)In: Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, ISSN 0034-6667, E-ISSN 1879-0615, Vol. 220, p. 1-15Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Diminutive, silica-permineralized lycopsid axes, from a Guadalupian (Middle Permian) silicified peat in the Bainmedart Coal Measures of East Antarctica are described and assigned to Paurodendron stellatum sp. nov. Axes consist only of primary-growth tissues with a vascular system characterized by an exarch actinostele with 6–20 protoxylem points. Stems have a relatively narrow cortex of thin-walled cells that are commonly degraded, but the root cortex typically contains more robust, thick-walled cells. The stems bear helically inserted, elliptical–rhombic, ligulate microphylls. Roots possess an eccentrically positioned monarch vascular strand. Paurodendron stellatum is one of a very small number of anatomically preserved lycopsid axes described from the Gondwanan Permian and represents the first post-Carboniferous record of this genus. Based on dispersed vegetative remains, megaspores and microspores, herbaceous lycopsids, such as P. stellatum, appear to have been important understorey components of both low- and high-latitude mire forests of the late Palaeozoic.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2015. Vol. 220, p. 1-15
Keywords [en]
Heterosporous lycopsida, Isoëtales, Bainmedart Coal Measures, Lycopsid anatomy, Megaspore, Gondwana
National Category
Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Diversity of life
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-1345DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.04.004OAI: oai:DiVA.org:nrm-1345DiVA, id: diva2:862071
Projects
Reconstructing the lost forests of Antarctica: the palaeoecology, anatomy and phylogeny of the iconic Glossopteris floraExceptional permineralized biotas - windows into the evolution and functional diversity of terrestrial ecosystems through time
Funder
Swedish Research Council, VR 2010-3931Swedish Research Council, VR 2014-52342015-07-312015-10-202017-12-01Bibliographically approved