Nilssonia (plant)

Nilssonia is a genus of fossil foliage traditionally assigned to the Cycadophyta either in Cycadales or their own order Nilssoniales, though the relationships of this genus with the cycadales have been put into question on chemical grounds.[1]

Nilssonia
Temporal range: Triassic to Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Spermatophyta
Division:
Cycadophyta
Order:
Nilssoniales
Genus:
Nilssonia

(Brongniart), 1825.
Species
  • N. brevis (Type species)
  • N. compta
  • N. eskensis
  • N. gristhorpensis
  • N. kendalli
  • N. lunzensis
  • N. neuberi
  • N. tenuicaulis
  • N. tenuinervis

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by Brongniart[2] under the name Nilsonia based on material from the Hettangian of Scania. The spelling of the name (a dedication to Sven Nilsson) was later corrected to Nilssonia.[3] The diagnosis of the genus, initially based on the pinnate Nilssonia brevis, was later amended to include entire-margined and irregularly segmented species as well as information on the cuticle.[4][5]

Description

Nilssonia leaves can have entire margins, irregularly dissected margins or clearly divided leaflets. The lamina or the leaflets are attached to the midrib or rachis on the 'upper' (adaxial) side of the leaf, unlike in other similar genera such as Taeniopteris. Parallel veins exit the midrib, with no fusion of veins.

Distribution

Fossils of Nilssonia are found in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous-aged terrestrial strata of East Asia, Australia, North and South America, and Europe.[6][7][8]

The distribution of this genus in the Northern Hemisphere extented to low latitudes in Europe and Asia during the Triassic to Middle Jurassic. During the Late Jurassic, the distribution of Nilssonia contracted to higher latitudes in the Siberian area, where the genus persisted up to the Late Cretaceous.[9]

References
  1. Vajda, Vivi; Pucetaite, Milda; McLoughlin, Stephen; Engdahl, Anders; Heimdal, Jimmy; Uvdal, Per (August 2017). "Molecular signatures of fossil leaves provide unexpected new evidence for extinct plant relationships". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1 (8): 1093–1099. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0224-5. ISSN 2397-334X.
  2. Brongniart, Adolphe (1825). "Observations sur les végétaux fossiles renfermé dans les Grès de Hoer en Scanie". Annales des Sciences Naturelles (in French). 4: 200–224.
  3. Bronn, Heinrich Georg (1834). Lethaea geognostica oder Abbildungen und Beschreibungen der für die Gebirgs-Formationen bezeichnendsten Versteinerungen (in German). Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart's Verlagshandlung. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.59080.
  4. Harris, Thomas Maxwell; Miller, José; Millington, Wendy (1961). The Yorkshire Jurassic flora. London: British Museum (Natural History). doi:10.5962/bhl.title.118957.
  5. van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, Johanna H.A.; Pott, Christian; Cleal, Christopher J.; Zijlstra, Gea (February 2017). "Differentiation of the fossil leaves assigned to Taeniopteris, Nilssoniopteris and Nilssonia with a comparison to similar genera". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 237: 100–106. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2016.11.009.
  6. Pott, Christian; Kerp, Hans; Krings, Michael (2007). "Morphology and epidermal anatomy of Nilssonia (cycadalean foliage) from the Upper Triassic of Lunz (Lower Austria)". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 143 (3–4): 197–217. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.07.007.
  7. Cleal, Christopher J; Rees, P. Mcallister; Zijlstra, Gea; Cantrill, David J (2006). "A Clarification of the Type of Nilssoniopteris Nathorst (Fossil Gymnospermophyta, Bennettitales)". Taxon. 55 (1): 219–22. doi:10.2307/25065546. hdl:1874/307500. JSTOR 25065546.
  8. "The Cycads, Cycadeoids (Bennettitales) and Ginkgophytes". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
  9. Vakhrameev, V. A. (1987-01-01). "Climates and the distribution of some gymsosperms in Asia during the Jurassic and Cretaceous". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 51 (1): 205–212. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(87)90030-3. ISSN 0034-6667.
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