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<meta content="Hill, Robert S." name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="Jordan, Gregory J." name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="bob.hill@utas.edu.au" name="eprints.creators_id" />
<meta content="greg.jordan@utas.edu.au" name="eprints.creators_id" />
<meta content="McCarthy, Patrick M." name="eprints.editors_name" />
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<meta content="2007-09-10" name="eprints.datestamp" />
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<meta content="The Fossil Record of Ferns and Fern Allies in Australia" name="eprints.title" />
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<meta content="260112" name="eprints.subjects" />
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<meta content="260113" name="eprints.subjects" />
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<meta content="pteridophytes, Australia, palynomorphs, macrofossils, spores, palynology, extinction, evolution" name="eprints.keywords" />
<meta content="Flora of Australia series is co-published by CSIRO PUBLISHING and the Australian Biological Resources Study." name="eprints.note" />
<meta content="Chapter Introduction: There is an excellent fossil record of ferns in Australia, and it provides an important source of
information on the phylogeny and biogeography of living ferns. The most important elements of the
fossil record are spores, sterile and fertile frond compressions and impressions, and the relatively
rare but highly informative petrified remains, usually rhizomes and stems. Because ferns are such
an ancient group of plants, much of the record cannot be applied directly to the extant flora.
Although this causes problems in interpreting the fossil record, and affinities often remain unclear,
the record relevant to living taxa is still imposing.
Pteridophyte spores are well-preserved and frequently seen in a wide range of sediments and are of
considerable taxonomic significance. Indeed, not only can spore wall ornamentation often be
observed, ultrastructural features may also be visible. One limit to the taxonomic value of the spore
record is the considerable convergence in spore morphology and anatomy in fossil and extant
pteridophytes, especially ferns. The consequent problems with the identification of dispersed fossil
spores are exacerbated by the frequent loss of the diagnostically important exospore.
Fragments of vegetative fronds are comparatively uncommon in the fossil record. However, while
these can sometimes be assigned to genera or families, identification is often impossible, because
available characters such as frond shape and venation show considerable convergence. Conversely,
fertile fronds tend to be much more useful, and those with in situ spores are among the most
confidently and precisely identified of all plant fossils, as well as being useful in confirming or
disproving the identity of dispersed fossil spores (e.g. Jordan et al., 1996). Tree fern stems and
rhizomes are beautifully petrified under some special conditions that are still not fully understood
and these can often be confidently identified.
In this brief review we concentrate on fossils that bear directly on living ferns and their allies, and
we provide examples that demonstrate particularly interesting biogeography or palaeoecology.
While many of the early fern-like fossils appear quite similar to living forms (e.g. Baragwanathia
W.H.Lang & Cookson and some extant Lycopodium species), these will not be dealt with here
because they are too remote from the living flora to be significant. Although the dispersed spore
record is difficult to summarise, we direct interested readers to the review articles of Dettmann
(1994) and Macphail et al. (1994) on the dispersed spore record and the role of ferns and fern allies
in the Australian flora over the last 100 million years or so." name="eprints.abstract" />
<meta content="1998" name="eprints.date" />
<meta content="published" name="eprints.date_type" />
<meta content="48" name="eprints.number" />
<meta content="CSIRO Publishing" name="eprints.publisher" />
<meta content="Canberra" name="eprints.place_of_pub" />
<meta content="29-36" name="eprints.pagerange" />
<meta content="UNSPECIFIED" name="eprints.thesis_type" />
<meta content="TRUE" name="eprints.refereed" />
<meta content="0643059717" name="eprints.isbn" />
<meta content="Flora of Australia" name="eprints.book_title" />
<meta content="http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/22/sid/6.htm" name="eprints.official_url" />
<meta content="Balme, B.E. (1995), Fossil in situ spores and pollen grains: an annotated catalogue, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 87: 81-323.
Blackburn, D.T. & Sluiter, I.R.K. (1994), The Oligo-Miocene coal floras of southeastern Australia, in R.S.Hill (ed.), History of the Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent, pp. 328-367. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Carpenter, R.J. (1988), Early Tertiary Tmesipteris (Psilotaceae) macrofossil from Tasmania, Austral. Syst. Bot. 1: 171-176.
Carpenter, R.J., Hill, R.S. & Jordan, G.J. (1994), Cenozoic vegetation in Tasmania: Macrofossil evidence, in R.S.Hill (ed.), History of Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent, pp. 276-298. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Churchill, D.M. (1969), The fossil occurrence of Lygodium in Australia, Neues Jahrb. Geol. Palkontol., Monatsh. 5: 257-265.
