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| − | + | [[File:Glossopterisrendition.jpg|thumb|Artist's rendition]]'''''Glossopteris''''' is the largest seed fern that ever existed. It lived in the Permian period. |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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''Glossopteris'' was a woody tree, and some examples grew to over 30 meters in height. They had large, broad leaves which are commonly preserved as fossils.<ref>Pigg, K.B. & McLoughlin, S. 1997. Anatomically preserved Glossopteris leaves from the Bowen and Sydney basins, Australia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 97: 339-359.</ref> Their exact appearance in full is uncertain, because complete trees have not been found. |
''Glossopteris'' was a woody tree, and some examples grew to over 30 meters in height. They had large, broad leaves which are commonly preserved as fossils.<ref>Pigg, K.B. & McLoughlin, S. 1997. Anatomically preserved Glossopteris leaves from the Bowen and Sydney basins, Australia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 97: 339-359.</ref> Their exact appearance in full is uncertain, because complete trees have not been found. |
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Revision as of 07:17, 14 March 2018
Artist's rendition
Glossopteris is the largest seed fern that ever existed. It lived in the Permian period.
Description
Glossopteris was a woody tree, and some examples grew to over 30 meters in height. They had large, broad leaves which are commonly preserved as fossils.[1] Their exact appearance in full is uncertain, because complete trees have not been found.
Distribution
Glossopteris fossils are found on nearly all continents in the Southern Hemisphere. This distribution led many to present it as evidence for continental drift, as it was likely that the tree originated on one landmass that later split into many different ones.[2] This proposed supercontinent was called Gondwana, and existed as part of Pangaea.
History
Glossopteris was first described in 1828 as a type of fern.[3]
References
- ↑ Pigg, K.B. & McLoughlin, S. 1997. Anatomically preserved Glossopteris leaves from the Bowen and Sydney basins, Australia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 97: 339-359.
- ↑ McLoughlin, S., Lindström, S. & Drinnan, A.N. 1997. Gondwanan floristic and sedimentological trends during the Permian-Triassic transition: new evidence from the Amery Group, northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 9: 281-298.
- ↑ Brongniart, A., 1828a-38: Histoire des végétaux fossiles on reserches botaniques et géologiques sur les végéfyhtaux renfermés dans les diverses couches du globe. G. Dufour & Ed. D'Ocagne, Paris. XII+488 pp. (Vol. I) / Crochard et Compagnie, Paris. 72 pp. (Vol. II).