Palaeoecological constraints of some Lepidostrobus cones and their parent plants from the Late Palaeozoic continental basins of the Czech Republic

A new bisporangiate lycopsid cone genus Thomasostrobus gen. nov. from the Late Pennsylvanian of the Intra-Sudetic Basin (Czech Republic)

“…Their determination has primarily been based only on the cone morphology; however such an approach frequently resulted in misinterpretation. This was confirmed when several isolated specimens assigned to the same species provided different spores, or when similar cones were found in organic connection with different types of leafy shoots (Bek & Opluštil 2004. This proved that general morphology is often insufficient for precise determination of isolated cones especially in compression specimens.…”

“…On the other hand, in situ spores are often successfully released from lycopsid strobilus, thus providing a very helpful tool for more precise identification of isolated cones. Therefore, in situ spores often serve as one of the main criteria used for generic classification of lycopsid cones (Brack-Hanes & Thomas 1983), and their description is now accepted as an important part of their diagnoses (Chaloner 1953;Thomas & Dytko 1980;Brack-Hanes & Thomas 1983;Bek & Opluštil 2004. Based on spore content, cone morphology and/or anatomy, and type of parent plant, several cone genera born by the tree lycopsids Lepidodendron Until now, only a few bisporangiate Carboniferous arborescent lycopsid cone genera were recognised: Flemingites (Carruthers) Brack-Hanes & Thomas and Moscvostrobus Naugolnykh & Orlova.…”

Some Pennsylvanian arborescent lycopsid cones and their microspores from the British coalfields

“…C and L. sp. D (Bek & Opluštil 2006) and L. nemejcii (Bek & Opluštil 2004). However, these Czech species differ in their cone morphology and cannot be assigned to any of the other species.…”

“…These are discussed in detail by Brack-Hanes & Thomas (1983), Thomas & Brack-Hanes (1991), and Bek & Opluštil (2004. Current concepts of lycopsid cone genera are based not only on cone morphology, but also on whether they are seed-like or free sporing, monosporangiate or bisporangiate, and the types of spores they produced.…”

“…More importantly, the in situ spores of L. obovatus are also different from those of L. boltonensis. Those of the L. obovatus were described by Bek & Opluštil (2004) and compared with the dispersed species Lycospora loganii, which is characterised by narrow cingulum and wide zona.…”