Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Archaeopteris
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Extinct genus of Devonian vascular plants}} {{About| the ancient plant | the ancient bird-like dinosaur|Archaeopteryx}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Geological range/linked|Late Devonian|Early Carboniferous}} | image = Archaeopteris hibernica 2.JPG | image_caption = ''Archaeopteris hibernica'' | taxon = Archaeopteris | authority = [[John William Dawson|Dawson]] (1871) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *''Archaeopteris fissilis'' *''Archaeopteris gaspiensis'' *''Archaeopteris halliana'' *''Archaeopteris hibernica'' *''Archaeopteris macilenta'' *''Archaeopteris notosaria'' *''Archaeopteris obtusa'' *''Archaeopteris sphenophyllifolia'' }} '''''Archaeopteris''''' is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[progymnosperm]] tree with [[fern]]-like leaves. A useful [[List of index fossils|index fossil]], this tree is found in [[Stratum|strata]] dating from the Upper [[Devonian]] to Lower [[Carboniferous]] ({{Period span/brief|Upper Devonian|Lower Carboniferous}}), the oldest fossils being 385 million years old,<ref>[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/oldest-forest-in-new-york Fossilized Roots Are Revealing the Nature of 385-Million-Year-Old Forests]</ref> and had global distribution. Until the 2007 discovery of ''[[Wattieza]]'', many scientists considered ''Archaeopteris'' to be the earliest known tree. Bearing buds, reinforced branch joints, and branched trunks similar to today's [[Woody plant|woody plants]], it is more reminiscent of modern seed-bearing trees than other [[spore]]-bearing [[Taxon|taxa]]. It combines characteristics of woody trees and [[herb]]aceous ferns, and belongs to the progymnosperms, a group of extinct plants more closely related to [[Seed plant|seed plants]] than to ferns, but unlike seed plants, reproducing using spores like ferns. [[File:Archaeopteris reconstruction.jpg|thumb|200px|A reconstruction of ''Archaeopteris macilenta'' from the Late Devonian, Walton Formation of [[Hancock, New York]]]] [[File:Callixylon whiteanum.jpg|thumb|200px|A polished round of permineralised wood of ''Callixylon whiteanum'' from the Late Devonian Woodford Shale of [[Ada, Oklahoma]]]] ==Taxonomy== [[John William Dawson]] described the genus in 1871. The name derives from the [[ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ἀρχαῖος|ἀρχαῖος]]}} (''archaīos'', "ancient"), and {{lang|grc|[[wikt:πτέρις|πτέρις]]}} (''ptéris'', "fern"). ''Archaeopteris'' was originally classified as a [[fern]], and it remained classified so for over 100 years. In 1911, [[Russia]]n paleontologist [[Mikhail Zalessky|Mikhail Dimitrievich Zalessky]] described a new type of [[petrified wood]] from the [[Donets Basin]] in modern [[Ukraine]]. He called the wood ''Callixylon'', though he did not find any structures other than the trunk. The similarity to [[conifer]] wood was recognized. It was also noted that ferns of the genus ''Archaeopteris'' were often found associated with [[fossil]]s of ''Callixylon''. In the 1960s, [[Paleontology|paleontologist]] Charles B. Beck was able to demonstrate that the fossil wood known as ''Callixylon'' and the leaves known as ''Archaeopteris'' were actually part of the same plant.<ref name="Beck1960">{{cite journal |doi = 10.2307/2805124 |author = Beck, CB |year = 1960 |title = The identity of ''Archaeopteris'' and ''Callixylon''. |journal = Brittonia |volume = 12 |issue = 4 |pages = 351–368 |jstor = 2805124|bibcode = 1960Britt..12..351B |s2cid = 27887887 }}</ref><ref name="Beck1962">{{cite journal |doi = 10.2307/2439077 |author = Beck, CB |year = 1962 |title = Reconstruction of ''Archaeopteris'' and further consideration of its phylogenetic position. |jstor = 2439077 |journal = American Journal of Botany |volume = 49 |issue = 4 |pages = 373–382|hdl = 2027.42/141981 |url = https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141981/1/ajb214953.pdf |hdl-access = free }}</ref> It was a plant with a mixture of characteristics not seen in any living plant, a link between true [[gymnosperm]]s and ferns. The genus ''Archaeopteris'' is placed in