''Sphenopteris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

seed fern A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm ...

s containing the

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

of various

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

s, ranging from the Devonian to Late Cretaceous. One species, ''S. höninghausi'', was transferred to the genus ''

Crossotheca ''Crossotheca'' is an extinct genus of seed ferns (Pteridospermatophyta) widespread in coal measures of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic age,Andrews, N. H. (1970). Index of Generic Names of Fossil Plants, 1820-1965. ''Geological Survey Bulleti ...

'' in 1911.

Biology

The

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

of ''Sphenopteris'' could be up to long.

Distribution

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, fossil of

form genus Form classification is the classification of organisms based on their morphology, which does not necessarily reflect their biological relationships. Form classification, generally restricted to palaeontology, reflects uncertainty; the goal of s ...

''Sphenopteris'' was located in outcrop ''Morro Papalé'' in the city of

Mariana Pimentel Mariana Pimentel is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located approximately 75 km from the state's capital, Porto Alegre. Geography Mariana Pimentel belongs to Porto Alegre Metropolitan Mesoregion and to Porto ...

. They are in the geopark Paleorrota in

Rio Bonito Formation The Rio Bonito Formation is a Formation (stratigraphy), geological formation of the Paraná Basin, Paraná and Pelotas Basins of Permian age. It is represented by a succession of cyclic sedimentary packages of sandstones, siltstones and shales whi ...

and date from

Sakmarian In the geologic timescale, the Sakmarian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Sakmarian lasted between 293.52 and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Asselian and followed by t ...

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

.Afloramento Morro do Papaléo, Mariana Pimentel, RS
/ref> Fossils of ''Sphenopteris'' have also been found in the

Valle Alto Formation The Valle Alto Formation ( es, Formación Valle Alto, Jva) is a geological formation of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The formation is composed of shales, sandstones and conglomerates and dates to the Late Jurassic period. Ammonit ...

, Caldas,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, among many other locations.''Sphenopteris''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org

References

External links

Jardin Botanico de Córdoba: Species tables
Pteridospermatophyta Prehistoric plant genera Devonian plants Carboniferous plants Mississippian plants Pennsylvanian plants Permian plants Triassic plants Jurassic plants Early Cretaceous plants Late Devonian first appearances Cretaceous extinctions Prehistoric plants of South America Fossils of Brazil Fossils of Colombia Jurassic Colombia Fossil taxa described in 1825 Fossils of Georgia (U.S. state) Late Cretaceous plants Paleozoic life of New Brunswick Paleozoic life of Newfoundland and Labrador Paleozoic life of Nova Scotia Paleozoic life of Nunavut {{cretaceous-plant-stub