Dettmann, M.E. (1986), Significance of the Cretaceous-Tertiary spore genus Cyatheacidites in tracing the origin and migration of Lophosoria (Filicopsida), Special Pap. Palaeontol. 35: 63-94.
Dettmann, M.E. (1994), Cretaceous vegetation: the microfossil record, in R.S.Hill (ed.), History of Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent, pp. 143-170, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Dettmann, M.E. & Clifford, H.T. (1991) Spore morphology of Anemia, Mohria, and Ceratopteris (Filicales), Amer. J. Bot. 78: 303-325.
Dettmann, M.E. & Clifford, H.T. (1992), Phylogeny and biogeography of Ruffordia, Mohria and Anemia (Schizaeaceae) and Ceratopteris (Pteridaceae): evidence from in situ and dispersed spores, Alcheringa 16: 269-314.
Drinnan, A.N. & Chambers, T.C. (1986), Flora of the lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed (Korumburra Group), South Gippsland, Victoria, in P.A.Jell & J.Roberts (eds), Plants and Invertebrates from the Lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed, South Gippsland, Victoria, Mem. Assoc. Australas. Palaeontologists 3: 1-72.
Gould, R.E. (1970), Palaeosmunda, a new genus of siphonostelic osmundaceous trunks from the Upper Permian of Queensland, Palaeontology 13: 10-28.
Gould, R.E. (1972), Cibotium tasmanense sp. nov., a fossil tree-fern from the Tertiary of Tasmania, Austral. J. Bot. 20: 119-126.
Hill, R.S. (1987), Tertiary Isoëtes from Tasmania, Alcheringa 12: 157-162.
Hill, R.S., Forsyth, S.M. & Green, F. (1989), A new genus of osmundaceous stem from the Upper Triassic of Tasmania, Palaeontology 32: 287-296.
Jordan, G.J. (1992), Macrofossil evidence for Quaternary Plant Extinction and Vegetation Change in Western Tasmania. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
Jordan, G.J., Carpenter, R.J. & Hill, R.S. (1991), Late Pleistocene vegetation and climate near Melaleuca Inlet, south-western Tasmania, Austral. J. Bot. 39: 499-511.
Jordan G.J., Macphail, M.K., Barnes, R. & Hill, R.S. (1995), An Early-Middle Pleistocene flora of subalpine affinities in lowland western Tasmania, Austral. J. Bot. 43: 231-242.
Jordan, G.J., Macphail, M.K. & Hill, R.S. (1996), A fertile pinnule fragment with spores of Dicksonia from Early Oligocene sediments in Tasmania, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 92: 245-252.
Macphail, M.K., Alley, N.F., Truswell, E.M. & Sluiter, I.R.K. (1994), Early Tertiary vegetation: evidence from spores and pollen, in R.S.Hill (ed.), History of Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent, pp. 189-261. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Macphail, M.K., Jordan, G.J. & Hill, R.S. (1993), Key periods in the evolution of the flora and vegetation in western Tasmania I. The Early-Middle Pleistocene, Austral. J. Bot. 41:673-707.
Neyland, M.G. (1986), Conservation and Management of Tree Ferns. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart.
Rozefelds, A.C., Christophel, D.C. & Alley, N.F. (1992), Tertiary occurrence of the fern Lygodium (Schizaeaceae) in Australia and New Zealand, Mem. Queensland Museum 32:203-222.
Tidwell, W.D. (1987), A new species of Osmundacaulis (0. jonesii sp. nov.) from Tasmania, Australia, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 52: 205-216.
Tidwell, W.D. (1991), Lunea jonesii gen. et sp. nov., a new member of Guaireaceae from the mid-Mesozoic of Tasmania, Australia, Palaeontographica, Abt. B 223: 81-90.
Tidwell, W.D. (1994), Ashicaulis, a new genus for some species of Millerocaulis (Osmundaceae), Sida 16: 253-261.
Tidwell, W.D. & Jones, R. (1987), Osmundacaulis nerii, a new osmundaceous species from Tasmania, Australia, Palaeontographica, Abt. B 204: 181-191.
Tidwell, W.D., Kim, J.-H. & Kimura, T. (1987), Mid-Mesozoic leaves from near Ida Bay, southern Tasmania, Australia, Pap. & Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania 121: 159-170.
Tidwell, W.D., Munzing, G.E. & Banks, M.R. (1991), Millerocaulis species (Osmundaceae) from Tasmania, Australia, Palaeontographica, Abt. B 223: 91-105.
