Fossil ferns are abundant and diverse in the Permian Cathaysian Flora of Shanxi, North China. Although plants assemblages of the Carboniferous and Permian have been extensively investigated, their palaeoecology and es...Fossil ferns are abundant and diverse in the Permian Cathaysian Flora of Shanxi, North China. Although plants assemblages of the Carboniferous and Permian have been extensively investigated, their palaeoecology and especially the paleoecology of ferns has not been studied in detail. Recent reinvestigation of Oligocarpia gothanii has revealed its growth habit and cloning reproduction strategy, but most previous studies lack integrated sedimentological and taphonomic data. In this study, new materials of O. gothanii have been collected from a floodplain setting in the middle Permian Lower Shihhotse Formation of southeastern Shanxi. These plant fossils were found in a lenticular claystone associated with rooting structures. They are characterized by aphlebia at the base of the penultimate rachis. Sedimentological, taphonomic and morphological analyses were conducted to understand the growth habit and ecology of the fern. The result indicates that the Oligocarpia gothanii had a prostrate, ground cover growth habit, and was dominant in pioneer floras that colonized disturbed floodplains.展开更多
A Palaeozoic gleicheniaceous fern Oligocarpia kepingensis sp. nov. is described from the Lower Permian of the northern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. The material comprises fertile organs including sori, sporangia, spo...A Palaeozoic gleicheniaceous fern Oligocarpia kepingensis sp. nov. is described from the Lower Permian of the northern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. The material comprises fertile organs including sori, sporangia, spores and associated sterile leaf of the Sphenopteris type. The sori are circular and 0.6—0.8 mm in diameter, and each sorus consists of 4—6 oval sporangia without an indusium. A transverse annulus completely encircles the sporangium. Each sporangium produces probably 256 trilete spores resembling the dispersed genus Leiotriletes. Comparisons are made between O. kepingensis and other species of Oligocarpia in the soral organization and spores. It is reasonable to include Oligocarpia in Gleicheniaceae based on its similarities of fertile character to the extant gleicheniaceous members.展开更多
基金funded jointly by National 973 Project (2012CB821901)the National Nature Sciences Foundation of China (41372011,41372010)
文摘Fossil ferns are abundant and diverse in the Permian Cathaysian Flora of Shanxi, North China. Although plants assemblages of the Carboniferous and Permian have been extensively investigated, their palaeoecology and especially the paleoecology of ferns has not been studied in detail. Recent reinvestigation of Oligocarpia gothanii has revealed its growth habit and cloning reproduction strategy, but most previous studies lack integrated sedimentological and taphonomic data. In this study, new materials of O. gothanii have been collected from a floodplain setting in the middle Permian Lower Shihhotse Formation of southeastern Shanxi. These plant fossils were found in a lenticular claystone associated with rooting structures. They are characterized by aphlebia at the base of the penultimate rachis. Sedimentological, taphonomic and morphological analyses were conducted to understand the growth habit and ecology of the fern. The result indicates that the Oligocarpia gothanii had a prostrate, ground cover growth habit, and was dominant in pioneer floras that colonized disturbed floodplains.
文摘A Palaeozoic gleicheniaceous fern Oligocarpia kepingensis sp. nov. is described from the Lower Permian of the northern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. The material comprises fertile organs including sori, sporangia, spores and associated sterile leaf of the Sphenopteris type. The sori are circular and 0.6—0.8 mm in diameter, and each sorus consists of 4—6 oval sporangia without an indusium. A transverse annulus completely encircles the sporangium. Each sporangium produces probably 256 trilete spores resembling the dispersed genus Leiotriletes. Comparisons are made between O. kepingensis and other species of Oligocarpia in the soral organization and spores. It is reasonable to include Oligocarpia in Gleicheniaceae based on its similarities of fertile character to the extant gleicheniaceous members.
