New insights and evolutionary significance of the megasporangiate strobilus of Minostrobus chaohuensis (Lycopsida) from the Upper Devonian of South China

Meng, Mei-Cen; Wang, Biao; Xue, Jinzhuang; Zhu, Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2012.11.007

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This stratum includes lower and upper clay layers intercalated with quartz sandstone, which represents the boundary between Devonian and Carboniferous sediments based on spore, plant and invertebrate assemblage [ 9 ]. Specimens in this study are the latest Devonian in age, some of them occur in the same layer with those described by Meng et al [ 7 ], while the others were collected from a higher horizon. No specific permission was required for the field study in the location, and the field study did not involve endangered or protected species.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 58%

“…New material was collected from the Fenghuangshan Section, about 3.0 km north of Chaohu City, Anhui Province, China. The specific location of this section (31°37′51″N and 117°50′54″E) was illustrated by Meng et al [ 7 ]. The fossil-bearing bed belongs to the middle part of the Leigutai Member (upper member of the Wutong Formation).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Minostrobus chaohuensis Wang was reported from the Upper Devonian Wutong (Wutung) Formation of Chaohu City, Anhui Province, South China, and was established on the basis of strobili containing megaspores [ 6 ]. Subsequent studies revealed the megasporangiate strobilus characters in detail and assigned this plant to Dichostrobiles [ 7 , 8 ]. Although the vegetative axis and microsporangiate strobilus have been described [ 8 ], some important characters are still not clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vegetative Characters, Growth Habit and Microsporangiate Strobilus of Lycopsid Minostrobus chaohuensis

2015

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Late Devonian Minostrobus chaohuensis is one of the earliest monosporangiate-strobilate isoetaleans. Based on new material of this plant, the vegetative axis and microsporangiate strobilus are studied in detail, and the whole plant knowledge is summarized. The vegetative axis is isotomously branched. The stem is up to 55 mm in diameter with helically arranged leaf cushions. Stems and thick branches bear long fusiform leaf cushions and interareas with vertical linear ornamentations. A ligule pit, oblanceolate leaf scar, and vascular bundle scar appear on the leaf cushion. Distal axes have persistent lanceolate leaves and rhombic leaf bases. The microsporangiate strobilus is cylindrical in shape, possesses sporophyll with alate pedicel and long triangular lamina, uniseriate sporangial wall, subarchesporial pad inside the sporangium, and microspore with cingulum. Based on comparisons with other isoetaleans, the usage of the terms “leaf cushion” and “leaf base” is discussed, and Minostrobus chaohuensis is considered as a tree-like lycopsid. It suggests that arborescent isoetaleans with monosporangiate strobili had appeared and diversified in the Late Devonian. The multi-dichotomous branching system of Minostrobus provides new data on the evolution of growth architecture in rhizomorphic lycopsids.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vegetative Characters, Growth Habit and Microsporangiate Strobilus of Lycopsid Minostrobus chaohuensis

2015

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“…However, only one species with leaves, assigned to the genus Lepidophylloides, is recorded in the Wuchiapingian, and no species with leaves are known from the Changhsingian. The fertile leaves (sporophylls) of Paleozoic lycopsids show spines, keels, alations, and heels developing in various combinations in different plants (Berry et al, 2003;Meng et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014b). However, the features of sporophylls require a different character-coding system relative to the taxa considered here, and fall outside the focus of the present paper.…”

Section: Exclusion Of Lycopsidsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Stepwise evolution of Paleozoic tracheophytes from South China: Contrasting leaf disparity and taxic diversity

Xue

Huang

Ruta

et al. 2015

Earth-Science Reviews

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During the late Paleozoic, vascular land plants (tracheophytes) diversified into a remarkable variety of morphological types, ranging from tiny, aphyllous, herbaceous forms to giant leafy trees. Leaf shape is a key determinant of both function and structural diversity of plants, but relatively little is known about the tempo and mode of leaf morphological diversification and its correlation with tracheophyte diversity and abiotic changes during this remarkable macroevolutionary event, the greening of the continents. We use the extensive record of Paleozoic tracheophytes from South China to explore models of morphological evolution in early land plants. Our findings suggest that tracheophyte leaf disparity and diversity were decoupled, and that they were under different selective regimes. Two key phases in the evolution of South Chinese tracheophyte leaves can be recognized. In the first phase, from Devonian to Mississippian, taxic diversity increased substantially, as did leaf disparity, at the same time as they acquired novel features in their vascular systems, reproductive organs, and overall architecture. The second phase, through the Carboniferous-Permian transition, saw recovery of wetland communities in South China, associated with a further expansion of morphologies of simple leaves and an offset shift in morphospace occupation by compound leaves. Comparison with Euramerica suggests that the floras from South China were unique in several ways. The Late Devonian radiation of sphenophyllaleans contributed significantly to the expansion of leaf morphospace, such that the evolution of large laminate leaves in this group occurred much earlier than those in Euramerica. The Pennsylvanian decrease in taxic richness had little effect on the disparity of compound leaves. Finally, the distribution in morphospace of the Permian pecopterids, gigantopterids, and equisetaleans occurred at the periphery of Carboniferous leaf morphospace. Keywords• Leaf morphology;• Disparity;• Diversity;• Tracheophytes;• Floral provinciality;• Paleozoic IntroductionThe origin and diversification of tracheophytes (vascular plants) in the Paleozoic was a key event, as life moved from the water to colonize land (Kenrick and Crane, 1997, Vecoli et al., 2010 and Kenrick et al., 2012. The earliest known tracheophyte megafossils, from the Late Silurian-Early Devonian, are characterized by a wide distribution, low taxic diversity, and simple morphological organization (Edwards et al., 1992 and Gensel, 2008). It has been hypothesized that the increase in Paleozoic tracheophyte diversity throughout the Paleozoic was triggered by several key innovations, including increased vasculature complexity, monopodial stem branching, secondary xylem growth, formation of sporangium clusters, leaves, and heterospory (Niklas et al., 1983, Knoll et al., 1984 and Niklas, 1988.In turn, such innovations are thought to have promoted greater morphological variety and a rapid exploration and colonization of new niches (Bateman et al., 1998 and Hao and Xue, 2...

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“…The cones of two other Devonian genera, which differ markedly from the Barraba cone, are those of Changxingia (Wang et al, 2014) and Minostrobus (Wang, 2001;Meng et al, 2013), both monosporangiate and of Famennian age. The pedicels of their sporophylls possess a keel and a conspicuous heel but, unlike those of the Barraba cone, they are short (less than 5 mm in length) and show distal alations.…”

Section: Comparison With Devonian and Carboniferous Lycopsid Conesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new Late Devonian isoetalean lycopsid from New South Wales, Australia: Cymastrobus irvingii gen. et sp. nov

Evreïnoff¹,

Meyer‐Berthaud²,

Decombeix³

et al. 2017

Palaeontologia Electronica

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New insights and evolutionary significance of the megasporangiate strobilus of Minostrobus chaohuensis (Lycopsida) from the Upper Devonian of South China

Cited by 21 publications

References 32 publications

Vegetative Characters, Growth Habit and Microsporangiate Strobilus of Lycopsid Minostrobus chaohuensis

Vegetative Characters, Growth Habit and Microsporangiate Strobilus of Lycopsid Minostrobus chaohuensis

Stepwise evolution of Paleozoic tracheophytes from South China: Contrasting leaf disparity and taxic diversity

A new Late Devonian isoetalean lycopsid from New South Wales, Australia: Cymastrobus irvingii gen. et sp. nov

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