Possible reproductive organs of the equisetophytes of the genus Annulina Neuburg from the Kazanian Stage (middle Permian) of the Volga region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17308/geology/1609-0691/2026/3/40-50Keywords:
equisetophytes, morphology, Permian system, evolutionAbstract
Introduction: this paper is devoted to preliminary characteristics of an equisetophyte, which had leafy shoots with the leaf whorls Annulina sp. and bearing the compact fertile zones consisting of peltate sporangiophores attaching to the axial stem or large lateral branches.
Objects and methods of the research: the samples with plant macrofossils from the locality Isakly (Samara region) were used as a basis for the present research. The locality is of Middle Permian (Kazanian or =Wordian) age. Photo-art works were fulfilled digitally with subsequent color-correction by means of digital photo-editor. The line drawings were made after photo-images according to the “Line tracing” approach.
Results and Discussion: morphology of both vegetative and reproductive organs of the equisetophyte from the Isakly locality support our knowledge on structure of stems belonging to the Angaran equisetophytes of the family Tchernoviaceae, and structure of their fertile zones.
The present authors suggest a reconstruction of the equisetophyte Annulina sp. from the Isakly locality. This plant is reconstructed as a relatively large, several dozen cm high. The nodes of lateral stems possess the leaf whorls Annulina sp. One or several internodes of the axial stem bear the compact fertile zones. Judging from good preservation of the Annulina sp. stems from the Isakly locality, and their mono-species occurrence, we can conclude that the parent plants grew in near-water paleoenvironments and ecologically formed hydrophilic vegetation, as many other recent and ancient representatives of Equisetophyta.
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