隐孢子的争议与研究

Disputes and research on cryptospores

陆生植物的出现是地质历史时期生物演化的重大事件,深刻地改变了大气和地表环境,为陆地生物的发展和繁盛奠定了基础。隐孢子是分布在寒武纪中期至早泥盆世地层中的一类孢型植物化石,对探索陆生植物的起源和早期演化历史具有重要科学意义。然而,对于隐孢子的定义存在明显争议,目前仍无法统一。结合近年来国内外研究成果,文章对这类化石的基本问题和相关研究进行梳理与回顾。对隐孢子化石在形态学、系统分类学和古生物地理学等方面的综合研究,极大地促进了对早期陆生植物起源与演化的新认识,并为地球生命演化及远古环境变迁提供新见解。

The emergence of land plant is an evolutionarily important event in geological history,which has profoundly affected the atmosphere and surface environments,and laid the foundation for the development and prosperity of land organisms.As a group of sporomorphs stratigraphically ranging from mid-Cambrian to Early Devonian,cryptospores are significant for understanding of land plant origination and early evolution.However,there is yet no consensus about the definition of cryptospore,over which obvious dispute has arisen.Combined with research findings in recent years,this paper succinctly reviews the basic issues and progresses on cryptospore researching.Comprehensive research on cryptospore,including morphology,systematics,and paleobiogeography etc.,greatly promotes new understandings of origin and early evolution of land plant,and sheds new lights on the evolution of life and environment on the earth.