GlossopterisFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaGlossopterisTemporal range: Permian PreOSDCPTJKPgNGlossopteris sp.Scientific classificationKingdom:PlantaeDivision:PteridospermatophytaOrder: ArberialesFamily:lossopteridaceaeen!s: GlossopterisSpecies G. angustifolia G. brasiliensis G. browniana G. communis G. indica G. occidentalisFossils of the gymnospermGlossopteris "dark green#fo!nd in all of the so!therncontinents provide strongevidence that the continents$ere once amalgamated intoa s!percontinent ond$anaGlossopteris "Ancientreek: %&'(() glossa, meaning *tong!e*, beca!se the leaves $ere tong!e+shaped# is the largest and best+kno$n gen!s of the e,tinct order of seed ferns kno$n as lossopteridales "or in some cases as Arberiales or Dictyopteridiales#-Contents . /istory 0 1a,onomy 2 3iology 4 O!tcrops in 3ra5il 6 7eferences 8 9o!rces : ;,ternal linksHistory1he lossopteridales arose in the 9o!thern /emisphere aro!nd the beginning of the Permian Period "0.? 1heir distrib!tion across several, no$ detached, landmasses led ;d!ard 9!ess, amongst others, to propose that the so!thern continents $ere once amalgamated into a single s!percontinent@Pangea->0? 1hese plants $ent on to become the dominant elements of the so!thern flora thro!gh the rest of the Permian b!t disappeared in almost all places at the end of the Permian "060-.: million years ago#->2?>4?>6? 1he only convincing 1riassic records are very earliest 1riassic leaves from Aidp!r, Bndia,>8? b!t even these records are some$hat C!estionable o$ing to fa!lting and comple, D!,tapositioning of Permian and 1riassic strata at Aidp!r- Altho!gh most modern palaeobotany te,tbooks cite the contin!ation of glossopterids into later parts of the 1riassic and, in some cases into the E!rassic, these ranges are erroneo!s and are based on misidentification of morphologically similar leaves s!ch as Gontriglossa,>:? Sagenopteris, or Mexiglossa->=? lossopterids $ere, th!s, one of the maDor cas!alties of the end+Permian mass e,tinction event->.0? Africa, Gadagascar >.2? and Antarctica->.4? ;ssentially,Glossopteris $as restricted to the middle+ and high+latit!de parts of ond$ana d!ring the Permian >.6? and $as an important contrib!tor to the vast Permian coal deposits of the 9o!thern /emisphere continents->.8? Gost northern parts of 9o!th America and Africa lack Glossopteris and its associated organs- /o$ever, in recent years a fe$ disparate localities in Gorocco, Oman, Anatolia, the $estern part of the island of Ae$ !inea, 1hailand and Faos have yielded fossils that are of possible glossopterid affinity->.:? 1hese peri+gond$anan records commonly occ!r together $ith Iathaysian or ;!ramerican plant species@the assemblages representing a 5one of mi,ing bet$een the strongly provincial floras of the Permian->.=? Apart from those in Bndia and the peri+gond$anan localities, a fe$ other fossils from the Aorthern /emisphere have been assigned to this gro!p, b!t these are not identified $ith great certainty- For e,ample, specimens assigned to Glossopteris from the far east of 7!ssia in the ..22? similar to the modern 3ald Iypress- 1he leaves ranged from abo!t 0 cm to over 2H cm in length-1he profile of glossopterid trees is largely spec!lative as complete trees have not been preserved-/o$ever, based on analogies $ith modern high+latit!de plants Glossopteris trees probably tapered !p$ards like a Ihristmas tree and $ere relatively $idely spaced to take advantage of the lo$+angle s!nlight at high latit!des- Bnstead of needles, they had large, broad lance+ or tong!e+shaped leaves that fell to the gro!nd at the end of s!mmer- 1he fossil leaves are commonly fo!ndas dense acc!m!lations representing a!t!mnal leaf banks->24?>26? 1he broad fossili5ed gro$th ringsin many Glossopteris $oods reveal that the plants e,perienced strong gro$th sp!rts each spring+s!mmer b!t !nder$ent abr!pt cessation of gro$th before each follo$ing $inter->28?Glossopteris leaves are morphologically simple so there are fe$ characters that can be !sed to differentiate species->2:? IonseC!ently, many past researchers have considered the Permian Glossopteris flora to be rather homogeneo!s $ith the same species distrib!ted thro!gho!t the 9o!thern /emisphere- /o$ever, more recent st!dies of the more morphologically diverse fertile organs have sho$n that ta,a had more restricted regional distrib!tions and several intra+gond$anan floristic provinces are recogni5able- 9eeds, m!ch too large to be $ind+borne, co!ld not have blo$n across tho!sands of miles of open sea, nor is it likely they have floated across vast oceans- Observations s!ch as these led the A!strian geologist ;d!ard 9!ess to ded!ce that there had once been a land bridge bet$een these areas- /e named this large land mass ond$analand "named after the district in Bndia $here the plant Glossopteris $as fo!nd#- 1hese same observations $o!ld also lend s!pport to Alfred WegenerJs Iontinental drift theory-1he first Antarctic specimens of Glossopteris $ere discovered by members of 7obert 9cottJs doomed 1erra Aova ;,pedition- 1he e,pedition members abandoned m!ch of their gear in an effort to red!ce their load, b!t kept 26 po!nds of Glossopteris fossilsK these $ere fo!nd alongsidetheir bodies->2=?Outcrops in Brail1he first investigation of a Glossopteris flora associated $ith coal seams $ithin a paleogeographic and palaeoclimatic conte,t, in the ParanL 3asin, so!thern 3ra5il, $as that by geologist Bsrael Iharles White in .2