Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like   plant from the Late Devonian of China

doi:10.1093/aob/mcv049

CORC > 北京大学 > 地球与空间科学学院

	Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China
	Wang, De-Ming ; Xu, Hong-He ; Xue, Jin-Zhuang ; Wang, Qi ; Liu, Le
刊名	ANNALS OF BOTANY
	2015
关键词	Adventitious root atmospheric CO2 euphyllophytes fern-like plants ferns sensu lato fertile organ growth habit Late Devonian leaf evolution monilophyte Shougangia bella stem Wutong Formation SP-NOV SOUTH CHINA ATMOSPHERIC CO2 SEED PLANT GEN CLADOXYLOPSIDA LEAVES VENEZUELA FOSSIL IRIDOPTERIDALES
DOI	10.1093/aob/mcv049
英文摘要	Background and Aims With the exception of angiosperms, the main euphyllophyte lineages (i. e. ferns sensu lato, progymnosperms and gymnosperms) had evolved laminate leaves by the Late Devonian. The evolution of laminate leaves, however, remains unclear for early-diverging ferns, largely represented by fern-like plants. This study presents a novel fern-like taxon with pinnules, which provides new insights into the early evolution of laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. Methods Macrofossil specimens were collected from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Wutong Formation of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, South China. A standard degagement technique was employed to uncover compressed plant portions within the rock matrix. Key Results A new fern-like taxon, Shougangia bella gen. et sp. nov., is described and represents an earlydiverging fern with highly derived features. It has a partially creeping stem with adventitious roots only on one side, upright primary and secondary branches arranged in helices, tertiary branches borne alternately or (sub) oppositely, laminate and usually lobed leaves with divergent veins, and complex fertile organs terminating tertiary branches and possessing multiple divisions and numerous terminal sporangia. Conclusions Shougangia bella provides unequivocal fossil evidence for laminate leaves in early-diverging ferns. It suggests that fern-like plants, along with other euphyllophyte lineages, had independently evolved megaphylls by the Late Devonian, possibly in response to a significant decline in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Among fern-like plants, planate ultimate appendages are homologous with laminate pinnules, and in the evolution of megaphylls, fertile organs tend to become complex.; Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2012CB821900]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [41172007, 41272001]; SCI(E); PubMed; ARTICLE; dmwang@pku.edu.cn; hhxu@nigpas.ac.cn; 7; 1133-1148; 115
语种	英语
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.pku.edu.cn/handle/20.500.11897/419688]
专题	地球与空间科学学院
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Wang, De-Ming,Xu, Hong-He,Xue, Jin-Zhuang,et al. Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China[J]. ANNALS OF BOTANY,2015.
APA	Wang, De-Ming,Xu, Hong-He,Xue, Jin-Zhuang,Wang, Qi,&Liu, Le.(2015).Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China.ANNALS OF BOTANY.
MLA	Wang, De-Ming,et al."Leaf evolution in early-diverging ferns: insights from a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of China".ANNALS OF BOTANY (2015).