Glossopteris
Genus of extinct seed ferns / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Glossopteris (etymology: from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, " tongue ") + πτερίς (pterís, " fern ")) is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed plants known as Glossopteridales (also known as Arberiales, Ottokariales, or Dictyopteridiales). The genus Glossopteris refers only to leaves, within a framework of form genera used in paleobotany. Species of Glossopteris were the dominant trees of the middle to high-latitude lowland vegetation across the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian Period. Glossopteris fossils were critical in recognizing former connections between the various fragments of Gondwana: South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
Glossopteris | |
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Glossopteris sp. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Order: | †Glossopteridales |
Family: | †Glossopteridaceae |
Genus: | †Glossopteris Brongniart 1828 ex Brongniart 1831 |
Species | |
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Fossils of the gymnosperm Glossopteris (dark green) found in all of the southern continents provide strong evidence that the continents were once amalgamated into a supercontinent Gondwana |