Aculea
| Aculea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Drawing of type species Aculea bifida from the protologue of the genus and species[1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Genus: | †Aculea |
Aculea is an extinct genus of ferns known from the Cretaceous period, primarily identified through fossil records in places like Antarctica, Australia, and Patagonia.[2][1][3] Additional mid-Cretaceous fern diversity studies in Patagonia have further documented the stratigraphic context of fern genera, including Aculea, within Cretaceous South American plant assemblages.[4] It includes species such as Aculea acicularis, which formed upright thickets with fronds arising from subterranean rhizomes, often in environments dominated by araucarian trees and other large plants and floodbasins.[2] Its fossils have also been recovered from floodbasin settings, notably from the Eumeralla Formation.[5]
Description
[edit]Fossil evidence suggests that individual plants could grow into dense thickets reaching up to 80 cm in height. A study of the Albian fern flora at Alexander Island in Antarctica placed Aculea within a diverse fern community thriving in Southern Hemisphere Cretaceous forests.[6] The fronds were slender and rigid, bearing narrow, acicular (needle-like) pinnae. This morphology likely provided structural support in open or patchy forest environments.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Douglas, John G. (1973). "The Mesozoic Floras of Victoria, Part 3". Geological Survey of Victoria.
- 1 2 3 Cantrill, David J. (1996-04-01). "Fern thickets from the Cretaceous of Alexander Island, Antarctica containing Alamatus bifarius Douglas and Aculea acicularis sp. nov". Cretaceous Research. 17 (2): 169–182. doi:10.1006/cres.1996.0013. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ↑ Passalia, Mauro G. (2007-10-01). "A mid-Cretaceous flora from the Kachaike Formation, Patagonia, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 28 (5): 830–840. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2006.12.006. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ↑ Passalia, M. G.; Iglesias, A.; Varela, A. N.; Santamarina, P.; Poiré, D. G.; Richiano, S. M. (2018-09-01). "The fern Konijnenburgia alata in the mid-Cretaceous of Patagonia, and the Matoniaceae fossil record". Cretaceous Research. 89: 264–278. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.03.026. hdl:11336/81133. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ↑ Tosolini, Anne-Marie P.; Korasidis, Vera A.; Wagstaff, Barbara E.; Cantrill, David J.; Gallagher, Stephen J.; Norvick, Martin S. (2018-05-01). "Palaeoenvironments and palaeocommunities from Lower Cretaceous high-latitude sites, Otway Basin, southeastern Australia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 496: 62–84. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.017. ISSN 0031-0182.
- ↑ Nagalingum, Nathalie S.; Cantrill, David J. (2015-07-01). "The Albian fern flora of Alexander Island, Antarctica". Cretaceous Research. 55: 303–330. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.02.005. ISSN 0195-6671.