Lepidopteris
Lepidopteris ("scaly fern") is a form genus for leaves of Peltaspermaceae, an extinct family of seed plants, which lived from around 260 to 190 million years ago, from the Late Permian to Early Jurassic. Fossils of the genus have been found across both hemispheres. Nine species are currently recognized.Lepidopteris was a common and widespread seed fern, which survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event but was largely wiped out by the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. Lepidopteris callipteroides is especially common between the first two episodes of Permian-Triassic extinction event, and L. ottonis forms a comparable acme zone immediate before the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. Lepidopteris would persist into the Early Jurassic in Patagonia, represented by the species Lepidopteris scassoi.
Lepidopteris Temporal range: | |
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Lepidopteris madagascariensis leaf, Early Triassic Newport Formation, Bungan Head, New South Wales, Australia. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Order: | †Peltaspermales |
Family: | †Peltaspermaceae |
Genus: | †Lepidopteris Schimper 1869 |
Species | |
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