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21.—Morphological and Ontogenetic Reconstructions of Parka decipiens Fleming and Pachytheca Hooker from the Lower Old Red Sandstone, Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

Karl J. Niklas
Karl J. Niklas
Affiliation:
The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, USA.
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Synopsis

Morphological examination of 56 specimens of Parka decipiens suggests that the thallus was dorsiventral with a many layered ventral cell-layer bearing dorsal sporangia originating from both the margin of the thallus and the underlying tissue. A disc-like holdfast is present, suggesting that at maturity Parka was attached to some substrate. Mathematical simulations of growth suggest that sporangia were produced by lateral proliferation of cells, while simulations of the frequency of cell dichotomy indicate that the order of sporangial packing on the dorsal surface is consistent with an underlying pseudoparenchyma. Latex replicas indicate the presence of filament dichotomy and corroborate to some extent the presence of a pseudoparenchyma. Intercalated, anticlinal cell divisions are demonstrated mathematically. Ontogenetic reconstructions of Parka suggest a similarity to the extant green algal genus Coleochaete. Growth stages of Coleochaete in their early stages of development are similar to the fossil Pachytheca, while mathematical and chemical comparison of Pachytheca with those of Parka suggest either a phylogenetic or ontogentic interpretation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 69 , Issue 21 , 1976 , pp. 483 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1976

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