Medullosales

Frond of Neuropteris, copyright Gunnar Ries.

Belongs within: Lignophyta.

The Medullosales are a group of seed ferns known from the late Early Carboniferous to the Permian, generally reconstructed with an unbranching trunk crowned by fronds. At least some genera demonstrate dimorphism in leaf structure, with orbicular 'Cyclopteris' leaves borne on basal parts of the trunk giving way to the pinnate fronds at the crown (Shute & Cleal 2002).

<==Medullosales
    |--Cyclopteris Brongniart 1828 SC02
    |--Odontopteris Brongniart 1828 SC02
    |--Reticulopteris muensteri SC02
    |--Lescuropteris genuina SC02
    |--Blanzyopteris praedentata SC02
    |--Quaestora FC07
    |--Macroneuropteris SC02
    |    |--M. macrophylla SC02
    |    `--M. scheuchzeri SC02
    |--Alethopteris SC02
    |    |--A. decurrens SC02
    |    `--A. lonchitica A38
    |--Laveineopteris Cleal et al. 1990 SC02
    |    |--L. loshii SC02
    |    |--‘Cyclopteris’ orbicularis Brongniart 1831 SC02
    |    |--L. piesbergensis SC02
    |    |--L. rarinervis SC02
    |    `--L. tenuifolia SC02
    `--Neuropteris Brongniart 1828 SC02
         |--N. eriana A38
         |--N. flexuosa R79
         |--N. gigantea ZP86
         |--N. heterophylla (Brongniart) Sternberg 1825 SC02
         |--N. obliqua SC02
         |--N. ovata SC02
         |--N. praedentata H75
         |--N. rarinervis R79
         |--N. selwyni [incl. N. schlehani] A38
         |--N. shaoguangensis ZP86
         `--N. tenuifolia R79

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A38] Alcock, F. J. 1938. Geology of Saint John region, New Brunswick. Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 216: 1–65.

[FC07] Friis, E. M., P. R. Crane, K. R. Pedersen, S. Bengtson, P. C. J. Donoghue, G. W. Grimm & M. Stampanoni. 2007. Phase-contrast X-ray microtomography links Cretaceous seed with Gnetales and Bennettitales. Nature 450: 549–552.

[H75] Häntzschel, W. 1975. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt W. Miscellanea Suppl. 1. Trace Fossils and Problematica 2^nd ed. The Geological Society of America: Boulder (Colorado), and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).

[R79] Ross, C. A. 1979. Carboniferous. In: Robison, R. A., & C. Teichert (eds) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt A. Introduction. Fossilisation (Taphonomy), Biogeography and Biostratigraphy pp. A254–A290. The Geological Society of America, Inc.: Boulder (Colorado), and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).

[SC02] Shute, C. H., & C. J. Cleal. 2002. Ecology and growth habit of Laveineopteris: a gymnosperm from the Late Carboniferous tropical rain forests. Palaeontology 45 (5): 943–972.

[ZP86] Zhang, R., & J. Pojeta Jr. 1986. New bivalves from the Datang Stage, Lower Carboniferous, Guangdong Province, China. Journal of Paleontology 60 (3): 669–679.