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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

CSPG Special Publications

Abstract


Intl. Symposium of the Devonian system: Papers, Volume II, 1967
Pages 815-822
Palaeontology

Psilophyton: the Genus and the Concept

Francis M. Hueber

Abstract

The broadness and ambiguity of the original description of Psilophyton has made it a ready and convenient receptacle for far too many unidentifiable plant fragments from Devonian sediments. Accordingly, over the years the genus has achieved a doubtful geographic and geologic distribution, as well as a very tenuous position in the early history of vascular land plants. The plant has become a concept and, in turn, has lost its true identity. In the search for some means of establishing the genus on a sound basis, the collections of Sir William Dawson at the Peter Redpath Museum, McGill University, have been examined. No evidence has been found to indicate the existence of the original material described in 1859; only specimens illustrated in 1871, at the time of Dawson’s emendation of the genus, have been located. A neotype has been designated, and detailed studies of new collections of the genus from Gaspe Bay and northern New Brunswick, Canada, clarify the identifying characteristics of the plant. It is hoped this clarification will discourage the use of the genus as a catchall for poorly-preserved, characterless fragments of plant remains found in early Devonian sediments.


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