Pteruchus

Last updated

Pteruchus
Temporal range: Triassic
Pteruchus africanus.jpg
Pteruchus africanus fossil pollen organ, Late Triassic, Molteno Formation, Umkomaas, South Africa.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Order: Corystospermales
Family: Corystospermaceae
Genus: Pteruchus
Thomas (1933) [1]

Pteruchus is a form genus for pollen organs of the seed fern (Pteridospermatophyta family Umkomasiaceae. It was first described by Hamshaw Thomas [1] from the Umkomaas locality of South Africa. It is associated with the seed bearing organs Umkomasia and Dicroidium leaves.

Contents

Umkomasia macleani reconstruction of whole plant including leaves (Dicroidium odontopteroides, pollen organs (Pteruchus africanus based largely on material from the Umkomaas locality of South Africa Umkomasia macleani reconstruction.jpg
Umkomasia macleani reconstruction of whole plant including leaves ( Dicroidium odontopteroides , pollen organs ( Pteruchus africanus based largely on material from the Umkomaas locality of South Africa

Description

The pollen organ Pteruchus differs from other seed fern pollen organs in having numerous pendant pollen sacs from a blade-like head, in an arrangement similar to an epaulette.

Whole plant reconstructions

References

  1. 1 2 3 Thomas, H.H. (1933). "On some pteridospermous plants from the Mesozoic rocks of South Africa". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 222 (483–493): 193–265. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1932.0016 .
  2. Retallack, G.J. & Dilcher, D.L (1988). "Reconstructions of selected seed ferns". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 75 (3): 1010–1057. doi:10.2307/2399379. JSTOR   2399379.
  3. Retallack, G.J. (1977). "Reconstructing Triassic vegetation of Australasia: a new approach for the biostratigraphy of Gondwanaland". Alcheringa. 1: 247–278. doi:10.1080/03115517708527763.
  4. Anderson, Heidi M.; Barbacka, Maria; Bamford, Marion K.; Holmes, W. B. Keith; Anderson, John M. (2019-10-02). "Pteruchus (microsporophyll): part 2 of a reassessment of Gondwana Triassic plant genera and a reclassification of some previously attributed" . Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 43 (4): 511–533. doi:10.1080/03115518.2019.1617348. ISSN   0311-5518. S2CID   198398356.