[en] New fertile specimens of Archaeopteris roemeriana from Upper (but not uppermost) Famennian strata of Belgium have been studied. Crowded sporangia are borne on non-laminate, three times bifurcate fertile leaves helically arranged around the fertile ultimate axes. Vegetative leaves occur both proximal and distal to the fertile leaves. Heterospory is demonstrated with miospores belonging to the Geminospora-Aneurospora complex and macrospores most probably to Contagisporites genus. The established morphological traits allow us to substantiate a synonymy between A. roemeriana and A. halliana. The apparent dominance of A. halliana on the eastern side of the Acadian mountains during Late Famennian times is discussed.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Fairon-Demaret, Muriel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Services généraux (Faculté des sciences) > Relations académiques et scientifiques (Sciences)
Algeo T.J.R., Scheckler S.E. (1998) Terrestrial-marine teleconnections in the Devonian: Links between the evolution of land plants, weathering processes, and marine anoxic events. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London: Biol. Sci. 353:1-18.
Allen K.C. (1980) A review of in situ Late Silurian and Devonian spores. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 29:253-270.
Andrews H.N. (1970) Classe des progymnospermopsida (Beck, 1960). Traité de Paléobotanique, Boureau, E. (Ed.), Tome IV (Fasc. 1. Filicophyta). Masson et Cie, Paris, 519 pp.; .
Arnold C.A. (1939) Observations on fossil plants from the Devonian of eastern North America. IV. Plant remains from the Castkill delta deposits of northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. Contrib. Museum Paleontol., Univ. Michigan 5(11):271-314.
Balme B.E. (1995) Fossil in situ spores and pollen grains: An annotated catalogue. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 87:81-323.
Banks H.P. (1966) Plant fossils in Central New York. Cornell Plant 22(4):55-63.
Beck C.B. (1960) The identity of Archaeopteris and Callixylon. Brittonia 12:351-368.
Beck C.B. (1962) Reconstruction of Archaeopteris, and further consideration of its phylogenetic position. Am. J. Bot. 49:373-382.
Beck C.B. (1971) On the anatomy and morphology of lateral branch system of Archaeopteris. Am. J. Bot. 58:758-784.
Beck C.B. (1981) Archaeopteris and its role in vascular plant evolution. Paleobotany, Paleoecology and Evolution , Nildas, K.J. (Ed.). Praeger, New York; 1:193-230.
Beck C.B., Wight D.C. (1988) Progymnosperms. Origin and Evolution of Gymnosperms , Beck, C.B. (Ed.). Columbia University Press, New York; 1-84.
Bonamo P.M., Banks H.P. (1967) Tetraxylopteris schmidtii: Its fertile parts and its relationships within the Aneurophytales. Am. J. Bot. 54:755-768.
Cai C.Y., Wen Y.G., Chen P.Q. (1987) Archaeopteris florula from the Upper Devonian of Xinhui County, Central Guangdong and its stratigraphical significance. Acta Paleontologica Sinica 26(1):55-64.
Carluccio L.M., Hueber F.M., Banks H.P. (1966) Archaeopteris macilenta, anatomy and morphology of its frond. Am. J. Bot. 53:719-730.
Dawson J.W. The Fossil Plants of the Devonian and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada, Geological Survey Canada, Montreal; 1871.
Dawson J.W. The Fossil Plants of the Erian (Devonian) and Upper Silurian Formations of Canada. II, Geological Survey of Canada, Montreal; 1882.
Driese S.G., Mora C.I., Ellick J.M. (1997) Morphology and taphonomy of root and stump casts of the earliest trees (Middle to Late Devonian), Pennsylvania and New York, U.S.A. Palaios 12(6):524-537.
Fagnant L. Architecture stratonomique de chenaux à "point bars" dans la Formation d'Evieux à Esneux (vallée de l'Outhe), et à Dumal et Spontin (vallée du Bocq). Mémoire non publié, Licence en Sciences géologiques, Université de Liège; 1999.
