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Cord-forming Palaeozoic fungi in terrestrial assemblages

Smith, M.R.

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Abstract

The fossil record paints a thin picture of early terrestrial life. Useful diagnostic features are rare in the organic-walled fossils of the first land colonizers, and at first glance the Silurian–Devonian Tortotubus protuberans seems no exception. Now, new material from New York, Gotland and Scotland reveals the ontogenesis and affinity of this problematic organism. Its filamentous early stages (previously referred to Ornatifilum lornensis) demonstrate simple septal perforations and a bilayered cell wall; threads of entwined filaments, bounded by an elaborately sculptured surface, arose via the retrograde growth and subsequent proliferation of secondary branches. This morphology and pattern of growth together indicate an affinity with the ‘higher’ fungi (Dikarya) and document the formation of differentiated mycelium. The presence of complex mycelial fossils in the earliest Silurian corroborates the likely contribution of fungi to the colonization of land and the establishment of modern sedimentological systems; their rise seemingly accompanied the diversification of early embryophytes and the vegetation of the terrestrial biosphere.

Citation

Smith, M. (2016). Cord-forming Palaeozoic fungi in terrestrial assemblages. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 180(4), 452-460. https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12389

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 18, 2016
Online Publication Date Mar 2, 2016
Publication Date Apr 1, 2016
Deposit Date Jan 18, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
Print ISSN 0024-4074
Electronic ISSN 1095-8339
Publisher Linnean Society of London
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 180
Issue 4
Pages 452-460
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12389

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Smith, M. R. (2016). Cord-forming Palaeozoic fungi in terrestrial assemblages. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 180(4): 452-460, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/boj.12389. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.




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