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Weichselia

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Weichselia
Temporal range: Mid Jurassic-early Late Cretaceous
Bathonian–Cenomanian
Weichselia reticulata - fossils.jpg
W. reticulata fossils, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Brussels
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Gleicheniales
Family: Matoniaceae
Genus:† Weichselia
Stiehler
Species

Weichselia is an extinct genus of fern. They were abundant from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. [1] While generally supposed to have affinities to Matoniaceae, some research has suggested that they have closer affinites to the Marattiales, though its morphology is strongly divergent from both of these groups. They are thought to have grown similar to modern tree ferns, with an upright stem topped with a crown of fronds. [2] The genus filled multiple ecological niches, such as being the primary mangrove tree for millions of years. [3]

Contents

Evolutionary history

The genus first appeared in the Middle Jurassic with remains found in North Africa and Georgia. During the Early-mid Cretaceous, the genus had a wide distribution, having been found in Europe, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, southern North America and northern South America. The youngest remains of the genus are known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Europe and North Africa. Remains are found in both continental and marginal marine deposits. [4]

Ecology

Weichselia has been interpreted as being xeromorphic, and has been suggested that they grew in savannah and/or coastal environments. It has also been proposed that they were primary colonisers following the destruction of pre-existing vegetation, particularly after wildfires. [5] Others have indicated that the growth strategies of Weichselia are more consistent with fire tolerance, with the plant re-sprouting from buds in their trunks after a fire. [6] Weichselia seems to have encountered wildfires on a regular basis, as charred pieces of the plant were the most frequently sampled remains in a study of 3338 Weichselia fragments from 25 different Early Cretaceous fossil sites. [7]

Weichselia fossils have been recovered from both freshwater and brackish environments including rivers, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, deltas, and marshes. [2] Some notable Weichselia-bearing deposits include the Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation [2] and Bahariya Formation, [8] which have also yielded historically significant Iguanodon and Spinosaurus specimens respectively.

It has been estimated that Weichselia could have grown to heights of around 8.57 meters (28.1 feet), [2] and would have sexually reproduced via spores as seen in other ferns. The spores were located in double rows of sori along fertile fronds, [9] however the rarity of these fronds in the fossil record has lead some to suggest that the plant may have dominantly reproduced via asexual vegetative reproduction instead. [2]

References

  1. ↑ Weichselia at The Paleobiology Database
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Blanco-Moreno, Candela; Decombeix, Anne-Laure; Prestianni, Cyrille (2020-11-13). Lomax, Barry (ed.). "New insights into the affinities, autoecology, and habit of the Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata based on the revision of stems from Bernissart (Mons Basin, Belgium)" (PDF). Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (3): 1351–1372. doi:10.1002/spp2.1344. hdl:2268/295478. ISSN   2056-2802. S2CID   228860679. Archived from the original on 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2023-12-28.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ Hamad, Abdalla M.B. Abu; Amireh, Belal; El Atfy, Haytham; Jasper, André; Uhl, Dieter (November 2016). "Fire in a Weichselia-dominated coastal ecosystem from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kurnub Group in NW Jordan". Cretaceous Research. 66: 82–93. Bibcode:2016CrRes..66...82H. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.06.001.
  4. ↑ Blanco-Moreno, Candela; Gomez, Bernard; Buscalioni, Ángela (December 2018). "Palaeobiogeographic and metric analysis of the Mesozoic fern Weichselia". Geobios. 51 (6): 571–578. Bibcode:2018Geobi..51..571B. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2018.05.001. hdl: 10486/714801 .
  5. ↑ Barral, Abel; Gomez, Bernard; Zorrilla, Juan M.; Serrano, José M.; Yans, Johan; Cazedebat, Marie; Daviero-Gomez, Véronique; Ewin, Timothy A. M.; Lécuyer, Christophe (2016-02-01). "Local-scale analysis of plant community from the Early Cretaceous riparian ecosystem of Hautrage, Belgium". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 443: 107–122. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.11.026. ISSN   0031-0182.
  6. ↑ Watson, Joan; Alvin, Kenneth L. (1996-02-01). "An English Wealden floral list, with comments on possible environmental indicators". Cretaceous Research. 17 (1): 5–26. doi:10.1006/cres.1996.0002. ISSN   0195-6671.
  7. ↑ Blanco‐Moreno, Candela; Martín‐Abad, Hugo; Buscalioni, Ángela D. (2022). Lomax, Barry (ed.). "Quantitative plant taphonomy: the cosmopolitan Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata as a case study". Palaeontology. 65 (6). doi:10.1111/pala.12627. ISSN   0031-0239.
  8. ↑ Coiffard, Clément; El Atfy, Haytham; Darwish, Mona H.; Mohamed, Ahmed (2025-08-31). "A reappraisal of the vegetation from the dinosaur-bearing Bahariya Formation (lower Cenomanian; Cretaceous), Egypt". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144 (1): 57. doi: 10.1186/s13358-025-00387-0 . ISSN   1664-2384.
  9. ↑ Alvin, K. L. (1968). "The spore-bearing organs of the Cretaceous fern Weichselia Stiehler". Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany. 61 (384): 87–92. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1968.tb00105.x.

Bibliography


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