Tidwell, W.D., Nishida, H. & Webster, N. (1989), Oguracaulis banksii gen. et sp. nov., a mid-Mesozoic tree-fern stem from Tasmania, Australia, Pap. & Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania 123: 15-25.
Tidwell, W.D. & Pigg, K.B. (1993), New species of Osmundacaulis emend. from Tasmania, Australia, Palaeontographica, Abt. B 230: 141-158.
Tidwell, W.D. & Rozefelds, A.C. (1990), Grammatocaulis donponii gen. et sp. nov., a permineralized fern from the Jurassic of Queensland, Australia, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 66:147-158.
Tidwell, W.D. & Skog, J.E. (1992), Two new fossil matoniaceous stem genera from Tasmania, Australia, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 70: 263-277.
Townrow, J.A. (1968), A fossil Selaginella from the Permian of New South Wales, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 61: 13-23.
Van Konijnenburg-Van Cittert, J.H.A. (1989), Dicksoniaceous spores from the Jurassic of Yorkshire, England, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 67: 273-301.
Van Konijnenburg-Van Cittert, J.H.A. (1991), Diversification of spores in fossil and extant Schizaeaceae, Systematics Asociation, Special Vol. 44: 103-118.
Van Konijnenburg-Van Cittert, J.H.A. (1993), A review of Matoniaceae based on in situ spores, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 78: 235-267.
" name="eprints.referencetext" />
<meta content="Hill, Robert S. and Jordan, Gregory J. (1998) The Fossil Record of Ferns and Fern Allies in Australia. In: Flora of Australia. (48). CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, pp. 29-36. ISBN 0643059717" name="eprints.citation" />
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<meta content="The Fossil Record of Ferns and Fern Allies in Australia" name="DC.title" />
<meta content="Hill, Robert S." name="DC.creator" />
<meta content="Jordan, Gregory J." name="DC.creator" />
<meta content="260112 Palaeontology" name="DC.subject" />
<meta content="270401 Plant Systematics, Taxonomy and Phylogeny" name="DC.subject" />
<meta content="260113 Palynology" name="DC.subject" />
<meta content="Chapter Introduction: There is an excellent fossil record of ferns in Australia, and it provides an important source of
information on the phylogeny and biogeography of living ferns. The most important elements of the
fossil record are spores, sterile and fertile frond compressions and impressions, and the relatively
rare but highly informative petrified remains, usually rhizomes and stems. Because ferns are such
an ancient group of plants, much of the record cannot be applied directly to the extant flora.
Although this causes problems in interpreting the fossil record, and affinities often remain unclear,
the record relevant to living taxa is still imposing.
Pteridophyte spores are well-preserved and frequently seen in a wide range of sediments and are of
considerable taxonomic significance. Indeed, not only can spore wall ornamentation often be
observed, ultrastructural features may also be visible. One limit to the taxonomic value of the spore
record is the considerable convergence in spore morphology and anatomy in fossil and extant
pteridophytes, especially ferns. The consequent problems with the identification of dispersed fossil
spores are exacerbated by the frequent loss of the diagnostically important exospore.
Fragments of vegetative fronds are comparatively uncommon in the fossil record. However, while
these can sometimes be assigned to genera or families, identification is often impossible, because
available characters such as frond shape and venation show considerable convergence. Conversely,
fertile fronds tend to be much more useful, and those with in situ spores are among the most
confidently and precisely identified of all plant fossils, as well as being useful in confirming or
disproving the identity of dispersed fossil spores (e.g. Jordan et al., 1996). Tree fern stems and
rhizomes are beautifully petrified under some special conditions that are still not fully understood
and these can often be confidently identified.
In this brief review we concentrate on fossils that bear directly on living ferns and their allies, and
we provide examples that demonstrate particularly interesting biogeography or palaeoecology.
