Abstract
Seed plants with ovules were abundant in the Late Devonian of Euramerica and they contribute significantly to our understanding of their early history. However, coeval ovules have been scarce in other regions of the world. Specimens of the seed plant Cosmosperma polyloba gen. et sp. nov. Wang et al. were recently obtained from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Wutong Formation, at Fanwan Village, Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, China. This new seed plant has cupulate ovules, the uniovulate cupules with up to 16 distal segments and with minute spines on the outer surface, synangiate pollen organs bearing six to eight microsporangia fused only at the base, and planate and highly dissected pinnules in alternate arrangement. It differs from other Devonian seed plants mainly in the organization and position of the uniovulate and ornamented cupule, and in the highly dissected pinnules. Cosmosperma Wang et al. represents the first Devonian ovules recovered from China or eastern Asia and further illustrates the diversity of early spermatophytes. As for the Late Devonian seed plants, it is suggested that the pollen organs are synangiate and simple in organization, and the branches and leaves are generally planate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beck CB, Wight DC (1988) Progymnosperms. In: Beck CB (ed) Origin and evolution of gymnosperms. Columbia University Press, New York, pp1-84
Chaloner WG, Hill JA, Lacey WS (1977) First Devonian platyspermic seed and its implications in gymnosperm evolution. Nature 265:233–235
Cressler WL, Prestianni C, LePage BA (2010) Late Devonian spermatophyte diversity and paleoecology at Red Hill, north-central Pennsylvania, USA. Int J Coal Geol 83:91–102
Fairon-Demaret M (1996) Dorinnotheca streelii Fairon-Demaret, gen. et sp. nov., a new early seed plant from the upper Famennian of Belgium. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 93:217–233
Fairon-Demaret M, Scheckler SE (1987) Typification and redescription of Moresnetia zalesskyi Stockmans, 1948, an early seed plant from the Upper Famennian of Belgium. Bull Inst R Sci Nat Belg Sci Terre 57:183–199
Galtier J (2010) The origins and early evolution of the megaphyllous leaf. Int J Plant Sci 171:641–661
Gerrienne P, Meyer-Berthaud B, Fairon-Demaret M, Streel M, Steemans P (2004) Runcaria, a Middle Devonian seed plant precursor. Science 306:856–858
Hao S-G, Gensel PG (1995) A new genus and species, Celatheca beckii, from the Siegenian (Early Devonian) of southeastern Yunnan, China. Int J Plant Sci 156:896–909
Hao S-G, Xue J-Z (2013a) The Early Devonian Posongchong flora of Yunnan—a contribution to an understanding of the evolution and early diversification of vascular plants. Science Press, Beijing
Hao S-G, Xue J-Z (2013b) Earliest record of megaphylls and leafy structures, and their initial diversification. Chin Sci Bull 58:2784–2793
Hilton J (1999) Late Devonian plant assemblage from the Avon Gorge, west England: taxonomic, phylogenetic and stratigraphic implications. Bot J Linn Soc 129:1–54
Hilton J (2006) Cupulate seed plants from the Upper Devonian Upper Old Red Sandstone at Taffs Well, South Wales. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 142:137–151
Hilton J, Edwards D (1996) A new Late Devonian acupulate preovule from the Taff Gorge, South Wales. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 93:235–252
Jennings JR (1976) The morphology and relationships of Rhodea, Telangium, Telangiopsis, and Heterangium. Amer J Bot 63:1119–1133
Klavins SD, Matten LC (1996) Reconstruction of the frond of Laceya hibernica, a lyginopterid pteridosperm from the uppermost Devonian of Ireland. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 93:253–268
Li X-X, Cai C-Y, Ouyang S (1984) Recent advances in the study of the Wutong Formation of the Lower Yangtze Valley. Bull Chin Acad Geol Sci 9:119–136
Matten LC, Fine TI (1994) Telangium schweitzeri sp. nov.: a gymnosperm pollen organ from the Upper Devonian of Ireland. Palaeontogr Abt B 232:15–33
