Cheirolepidiaceae

Cheirolepidiaceae is a family of extinct coniferous plants that had a global distribution 259.0 to 61.7 Ma.[1]

Cheirolepidiaceae
Temporal range: Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous
Cheirolepidiaceae in a Danian landscape (reconstruction by F. Guillén)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: †Cheirolepidiaceae
Turutanova-Ketova 1963
Genera
  • †Brachyoxylon
  • †Classopollis
  • †Classostrobus
  • †Cupressinocladus
  • †Dicheiropollis
  • †Frenelopsis
  • †Hirmeriella
  • †Pararaucaria
  • †Pseudofrenelopsis
  • †Watsoniocladus

This family of conifers, superficially similar to Cupressaceae, was a significant part of the flora of the Mesozoic, around 252 to 66 million years ago.[2] They are united by the possession of a distinctive pollen type assigned to the form genus Classopollis. The name Frenelopsidaceae (as a separate family) or "frenelopsids" has been used for a group of Cheirolepidiaceae with jointed stems, thick internode cuticles, sheathing leaf bases and reduced free leaf tips. The leaf morphology has been noted as being similar to that of halophyte Salicornia. Several members of the family appear to have been adapted for semi-arid and coastal settings.[3]

Some species are thought to have been the first plants to be insect pollinated as they occur in association with extinct pollinating scorpionflies.[4]

The family name Hirmeriellaceae is a junior synonym of Cheirolepidiaceae.[5] In 2020, it was suggested that Hirmeriellaceae was the valid name for the family, with Cheirolepidiaceae being invalid.[6]

References
  1. "†family Cheirolepidiaceae". Fossilworks. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. Axsmith, B. J.; Krings, M.; Waselkov, K. (2004). "Conifer pollen cones from the Cretaceous of Arkansas: implications for diversity and reproduction in the Cheirolepidiaceae". Journal of Paleontology. 78 (2): 402–409. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2004)078<0402:CPCFTC>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 11 February 2011.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Escapa, Ignacio; Leslie, Andrew (2017). "A new Cheirolepidiaceae (Coniferales) from the Early Jurassic of Patagonia (Argentina): Reconciling the records of impression and permineralized fossils". American Journal of Botany. 104 (2): 322–334. doi:10.3732/ajb.1600321. ISSN 1537-2197. PMID 28213347.
  4. Ren D, Labandeira CC, Santiago-Blay JA, Rasnitsyn A, Shih CK, Bashkuev A, Logan MA, Hotton CL, Dilcher D. (2009). Probable Pollination Mode Before Angiosperms: Eurasian, Long-Proboscid Scorpionflies. Science, 326 (5954), 840-847.doi:10.1126/science.1178338
  5. Herendeen, P., 2015. Report of the nomenclature committee on fossils. 9. Taxon (64) 6: 1306-1312
  6. Doweld, Alexander B. (October 2020). "The controversial nomenclature of the fossil plant names Cheirolepis , Cheirolepidium and Hirmeriella (Cheirolepidaceae/Cheirolepidiaceae/Hirmeriellaceae)". Taxon. 69 (5): 1092–1098. doi:10.1002/tax.12287. ISSN 0040-0262.


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