Rhyniophyte

Rhyniophyte
Temporal range: Early Devonian[1]
Reconstruction of Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Polysporangiophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Stem group: †Rhyniophytes
Synonyms
  • Rhyniopsida Krysht. (1925)
  • Rhyniophytina Banks (1968)
  • Rhyniophyta Cronq., Takht. & Zimmermann (1966)
  • paratracheophytes

The rhyniophytes are a group of extinct early vascular plants that are considered to be similar to the genus Rhynia, found in the Early Devonian (around 419 to 393 million years ago). Sources vary in the name and rank used for this group, some treating it as the class Rhyniopsida, others as the subdivision Rhyniophytina or the division Rhyniophyta. The first definition of the group, under the name Rhyniophytina, was by Banks,[2]: 8  since when there have been many redefinitions,[1]: 96–97  including by Banks himself. "As a result, the Rhyniophytina have slowly dissolved into a heterogeneous collection of plants ... the group contains only one species on which all authors agree: the type species Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii".[1]: 94  When defined very broadly, the group consists of plants with dichotomously branched, naked aerial axes ("stems") with terminal spore-bearing structures (sporangia).[3]: 227  The rhyniophytes are considered to be stem group tracheophytes (vascular plants).

  1. ^ a b c d Kenrick, Paul & Crane, Peter R. (1997), The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, ISBN 978-1-56098-730-7
  2. ^ Andrews, H.N.; Kasper, A. & Mencher, E. (1968), "Psilophyton forbesii, a New Devonian Plant from Northern Maine", Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 95 (1): 1–11, doi:10.2307/2483801, JSTOR 2483801
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tayl09 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).