Cheirolepidiaceae

Frenelopsis hoheneggeri, from the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Belongs within: Pinopsida.

The Cheirolepidiaceae are a group of fossil conifers known from the Mesozoic. They are characterised by a distinct pollen type (assigned to the form genus Classopollis) with a complex, tectate-columellate wall structure (Axsmith et al. 2004). Shoots were often opposite-decussate or spiral, and leaves (which may be dimorphic) were typically reduced or scale-like, and imbricate (Pole 2000).

<==Cheirolepidiaceae [Frenelopsidaceae]
    |--Alvinia bohemica AKW04
    |--Tomaxellia biforme P00
    |--Otwayia Pole 2000 P00
    |    |--*O. tetragona (Cantrill & Douglas) Pole 2000 [=Geinitzea tetragona Cantrill & Douglas 1988] P00
    |    `--O. cudgeloides Pole 2000 P00
    |--Classostrobus Alvin, Spicer & Watson 1978 AKW04 [incl. Pseudofrenelopsis AKW04, Suturovagina GM-C02]
    |    |--*C. comptonensis Alvin, Spicer & Watson 1994 AKW04 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--C. arkansensis Axsmith, Krings & Waselkov 2004 AKW04
    |    |--C. cathayanus [incl. Pseudofrenelopsis intermedia] AKW04
    |    |--C. turolensis Gomez, Martín-Closas et al. 2002 GM-C02
    |    `--C. ugnaensis Gomez, Martín-Closas et al. 2002 GM-C02
    |--Classopollis Pflug 1953 AKW04
    |    |--*C. classoides Pflug 1953 GM-C02
    |    |--C. brasiliensis Herngreen 1975 I02
    |    |--C. mirabilis Reyre 1970 GM-C02
    |    |--C. noeli Reyre 1970 GM-C02
    |    `--C. obidosensis Groot & Groot 1962 GM-C02
    |--Cupressinocladus Seward 1919 AKW04 [incl. Watsoniocladus GM-C02]
    |    |--C. asferensis Barale & Ouaja 2002 BO02
    |    |--C. itieri (Saporta) Barale 1981 BO02
    |    |--C. leptocladoides (Berry) Pons 1990 BO02
    |    |--C. micromerum (Heer) Pais 1974 BO02
    |    |--C. pompeckji (Salfeld) Pons 1990 BO02
    |    |--C. pseudoexpansum Barnard & Miller 1976 BO02
    |    `--C. soltanensis Barale, Ouaja & Philippe 2000 B)2
    `--Frenelopsis Schenck 1869 AKW04, GM-C02
         |--*F. hoheneggeri (Ettingshausen) Schenck 1869 [=Thuites hoheneggeri Ettinghausen 1852] GM-C02
         |--F. alata Feistmantel 1881 AKW04
         |--F. choshiensis GM-C02
         |--F. elegans GM-C02
         |--F. harrisii Doludenko & Reymanówna 1978 GT02
         |--F. kaneviensis Barale & Doludenko 1985 GM-C02
         |--F. occidentalis GM-C02
         |--F. oligostomata AKW04 [incl. Classoidites glandis GM-C02]
         |--F. pombetsuensis Saiki 1997 GM-C02
         |--F. ramosissima GM-C02
         |--F. rubiesensis Barale 1973 GM-C02
         |--F. sifloana Watson 1983 GM-C02
         |--F. teixeirae GM-C02
         |--F. turolensis Gomez, Martín-Closas et al. 2002 GM-C02
         |--F. ugnaensis Gomez, Martín-Closas et al. 2002 GM-C02
         `--F. veneta Gomez, Thévenard et al. 2002 GT02

*Classostrobus comptonensis Alvin, Spicer & Watson 1994 AKW04 [incl. Classopollis martinottii GM-C02, Pseudofrenelopsis parceramosa (Fontaine) Watson 1977 AKW04]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AKW04] Axsmith, B. J., M. Krings & K. Waselkov. 2004. Conifer pollen cones from the Cretaceous of Arkansas: implications for diversity and reproduction in the Cheirolepidiaceae. Journal of Paleontology 78: 402–409.

[BO02] Barale, G., & M. Ouaja. 2002. La biodiversité végétale des gisements d’âge Jurassique supérieur-Crétacé inférieur de Merbah El Asfer (Sud-Tunisien). Cretaceous Research 23: 707–737.

[GM-C02] Gomez, B., C. Martín-Closas, G. Barale, N. Solé de Porta, F. Thévenard & G. Guignard. 2002. Frenelopsis (Coniferales: Cheirolepidiaceae) and related male organ genera from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain. Palaeontology 45 (5): 997–1036.

[GT02] Gomez, B., F. Thévenard, M. Fantin & L. Guisberti. 2002. Late Cretaceous plants from the Bonarelli Level of the Venetian Alps, northeastern Italy. Cretaceous Research 23: 671–685.

[I02] Ibrahim, M. I. A. 2002. Late Albian-Middle Cenomanian palynofacies and palynostratigraphy, Abu Gharadig-5 well, Western Desert, Egypt. Cretaceous Research 23: 775–788.

[P00] Pole, M. S. 2000. Mid-Cretaceous conifers from the Eromanga Basin, Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 13 (2): 153–197.