Nile soniopteris
| Nile soniopteris | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Triassic to Jurassic | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Nile soniopteris | ||||||||||||
Nilssoniopteris is a genus in which leaf fossils are grouped together ( Morphotaxon ). They are placed near the Bennettitales .
features
The leaves are ribbon-shaped and petiolate. The leaf blade is undivided, lobed or divided. It starts on the side or on the top of the rachis . The leaf veins are simple or forked. The stomata are syndetocheilic. The anticlinic cell walls of the leaf epidermis are mostly wavy, in some Triassic forms they are also straight. Many representatives are entire.
Pinnate leaves are traditionally placed in the genus Anomozamites . However, their anatomy is largely unknown. There are also fossils that morphologically mediate between Anomozamites and Nilssoniopteris . Several authors have therefore proposed that all leaf fossils that are either pinnate or with entire margins and ribbon-shaped and that have syndetocheilic stomata should be placed in the genus Nilssoniopteris .
Geographical and temporal distribution
Nilssoniopteris is a common element in the Jurassic flora of, for example, Sweden, Great Britain, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Greenland. They are rare in North America. Leaf fossils that resemble the genus are also known from the Triassic and Jurassic of the southern hemisphere. Their anatomy is unknown, however, and their systematic classification is therefore uncertain.
supporting documents
- Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, Michael Krings: Paleobotany. The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. 2nd Edition. Academic Press, Amsterdam et al. 2009, ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8 , pp. 691-693.