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VALLITHECA VALENTIA GEN. ET SP. NOV., PERMINERALIZED SYNANGIA FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF OKLAHOMA
Author(s) -
Mapes Gene,
Schabilion J. T.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1981.tb07830.x
Subject(s) - sporangium , pennsylvanian , biology , fern , fructification , botany , paleontology , spore , structural basin
Vallitheca valentia gen. et sp. nov. is a permineralized, synangiate fructification of probable seed fern affinities from the Wewoka Formation (Desmoinesian) near Ada, Oklahoma. Synangia are oblong to pyriform, average 1 cm long, and contain 32 to 48 tubular sporangia embedded proximally in ground tissue. The sporangia are arranged within the synangia in a unique pattern: a ring of peripheral sporangia dehisces toward the center of the synangium and a central group of sporangia dehisces outward. This unique arrangement is unlike that of any currently recognized group.