Tetraxylopteris Schmidtii Gen. Et sp. Nov., A Probable Pteridosperm Precursor from the Devonian of New York

Beck, Carl

doi:10.2307/2438387

Cited by 49 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…However, his destructive techniques, involving etching with HNO 3 and subsequent grinding, were first superceded by those involving resin embedding, serial sectioning, and polishing (Beck 1957;Edwards 1970b) and then by the adoption of mineralogical approaches involving polishing with diamond paste (Figure 5f, g), etching, and scanning electron microscopy (Kenrick and Edwards 1988a; Figure 5h). Such approaches allowed development of a hypothesis relating to the fossilization process and the distribution of the recalcitrant polymer lignin.…”

Section: Pyritementioning

confidence: 99%

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Edwards

Richardson

2004

Geological Journal

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A comprehensive survey of plant assemblages from Upper Silurian (Gorstian-Pȓídolí) and Lower Devonian (LochkovianPragian) localities in South Wales and the Welsh Borderland is presented, together with some comments on recent improvements in dating and correlation. Spore assemblages provide a stratigraphic framework for plant evolutionary studies and, along with microvertebrates, enable correlation from continental to marine rocks, i.e. near-shore to shelf deposits. While it is recognized that the assemblages provide the most complete and extensive record of the history of vascular plants in a restricted geographical area during the time interval, it seems likely that major evolutionary innovation occurred elsewhere. The plants themselves display a number of types of fossilization. Particularly important are the pyrite permineralizations which have helped in the elucidation of the ultrastructure of tracheids in early vascular plants. Minute, coalified, relatively uncompressed fossils (mesofossils) from the Pȓídolí Lochkovian of the Welsh Borderland are hypothesized to be the products of wildfire, the earliest records to date. In addition to displaying often exquisite anatomical detail, the sporangia contain spores which have been linked to those in dispersed assemblages. Such relationships are helpful in the reconstruction of local and regional vegetation, even in the absence of meso-and megafossils. However, because these fossils are allochthonous and preserved in fluvial sediments, the habitats of the plants remain uncertain. A new hypothesis suggests that interfluvial areas, where calcretes are interpreted as relicts of vertisols and a seasonally dry climate, provided refugia in the Lower Devonian for the cryptosporeproducing plants which dominated Ordovician and Lower Silurian land vegetation, while vascular plants colonized areas in the immediate vicinity of rivers. Variation in regional vegetation is explored via comparisons of composition of spore assemblages in southern Britain and Scotland and timing of appearances of derived taxa, integrated with limited information on the spore producers.

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Section: Pyritementioning

confidence: 99%

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Edwards

Richardson

2004

Geological Journal

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“…Only a small part of the potential information in these specimens was recovered by these early studies, however, because of limitations in the techniques and methodology employed. Beck's (1957) study of Tetraxylopteris provided the first clear example of the wealth of information which can be extracted from pyrite permineralizations when analyzed carefully in three planes of section. Since then, there has been a progressive increase in the utilization of pyritic specimens in analysis of the systematics and morphology of fossil plants (Beck, 1960;Carluccio et al, 1966;Marten, 1968;Stockmans, 1968;Scheckler and Banks, 1971a, b;Mustafa, 1975;Grierson, 1976;Bonamo, 1977;Serlin and Banks, 1978;Gensel, 1979;Stein, 1981; to name only a few of many possible examples).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techniques for preparation of pyrite and limonite permineralizations

Stein

Wight

Beck

1982

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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Procedures are presented for the preparation of fine-polished surfaces of pyrite permineralizations, and demineralized thin-sections of limonite permineralizations. A major new feature in both procedures involves the re-embedding in plastic of individual cut sections in order to promote stability of the often crumbly material during further preparation. Pyrite sections are kept flat during polymerization of the plastic by means of a binder clip press. The technique for limonite permineralizations is characterized by the use of plastic not only for re,embedding individual sections but also for adhesion of sections to glass slides. Following this, sections are ground thin and demineralized with hydrochloric acid. We strongly recommend use of the thin-section technique for all studies utilizing limonite permineralizations because this method permits a much greater resolution of detail than is possible with other methods. INTRODUCTIONOne of the major problems in studying the internal structure of Devonian plants has been a lack of consistently reliable techniques for recovering the maximum information from fossils permineralized by pyrite (iron sulfides) and limonite (hydrated iron oxides), the most common forms of preservation in these plants.Pyritic specimens have contributed to paleobotanical knowledge for at least half a century. One of the early contributions was the study of the internal structure of Aneurophyton germanicum from the Middle Devonian of the Rhineland by Kr~iusel and Weyland (1929). Soon, thereafter, studies by Arnold (1935Arnold ( , 1940 and Read (1938) of pyritic Middle Devonian axes (Iridopteris, Reimannia, Arachnoxylon, Triloboxylon and others) from New York further emphasized the importance of this form of preservation. Only a small part of the potential information in these specimens was recovered by these early studies, however, because of limitations in the techniques and methodology employed.0034--6667/82/0000--0000/$02.75

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“…An example of contrasting approaches with convergent conclusions is demonstrated for the relatively well-known Middle Devonian aneurophytalean progymnosperm Tetraxylopteris schmidtii Beck (Beck, 1957), which was originally reconstructed as a small tree, perhaps as much as 3 m in height. Speck and Rowe (2003) studied the plant's anatomy in addition to growth architecture and concluded that it was not likely to have been self-supporting.…”

Section: Paleoautecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Paleoecology in Deep Time¹

DiMichele¹,

Gastaldo²

2008

Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden

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The paleoecology of plants as a modern discipline, distinct from traditional floristics or biostratigraphy, has undergone an enormous expansion in the past 20 years. In addition to baseline studies characterizing extinct plants and plant assemblages in terms of their growth habits, environmental preferences, and patterns of association, paleoecology has converged on neoecology and represents a means to extend our basic understanding of the world and to contribute to the theoretical framework of ecology, writ large. Reconstruction of whole plants, including studies of physiology and developmental biology, and analyses of biomechanics have become mainstays of autecological studies. Assemblage studies now are informed by sophisticated taphonomic models that have helped guide sampling strategies and helped with the interpretation of statistical data. Linkages of assemblage patterns in space and time with sedimentology, geochemical proxies for atmospheric composition and climate, paleosol analyses, and increasingly refined geochronological and sequence stratigraphic data have permitted paleoecologists to examine rates and extents of vegetational response to environmental change and to time intervals of quiescent climatic conditions. Studies of plant-animal interaction, explicit consideration of phylogenetic information in assessing assemblage time-space dynamics, and examination of ecological structure in terms of developing metabolic scaling theory are all having direct impact on paleoecological as well as neoecological studies. The growth of paleoecology shows no sign of diminishment-closer linkages with neoecology are needed.

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Tetraxylopteris Schmidtii Gen. Et sp. Nov., A Probable Pteridosperm Precursor from the Devonian of New York

Cited by 49 publications

References 11 publications

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Techniques for preparation of pyrite and limonite permineralizations

Plant Paleoecology in Deep Time¹

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Tetraxylopteris Schmidtii Gen. Et sp. Nov., A Probable Pteridosperm Precursor from the Devonian of New York

Cited by 49 publications

References 11 publications

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Silurian and Lower Devonian plant assemblages from the Anglo‐Welsh Basin: a palaeobotanical and palynological synthesis

Techniques for preparation of pyrite and limonite permineralizations

Plant Paleoecology in Deep Time1

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Plant Paleoecology in Deep Time¹