Taxonomic delimitation among Pennsylvanian marattialian fructifications
Sara P. Stubblefield
Ohio Univ., Dep. Bot., Athens, OH, United States
A new species of Scolecopteris is described from an extensive collection of compressed pecopterid foliage from the Upper Pennsylvanian of southeastern Ohio. The sporangial cavities of some specimens are infiltrated with iron pyrite preserving three-dimensional structure and allowing comparison with permineralized Scolecopteris and Acaulangium, as well as with compressed Asterotheca. Examination of synangial symmetry, attachment and construction shows Acaulangium to fall within the range of variation exhibited by currently recognized species of Scolecopteris. Partially permineralized specimens demonstrate the importance of basing taxa on a number of different features in order to include biologically related material and minimize the influence of variation due to preservation.--Modified journal abstract.
This record provided courtesy of AGI/GeoRef.
