| Coniopteris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coniopteris sp. from the Mecsek Coal Formation, Hungary, Hettangian | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Subclass: | Polypodiidae |
| Genus: | † Coniopteris Brongniart 1849 |
| Type species | |
| Coniopteris murrayana Brongniart 1835 | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Coniopteris is an extinct genus of Mesozoic fern leaves. It was widespread over both hemispheres during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, with over 130 species having been described. [1] Most species of Coniopteris probably had a herbaceous habit. [1] Coniopteris laciniata had tufts of leaves sprouting from intervals of a thin, creeping rhizome. [2] Coniopteris is traditionally assumed to have been a member of Dicksoniaceae (which are mostly tree ferns) or a close relative of Thyrsopteris. However, these affinites have been doubted by a number of authors. A 2020 cladistic analysis found it to be a stem group of Polypodiales, as many Coniopteris species share with these ferns vertically orientated and an incomplete annulus. [1] However, this feature is not preserved among many Coniopteris species, and several species from the Northern Hemisphere a complete and obliquely orientated annulus, suggesting a Cyatheales (to which Dicksoniaceae belongs) affinity for at least these species, though they are alternatively suggested to be close to the base of Cyatheales. [3] The genus is technically a junior synonym of the little used Polystichites, but was conserved by the ICZN in 2013. [4] Some authors suggest a range of Early Jurassic-early Late Cretaceous for the genus, [1] while others suggest a more expansive range spanning from the Middle Triassic to the Eocene. [5]