Fairon-Demaret M., Leponce I. (2001) Archaeopteris roemeriana (Progymnosperm): Anisophylly of the ultimate vegetative axes. Am. J. Bot. 88:729-735.
Fairon-Demaret M., Hilton J., Berry C.M. (1999) Surface preparation of macrofossils (degagement). Fossil Plants and Spores, Modern Techniques , Jones, T.P., Rowe, N.P. (Eds.). Geological Society, London; 33-35.
Forbes E. (1853) On the fossils of the Yellow sandstone of the south of Ireland. Report of the British Association for the Advance of Sciences. Belfast meeting , London; 43.
Geinitz H.B. Die Versteinemngen der Steinkohlenformation in Sachsen, Leipzig, 61 pp.; 1855.
Gensel P.G. (1980) Devonian in situ spores: A survey and discussion. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 30:101-132.
Gensel P.G., Andrews H.N. Plant Life in the Devonian, Praeger Scientific, New York, 380 pp.; 1984.
Goeppert H.R. (1852) Fossile flora des übergangsgebirges. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlischen Leopoldinisch-Carolinischen Akademie der Naturforschemng 14(SUPPL.).
Goeppert H.R. (1859) Über die fossile flora der silurischen, der devonischen und unteren kohlenformation oder des sogenannten übergangsgebirges. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlischen Leopoldinisch-Carolinischen Akademie der Naturforscherung 27:425-606.
Hall J. Survey of the fourth geological district, Geology of New York 4, Albany; 1843.
Hao S.G., Mei S.L. (1987) Further observation on Archaeopteris macilenta Lesquereux from westem Hubei. Acta Paleontologica Sinica 26(5):555-562.
Jones C.S. (1999) An essay on juvenility, phase change, and heteroblasty in seed plants. Int. J. Plant Sci. 160(6 SUPPL.).
Kenrick P., Fairon-Demaret M. (1991) Archaeopteris roemeriana (Goeppert) sensu Stockmans, 1948 from the Upper Famennian of Belgium: Anatomy and leaf polymorphism. Bull. Int. Roy. Soc. Nat., Sciences de la Terre 61:179-195.
Krassilov V.A., Raskatova M.G., Itschenko A.A. (1987) A new archaeopteridalean plant from the Devonian of Pavlovsk. USSR Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 53:163-173.
Kräusel R., Weyland H. (1941) Pflanzenreste aus dem devon von nord-Amerika: II. Die oberdevonischen floren von elkins, west-Virginien, und perry, maine, mit berücksichtung einiger stücke von der chaleur-bai, Canada. Palaeontographica B 86:1-78.
Lesquereux L. (1880) Description of the coal flora of the Carboniferous formation in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Report of Progress 1:1-354.
Marshall J.E.A. (1996) Rhabdosporites langii, Geminospora lemurata and Contagisporites optivus: An origin for heterospory within the progymnosperms. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 93:159-190.
Mattheck C., Kubler H. Wood - The Internal Optimization of Trees. Second printing of the first edition, Springer Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 129 pp.; 1997.
Maziane N., Higgs K.T., Streel M. (1999) Revision of the late miospore zonation scheme in eastern Belgium. J. Micropaleontol. 18:17-25.
Meyer-Berthaud B., Scheckler S.E., Wendt J. (1999) Archaeopteris is the earliest known modern tree. Nature 398:700-701.
Meyer-Berthaud B., Scheckler S.E., Bousquet J.-L. (2000) The development of Archaeopteris: New evolutionary characters from the structural analysis of an early Famennian trunk from southeast Morocco. Am. J. Bot. 87:456-468.
Nathorst A.G. (1902) Zur oberdevonischen flora der bäen-insel. Kongl. svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar 36:1-60.
Niklas K.J. The Evolutionary Biology of Plants, Chicago University Press, Chicago; 1997.