May BI, Matten LC (1983) A probable pteridosperm from the uppermost Devonian near Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Bot J Linn Soc 86:103–123
Meyer-Berthaud B (1989) First gymnosperm fructifications with trilete prepollen. Palaeontogr Abt B 211:87–112
Millay MA, Taylor TN (1979) Paleozoic seed fern pollen organs. Bot Rev 45:301–375
Oliver FW, Scott DH (1905) On the structure of the Palaeozoic seed Lagenostoma lomaxi, with a statement of the evidence upon which it is referred to Lyginodendron. Phil Trans R Soc London B 197:193–247
Pettitt JM, Beck CB (1967) Seed from the Upper Devonian. Science 156:1727–1729
Pettitt JM, Beck CB (1968) Archaeosperma arnoldii—a cupulate seed from the Upper Devonian of North America. Contrib Mus Paleontol Univ Michigan 22:139–154
Prestianni C, Gerrienne P (2006) Lectotypification of the Famennian pre-ovule Condrusia rumex Stockmans, 1948. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 142:161–164
Prestianni C, Decombeix A, Thorez J, Fokan D, Gerrienne P (2010) Famennian charcoal of Belgium. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 291:60–71
Prestianni C, Hilton J, Cressler W (2013) Were all Devonian seeds cupulate? A reinvestigation of Pseudosporogonites hallei, Xenotheca bertrandii, and Aglosperma spp. Int J Plant Sci 174:832–851
Rothwell GW, Scheckler SE (1988) Biology of ancestral gymnosperms. In: Beck CB (ed) Origin and evolution of gymnosperms. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 85–134
Rothwell GW, Wight D (1989) Pullaritheca longii gen. nov. and Kerryia mattenii gen. et sp. nov., Lower Carboniferous cupules with ovules of the Hydrasperma tenuis-type. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 60:295–309
Rothwell GW, Scheckler SE, Gillespie WH (1989) Elkinsia gen. nov., a Late Devonian gymnosperm with cupulate ovules. Bot Gaz 150:170–189
Rowe NP (1997) Late Devonian winged preovules and their implications for the adaptive radiation of early seed plants. Palaeontology 40:575–595
Rowe NP, Galtier J (1990) A Lower Carboniferous plant assemblage from La Serre (Montagne Noire, France). Part II. Gymnosperms. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 63:91–115
Schweitzer HJ, Matten LC (1982) Aneurophyton germanicum and Protopteridium thomsonii from the Middle Devonian of Germany. Palaeontogr Abt B 184:65–106
Scheckler SE, Banks HP (1971a) Anatomy and relationships of some Devonian progymnosperms from New York. Amer J Bot 58:737–751
Scheckler SE, Banks HP (1971b) Proteokalon, a new genus of progymnosperms from the Devonian of New York State and its bearing on phylogenetic trends in the group. Amer J Bot 58:874–884
Serbet R, Rothwell GW (1992) Characterizing the most primitive seed ferns. I. A reconstruction of Elkinsia polymorpha. Int J Plant Sci 153:602–621
Stockmans F (1948) Végétaux du Dévonien Supérieur de la Belgique. Mém Mus R Hist Nat Belg 110:1–85
Taylor TN, Taylor EL, Krings M (2009) Paleobotany: the biology and evolution of fossil plants, 2nd edn. Academic Press, Burlington
Wang D-M, Meng M-C, Xue J-Z, Basinger JF, Guo Y, Liu L (2014) Changxingia longifolia gen. et sp. nov., a new lycopsid from the Late Devonian of Zhejiang Province, South China. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 203:35–47
Wang Y (2000) Kongshania gen. nov. A new plant from the Wutung Formation (Upper Devonian) of Jiangning County, Jiangsu, China. Acta Palaeontol Sin 39:42–56
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Qi D-L (Anhui Geological Survey, Hefei) and Xiong C-H (Peking University) for much help in fieldwork and James Basinger (University of Saskatchewan) for his invaluable advice. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41172007) and the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB821900) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by: Sven Thatje
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, D., Liu, L., Meng, M. et al. Cosmosperma polyloba gen. et sp. nov., a seed plant from the Upper Devonian of South China. Naturwissenschaften 101, 615–622 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1187-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1187-x