the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Archaeopteridales]] and [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Archaeopteridaceae]]. The name is similar to that of the first known feathered bird, ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', but in this case refers to the fern-like nature of the plant's [[frond]]s. === Relationship to spermatophytes === ''Archaeopteris'' is a member of a group of free-sporing woody plants called the [[progymnosperm]]s that are interpreted as distant ancestors of the [[gymnosperm]]s. ''Archaeopteris'' reproduced by releasing spores rather than by producing seeds, but some of the species, such as ''Archaeopteris halliana'' were [[Heterospory|heterosporous]], producing two types of spores. This is thought to represent an early step in the evolution of [[vascular plant]]s towards reproduction by seeds,<ref name=bateman>{{cite journal|title=Heterospory - the most iterative key innovation in the evolutionary history of the plant kingdom|journal=Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society|year=1994|first=R.M.|last=Bateman|author2=W.A. Dimichele|volume=69|issue=3|pages=345–417|doi=10.1111/j.1469-185x.1994.tb01276.x|s2cid=29709953|url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/7107/1/paleo_1994_BatemanDiMichele_Heterospory_BiolRev_small.pdf|access-date=2010-12-30|archive-date=2012-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415114935/http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/7107/1/paleo_1994_BatemanDiMichele_Heterospory_BiolRev_small.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> which first appeared in the earliest, long-extinct gymnosperm group, the seed ferns ([[Pteridospermatophyta]]). The [[conifer]]s or Pinophyta are one of four divisions of extant gymnosperms that arose from the seed ferns during the Carboniferous period. == Description == <gallery> File:Archaeopteris halliana.jpg|''A. halliana'' File:Archaeopteris macilenta sterile.jpg|''A. macilenta'' File:Archaeopteris (Progymnosperm) twigs and leaves.jpg|''A. notosaria'' </gallery>The trees of this genus typically grew to {{cvt|24|m|-1}} in height<ref name=Beck62>{{cite journal|author=Beck, C.|date=1962|title=Reconstructions of ''Archaeopteris'', and further consideration of its phylogenetic position|journal=American Journal of Botany|volume=49|issue=4 |pages=373–382|jstor=2439077|doi=10.1002/j.1537-2197.1962.tb14953.x|hdl=2027.42/141981|hdl-access=free}}</ref> with leafy foliage reminiscent of some conifers. The large fern-like [[frond]]s were thickly set with fan-shaped leaflets or pinnae. The trunks of some species exceeded {{cvt|1.5|m|ft|0}} in diameter. The branches were borne in spiral arrangement, and a forked stipule was present at the base of each branch.<ref name=Beck62/> Within a branch, leafy shoots were in opposite arrangement in a single plane. On fertile branches, some of the leaves were replaced by sporangia (spore capsules). == Other modern adaptations == Aside from its woody trunk, ''Archaeopteris'' possessed other modern adaptations to light interception and perhaps to seasonality as well. The large umbrella of fronds seems to have been quite optimized for light interception at the canopy level. In some species, the pinnules were shaped and oriented to avoid shading one another. There is evidence{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} that whole fronds were shed together as single units, perhaps seasonally like modern [[deciduous]] foliage or like trees in the cypress family [[Cupressaceae]]. The plant had nodal zones that would have been important sites for the subsequent development of lateral roots and branches. Some branches were latent and adventitious, similar to those produced by living trees that eventually develop into roots. Before this time, shallow, [[Rhizome|rhizomatous]] roots had been the norm, but with ''Archaeopteris'', deeper root systems were being developed that could support ever higher growth. == Habitat == Evidence indicates that ''Archaeopteris'' preferred wet [[soil]]s, growing close to [[river]] systems and in [[floodplain]] woodlands. It would have formed a significant part of the canopy vegetation of early forests. Speaking of the first appearance of ''Archaeopteris'' on the world-scene, Stephen Scheckler, a professor of biology and geological sciences at [[Virginia Tech|Virginia Polytechnic Institute]], says, "When [''Archaeopteris''] appears, it very quickly became the dominant tree all over the Earth. On all of the land areas that were habitable, they all had this tree".