Niklas K.J. Plant Allometry. The Scaling of Form and Process, Chicago University Press, Chicago; 1994.
Owens B. (1971) Miospores from the Middle and early Upper Devonian rocks of the western Queen Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Archipelago. Geol. Surv. Can. Pap. 70(38):1-157.
Paproth E., Dreesen R., Thorez J. (1986) Famennian paleogeography and event stratigraphy of northwestern Europe. Ann. Soc. Géol , Bless, M.J.M., Streel, M. (Eds.), Late Devonian Events around t he Old Red Continent. Belgique; 109(1):175-186.
Phillips T.L., Andrews H.N., Gensel P.G. (1972) Two heterosporous species of Archaeopteris from the Upper Devonian of West Virginia. Palaeontographica B 139:47-71.
Potonié R. (1956) Synopsis der Gattungen Sporae dispersae I Sporites. Beih. Geol. Jb. 23:1-103.
Roemer F. Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunden , Leonhard, K.C., Bronn, H.G. (Eds.), Schweizerbart, Stuttgart; 1855, 488-489.
Scheckler S.E. (1978) Ontogeny of progymnosperms. II. Shoots of Upper Devonian Archaeopteridales. Can. J. Bot. 56:3136-3170.
Scheckler S.E. (1986) Geology, floristics and palaeoecology of Late Devonian coal swamps from Appalachian Laurentia (USA). Ann. Soc. Géol , Bless, M.J.M., Streel, M. (Eds.), Late Devonian events around the Old Red Continent. Belgique; 109(1):209-222.
Scheckler S.E., Cressler W.L., Connery T., Klavins S., Postnokoff D.L. (1999) Devonian shrub and tree dominated landscapes. XVI International Botanical Congress , St Louis, USA, Abstract; 13.
Schimper W.P. Traité de Paléontologie Végétale, J.B. Baillière et Fils, Paris; 1869.
Stein W.E., Hueber F.M. (1989) The anatomy of Pseudosporochnus: P. hueberi from the Devonian of New York. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 60:311-359.
Stockmans F. (1948) Végétaux du Dévonien Supérieur de la Belgique. Mém. Musée Roy. Hist. Nat. Belgique 110:1-85.
Streel M. (1999) Quantitative palynology of Famennian Events in the Ardenne-Rhine regions. Abh. Geol. B.-A , Feist, R., Talent, J.A., Daurer, A. (Eds.), North Gondwana: Mid-Paleozoic Terranes, Stratigraphy and Biota; 54:201-212.
Streel M., Loboziak S. (1987) Nouvelle datation par miospores du Givetien-Frasnien des sědiments non marins du sondage de Booischot (Bassin de Campine Belgique). Buli. Soc. Belge de Gėologie 96(2):99-106.
Streel M., Scheckler S.E. (1990) Miospore lateral distribution in Upper Famennian alluvial lagoonal to tidal facies from eastern United States and Belgium. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 64:315-324.
Stur D. (1875) Die Culmflora des märisch-schlesischen Dachschiefers. Abh. K. K. Geol. Reichanst , Wien; 8.
Thorez J., Dreesen R., Fairon-Demaret M., Goemare E. (1994) The Condroz Sandstone (latest Devonian): An overview of the main characteristics of the group, especially in the Bocq valley area. Fourth European Paleobotanical and Palynological Conference , Heerlen/Kerkrade, The Netherlands, 19-23 September 1994. Excursion Guidebook 1: Devonian-Carboniferous; (PART 3):21-35.
Trivett M.L. (1993) An architectural analysis of Archaeopteris, a fossil tree with pseudomonopodial and opportunistic adventitious growth. Bot. J. Linnean Soc. 111:301-329.
Waites R., Hudson A. (1995) Phantastica: A gene required for dorsoventrality of leaves in Antirrhinum majus. Development 121:2143-2154.
