A reappraisal of Mississippian (Tournaisian and Visean) adpression floras from central and northwestern Europe

Hübers M, Bomfleur B, Krings M, Pott C, Kerp H

Zusammenfassung

Mississippian plant fossils are generally rare, and in central and northwestern Europe especially Tournaisian to middle Visean fossil floras are restricted to isolated occurrences. While sphenophytes and lycophytes generally are represented by only a few widespread and long-ranging taxa such as Archaeocalamites radiatus, Sphenophyllum tenerrimum and several species of Lepidodendropsis and Lepidodendron, Visean floras in particular show a remarkably high diversity of fern-like foliage, including filiform types (Rhodea, Diplotmema),forms with bipartite fronds (Sphenopteridium, Diplopteridium, Spathulopteris, Archaeopteridium), others with monopodial, pinnate fronds (Anisopteris, Fryopsis) and still others characterized by several-times pinnate fronds (e.g., Adiantites, Triphyllopteris, Sphenopteris, Neuropteris). Most of these leaf types have been interpreted as belonging to early seed ferns, whereas true ferns seem to have been rare or lacking in impression/compression floras. In the upper Visean, two types of plant assemblages can be distinguished, i.e., the northern Kohlenkalk-type and the south-eastern Kulm-type assemblage. Although several compression/impression taxa have been revised inrecent years to provide a more uniform classification, additional parameters such as different modes of preservation and imprecise informationon stratigraphic age hamper detailed interregional comparisons of Mississippian floras.

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