Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska
PREMISE Mosses are a major component of Arctic vegetation today, with >500 species known to date. However, the origins of the Arctic moss flora are poorly documented in the fossil record, especially prior to the Pliocene. Here, we present the first anatomically preserved pre‐Cenozoic Arctic moss...
Published in: | American Journal of Botany |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ajb2.1617 2024-06-02T08:00:45+00:00 Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska Bippus, Alexander C. Rothwell, Gar W. Stockey, Ruth A. Graduate School, Oregon State University National Science Foundation 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor American Journal of Botany volume 108, issue 3, page 495-504 ISSN 0002-9122 1537-2197 journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1617 2024-05-03T12:05:09Z PREMISE Mosses are a major component of Arctic vegetation today, with >500 species known to date. However, the origins of the Arctic moss flora are poorly documented in the fossil record, especially prior to the Pliocene. Here, we present the first anatomically preserved pre‐Cenozoic Arctic moss and discuss how the unique biology of bryophytes has facilitated their success in polar environments over geologic time. METHODS A permineralized fossil moss gametophyte within a block of Late Cretaceous terrestrial limestone, collected along the Colville River on the North Slope of Alaska, was studied in serial sections prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique. RESULTS The moss gametophyte is branched and has leaves with a broad base, narrow blade, and excurrent costa. We describe this fossil as Cynodontium luthii sp. nov., an extinct species of a genus that is known from the High Arctic today. Cynodontium luthii is the oldest evidence of the family Rhabdoweisiaceae (by ≥18 Ma) and reveals that genera of haplolepideous mosses known in the extant Arctic flora also lived in high‐latitude temperate deciduous forests during the Late Cretaceous. CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of C. luthii in Cretaceous sediments, together with a rich Pliocene‐to‐Holocene fossil record of extant moss genera in the High Arctic, suggests that some moss lineages have exploited their poikilohydric, cold‐ and desiccation‐tolerant physiology to live in the region when it experienced both temperate and freezing climates. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic north slope Alaska Wiley Online Library Arctic American Journal of Botany 108 3 495 504 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
PREMISE Mosses are a major component of Arctic vegetation today, with >500 species known to date. However, the origins of the Arctic moss flora are poorly documented in the fossil record, especially prior to the Pliocene. Here, we present the first anatomically preserved pre‐Cenozoic Arctic moss and discuss how the unique biology of bryophytes has facilitated their success in polar environments over geologic time. METHODS A permineralized fossil moss gametophyte within a block of Late Cretaceous terrestrial limestone, collected along the Colville River on the North Slope of Alaska, was studied in serial sections prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique. RESULTS The moss gametophyte is branched and has leaves with a broad base, narrow blade, and excurrent costa. We describe this fossil as Cynodontium luthii sp. nov., an extinct species of a genus that is known from the High Arctic today. Cynodontium luthii is the oldest evidence of the family Rhabdoweisiaceae (by ≥18 Ma) and reveals that genera of haplolepideous mosses known in the extant Arctic flora also lived in high‐latitude temperate deciduous forests during the Late Cretaceous. CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of C. luthii in Cretaceous sediments, together with a rich Pliocene‐to‐Holocene fossil record of extant moss genera in the High Arctic, suggests that some moss lineages have exploited their poikilohydric, cold‐ and desiccation‐tolerant physiology to live in the region when it experienced both temperate and freezing climates. |
author2 |
Graduate School, Oregon State University National Science Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bippus, Alexander C. Rothwell, Gar W. Stockey, Ruth A. |
spellingShingle |
Bippus, Alexander C. Rothwell, Gar W. Stockey, Ruth A. Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
author_facet |
Bippus, Alexander C. Rothwell, Gar W. Stockey, Ruth A. |
author_sort |
Bippus, Alexander C. |
title |
Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
title_short |
Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
title_full |
Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the Late Cretaceous of the North Slope of Alaska |
title_sort |
cynodontium luthii sp. nov.: a permineralized moss gametophyte from the late cretaceous of the north slope of alaska |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajb2.1617 https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/ajb2.1617 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic north slope Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic north slope Alaska |
op_source |
American Journal of Botany volume 108, issue 3, page 495-504 ISSN 0002-9122 1537-2197 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1617 |
container_title |
American Journal of Botany |
container_volume |
108 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
495 |
op_container_end_page |
504 |
_version_ |
1800744906003578880 |