New evidence for land plants from the lower Middle Ordovician of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Research Article| January 01, 1996 New evidence for land plants from the lower Middle Ordovician of Saudi Arabia Paul K. Strother; Paul K. Strother 1Boston College Department of Geology and Geophysics, Weston Observatory, Weston, Massachusetts 02193 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Said Al-Hajri; Said Al-Hajri 2Saudi Aramco, P.O. Box 2141, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alfred Traverse Alfred Traverse 3Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1996) 24 (1): 55–58. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0055:NEFLPF>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Paul K. Strother, Said Al-Hajri, Alfred Traverse; New evidence for land plants from the lower Middle Ordovician of Saudi Arabia. Geology 1996;; 24 (1): 55–58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0055:NEFLPF>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Macerations of Middle Ordovician (Llanvirnian) shales from Saudi Arabia yield an assemblage of spores of probable land plants (cryptospores), acritarchs, and chitinozoa. The production of sporopollenin-containing, sporelike tetrads is considered a fundamental character of the embryophytes, because no extant algae produce spores of this type. No trilete spores were found at this horizon, reinforcing previous assertions that obligate meiotic tetrads predate the earliest trilete spores. Sporomorph tetrads and dyads, in conjunction with cuticlelike fragments, were probably derived from terrestrial plants at a bryophyte grade. Although there are reports of possibly older cryptospores, the Hanadir assemblage described herein clearly establishes their presence by Llanvirnian time. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.