While many of the early fern-like fossils appear quite similar to living forms (e.g. Baragwanathia
W.H.Lang & Cookson and some extant Lycopodium species), these will not be dealt with here
because they are too remote from the living flora to be significant. Although the dispersed spore
record is difficult to summarise, we direct interested readers to the review articles of Dettmann
(1994) and Macphail et al. (1994) on the dispersed spore record and the role of ferns and fern allies
in the Australian flora over the last 100 million years or so." name="DC.description" />
<meta content="CSIRO Publishing" name="DC.publisher" />
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<h1 class="ep_tm_pagetitle">The Fossil Record of Ferns and Fern Allies in Australia</h1>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><span class="person_name">Hill, Robert S.</span> and <span class="person_name">Jordan, Gregory J.</span> (1998) <xhtml:em>The Fossil Record of Ferns and Fern Allies in Australia.</xhtml:em> In: Flora of Australia. (48). CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, pp. 29-36. ISBN 0643059717</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"></p><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><tr><td valign="top" style="text-align:center"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1809/1/Preprint_of_fern_review.pdf"><img alt="[img]" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png" border="0" class="ep_doc_icon" /></a></td><td valign="top"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1809/1/Preprint_of_fern_review.pdf"><span class="ep_document_citation">PDF (Author Version)</span></a> - Full text restricted - Requires a PDF viewer<br />61Kb</td><td><form method="get" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/request_doc"><input value="2285" name="docid" accept-charset="utf-8" type="hidden" /><div class=""><input value="Request a copy" name="_action_null" class="ep_form_action_button" onclick="return EPJS_button_pushed( '_action_null' )" type="submit" /> </div></form></td></tr></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block">Official URL: <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/22/sid/6.htm">http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/22/sid/6.htm</a></p><div class="not_ep_block"><h2>Abstract</h2><p style="padding-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; margin: 1em auto 0em auto">Chapter Introduction: There is an excellent fossil record of ferns in Australia, and it provides an important source of
information on the phylogeny and biogeography of living ferns. The most important elements of the
fossil record are spores, sterile and fertile frond compressions and impressions, and the relatively
rare but highly informative petrified remains, usually rhizomes and stems. Because ferns are such
an ancient group of plants, much of the record cannot be applied directly to the extant flora.
Although this causes problems in interpreting the fossil record, and affinities often remain unclear,
the record relevant to living taxa is still imposing.
Pteridophyte spores are well-preserved and frequently seen in a wide range of sediments and are of
considerable taxonomic significance. Indeed, not only can spore wall ornamentation often be
observed, ultrastructural features may also be visible. One limit to the taxonomic value of the spore
record is the considerable convergence in spore morphology and anatomy in fossil and extant
pteridophytes, especially ferns. The consequent problems with the identification of dispersed fossil
spores are exacerbated by the frequent loss of the diagnostically important exospore.
Fragments of vegetative fronds are comparatively uncommon in the fossil record. However, while
these can sometimes be assigned to genera or families, identification is often impossible, because
available characters such as frond shape and venation show considerable convergence. Conversely,
fertile fronds tend to be much more useful, and those with in situ spores are among the most
confidently and precisely identified of all plant fossils, as well as being useful in confirming or
disproving the identity of dispersed fossil spores (e.g. Jordan et al., 1996). Tree fern stems and
rhizomes are beautifully petrified under some special conditions that are still not fully understood
and these can often be confidently identified.
In this brief review we concentrate on fossils that bear directly on living ferns and their allies, and
we provide examples that demonstrate particularly interesting biogeography or palaeoecology.
While many of the early fern-like fossils appear quite similar to living forms (e.g. Baragwanathia
W.H.Lang & Cookson and some extant Lycopodium species), these will not be dealt with here
because they are too remote from the living flora to be significant. Although the dispersed spore
record is difficult to summarise, we direct interested readers to the review articles of Dettmann
(1994) and Macphail et al. (1994) on the dispersed spore record and the role of ferns and fern allies
in the Australian flora over the last 100 million years or so.</p></div><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" border="0" cellpadding="3" class="not_ep_block"><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Item Type:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Book Chapter</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Additional Information:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Flora of Australia series is co-published by CSIRO PUBLISHING and the Australian Biological Resources Study.</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Keywords:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">pteridophytes, Australia, palynomorphs, macrofossils, spores, palynology, extinction, evolution</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Subjects:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/260112.html">260000 Earth Sciences > 260100 Geology > 260112 Palaeontology</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/270401.html">270000 Biological Sciences > 270400 Botany > 270401 Plant Systematics, Taxonomy and Phylogeny</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/260113.html">260000 Earth Sciences > 260100 Geology > 260113 Palynology</a></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Collections:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">UNSPECIFIED</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ID Code:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">1809</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited By:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><span class="ep_name_citation"><span class="person_name">dr gregory j jordan</span></span></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited On:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">10 Sep 2007</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Last Modified:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">11 Feb 2008 11:02</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ePrint Statistics:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a target="ePrintStats" href="/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint;id=1809;">View statistics for this ePrint</a></td></tr></table><p align="right">Repository Staff Only: <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=1809">item control page</a></p>
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