<ref name=Nix>{{cite web|last1=Nix|first1=Steve|title=Archaeopteris - The First "True" Tree|url=http://forestry.about.com/cs/ancientforests/a/archaeo_tree.htm|website=Forestry.about.com|access-date=2014-10-05|archive-date=2016-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616155916/http://forestry.about.com/cs/ancientforests/a/archaeo_tree.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> One species, ''Archaeopteris notosaria'', has even been reported from within what was then the Antarctic Circle: leaves and fertile structures were identified from the [[Waterloo Farm lagerstätte]] in what is now South Africa.<ref>Anderson, H. M., Hiller, N. and Gess, R. W.(1995). Archaeopteris (Progymnospermopsida) from the Devonian of southern Africa. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 117, 305–320.</ref> Scheckler believes that ''Archaeopteris'' had a major role in transforming its environment. "Its litter fed the streams and was a major factor in the evolution of freshwater fishes, whose numbers and varieties exploded in that time, and influenced the evolution of other marine ecosystems. It was the first plant to produce an extensive root system, so had a profound impact on soil chemistry. And once these ecosystem changes happened, they were changed for all time. It was a one-time thing."<ref name=Virginia>Virginia Tech, [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/04/990422060147.htm "Earliest Modern Tree Lived 360-345 Million Years Ago," ''ScienceDaily''], 22 April 1999</ref> Looking roughly like a top-heavy [[Christmas tree]], ''Archaeopteris'' may have played a part in the transformation of Earth's [[climate]] during the Devonian before becoming extinct within a short period of time at the beginning of the Carboniferous period. == See also == {{Portal|Paleontology}} * ''[[Calamites]]'' * ''[[Glossopteris]]'' * ''[[Lyginopteris]]'' == References == {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20041210054209/http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/kerp/seite4.html History of Paleozoic Forests: the Early Forests and the Progymnosperms] * [http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003AM/finalprogram/abstract_65680.htm Consequences of Rapid Expansion of Late Devonian Forests, by Stephen E. Scheckler] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716212255/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003AM/finalprogram/abstract_65680.htm |date=2012-07-16 }} * Walker, Cyril and [[David Ward (paleontologist)|David Ward]]. ''Fossils''. Smithsonian Handbooks. Dorling Kindersley, Inc. New York, NY (2002). * Mayr, Helmut. ''A Guide to Fossils''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ (1992). * [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/seedplants/progymnosperms.html Introduction to the Progymnosperms] * Davis, Paul and Kenrick, Paul; ''Fossil Plants''. Smithsonian Books (in association with the Natural History Museum of London), Washington, D.C. (2004). {{ISBN|1-58834-156-9}} {{Geology of South Africa|paleontology}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q134691}} [[Category:Late Devonian plants]] [[Category:Carboniferous plants]] [[Category:Late Devonian first appearances]] [[Category:Mississippian genus extinctions]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1871]] [[Category:Paleozoic life of Alberta]] [[Category:Paleozoic life of Nunavut]] [[Category:Paleozoic life of Quebec]] [[Category:Prehistoric plant genera]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:About
(
edit
)
Template:Automatic taxobox
(
edit
)
Template:Citation needed
(
edit
)
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:Cvt
(
edit
)
Template:Geology of South Africa
(
edit
)
Template:ISBN
(
edit
)
Template:Lang
(
edit
)
Template:Period span/brief
(
edit
)
Template:Portal
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)
Template:Taxonbar
(
edit
)
Template:Webarchive
(
edit
)