Gumuia

Gumuia
Temporal range: Early Devonian
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
clade: Lycophytina
[1]
Genus: †Gumuia
S.G.Hao (1989)[2]
Species

†G. zyzzata S.G.Hao (1989)[2]

Gumuia is a genus of extinct vascular plants of the Early Devonian (Pragian or Siegenian, around 410 million years ago). The genus was first described in 1989 based on fossil specimens from the Posongchong Formation, Wenshan district, Yunnan, China.

Description and phylogeny

The sporophyte of G. zyzzata consisted of leafless stems (axes) with an apparently sympodial organization. Fertile stems had a spike-like organization, with both lateral and terminal sporangia (spore-forming organs); successive sporangia developed on alternate sides of short stems. The genus was tentatively placed in the "zosterophylls".[2]

A cladogram published in 2004 by Crane et al. places Gumia in a paraphyletic stem group of broadly defined "zosterophylls", basal to the lycopsids (living and extinct clubmosses and relatives).[1]

lycophytes

†Hicklingia



†basal groups (Adoketophyton, Discalis, Distichophytum (=Rebuchia), Gumuia, Huia, Zosterophyllum myretonianum, Z. lianoveranum, Z. fertile)


†'core' zosterophylls (Zosterophyllum divaricatum, Tarella, Oricilla, Gosslingia, Hsua, Thrinkophyton, Protobarinophyton, Barinophyton obscurum, B. citrulliforme, Sawdonia, Deheubarthia, Konioria, Anisophyton, Serrulacaulis, Crenaticaulis)



†basal groups (Nothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum)


lycopsids (extant and extinct members)




References

  1. ^ a b Crane, P.R.; Herendeen, P.; Friis, E.M. (2004), "Fossils and plant phylogeny", American Journal of Botany 91 (10): 1683–99, doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1683, PMID 21652317, http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/91/10/1683, retrieved 2011-01-27 
  2. ^ a b c Hao, Shou-Gang (1989), "Gumuia zyzzata—a new plant from the Lower Devonian of Yunnan, China" (in Chinese, with abstract in English), Acta Botanica Sinica 31 (12): 954–961, http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZWXB198912009.htm, retrieved 2011-02-08  (the English title in the online version has the misspelling "Gumoia")

External links