Spongiophyton
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Spongiophyton is a fossil from the Devonian , which is known from various sites around the world. It has been interpreted as a colony-forming animal , an alga , a vascular plant and a moss .
The specimens are around 2.5 cm long and consist of branched axes with rounded ends. One side of the thallus has circular pores 200 to 300 micrometers in diameter. These are compared to the pores of modern liverworts such as Marchantia . They could have been used for gas exchange and possibly represent a transition stage in the evolution of stomata . Their presence also led to the interpretation that Spongiophyton grew in a dry environment. This is also supported by the presence of a cuticle or cuticle-like surface layer covering the thallus. On the side with the pores, this layer is three times as thick as on the other side without pores.
Neither internal tissues nor reproductive organs are known.
supporting documents
- Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, Michael Krings: Paleobotany. The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants . Second Edition, Academic Press 2009, ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8 , pp. 185f.