Flabellopteris lococannensis gen. et sp. nov.: A new fern-like plant from the Famennian of South Africa

[en] A new fossil plant, Flabellopteris lococannensis Gess and Prestianni gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Famennian of South Africa. This plant is interpreted as monopodial in habit with a first order axis that only occasionally dichotomizes. The lateral organs (both branches and appendages) are borne spirally on all branching orders and a 1/3 organotaxy is suggested. The first order axes bear both second order axes and fertile appendages at the same nodes. Axes of the second and third branching orders bear appendages made of several isotomous dichotomies. Recurved paired sporangia are borne on dichotomizing appendages that are like the vegetative appendages. The plant bears some similarity to the Iridopteridales but also to the Late Devonian Rhacophytales and to the Lower Carboniferous fernlike plant Chlidanophyton dublinensis. The architecture of the plant is briefly discussed and its implication on the evolution of the frond is considered.

Disciplines :

Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...)
Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

Gess, Robert W.; Albany Museum and Geology Department, Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa

Prestianni, Cyrille ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géologie > Evolution and diversity dynamics lab ; OD Terres et Histoire de la Vie, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Bruxelles, Belgium

Language :

English

Title :

Flabellopteris lococannensis gen. et sp. nov.: A new fern-like plant from the Famennian of South Africa

Publication date :

February 2022

Journal title :

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

ISSN :

0034-6667

eISSN :

1879-0615

Publisher :

Elsevier B.V.

Volume :

297

Pages :

104585

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0034666721002098?httpAccept=text/xml

Funders :

BELSPO - Politique scientifique fédérale

Funding text :

This paper is submitted in recognition of the numerous, outstanding, and precise contributions by Jean Galtier to the field of palaeobotany. CP would particularly like to thank him for the many rich and fruitful discussions as well as the guidance and friendship he received over the years. RG would like to acknowledge the support of the Millennium Trust; of GENUS (DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences) and of the National Research Foundation (NRF) . The South African NSCF (Natural Science Collections Facility) is thanked for supporting Dr. Prestianni's visit to South Africa in 2019, and for provision of lab equipment. CP is hired under a Belspo FED-tWIN project from the Belgian Federal Government (Prf-2019(R)-017_PaleoGreen). This research was supported by a FNRS travel grant. RG thanks Dr. Norton Hiller for support, mentorship, and discussions on the here studied material during its initial preparation and study in the 1990s. Mr. Ryan Nel is thanked for digitising Fig. 2 and creating the digital reconstructions in Fig, 3 . We would like to thank Pr. M. Tomescu and Dr. Jinzhuang Xue for the careful and very useful revision of the manuscript that helped greatly improving it.This paper is submitted in recognition of the numerous, outstanding, and precise contributions by Jean Galtier to the field of palaeobotany. CP would particularly like to thank him for the many rich and fruitful discussions as well as the guidance and friendship he received over the years. RG would like to acknowledge the support of the Millennium Trust; of GENUS (DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences) and of the National Research Foundation (NRF). The South African NSCF (Natural Science Collections Facility) is thanked for supporting Dr. Prestianni's visit to South Africa in 2019, and for provision of lab equipment. CP is hired under a Belspo FED-tWIN project from the Belgian Federal Government (Prf-2019(R)-017_PaleoGreen). This research was supported by a FNRS travel grant. RG thanks Dr. Norton Hiller for support, mentorship, and discussions on the here studied material during its initial preparation and study in the 1990s. Mr. Ryan Nel is thanked for digitising Fig. 2 and creating the digital reconstructions in Fig, 3. We would like to thank Pr. M. Tomescu and Dr. Jinzhuang Xue for the careful and very useful revision of the manuscript that helped greatly improving it.

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since 11 May 2023

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