Pterophyllum brevipenne Kurr ex Schenk, 1864

Pott, Christian, 2014, The Upper Triassic flora of Svalbard, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 59 (3), pp. 709-740 : 727-728

Pterophyllum brevipenne Kurr ex Schenk, 1864

Fig. 8A–E.

1864 Pterozamites brevipennis ; Kurr ex Schenk, 1864: 65, pl. 5: 1.

1865 Pterophyllum brevipenne Kurr ; Heer 1865: 52, pl. 3: 1.

1972 Pterophyllum brevipenne Kurr ; Vasilevskaya 1972: 47, pl. 12: 1–3.

2007 Pterophyllum brevipenne Kurr ex Schenk, 1864 ; Pott et al. 2007f: 13, pls. 5: 1–8; 6: 1–8; 7: 1–12; 8: 2, 3, 6, 7; 9: 2, 3, 7–12.

Material.— Spitsbergen: Fleur de Lyshamna ( NRM S080078, S080089, S080283); Wimanfjellet ( VSEGEI 10979-55– 10979-57); Carnian (Upper Triassic).

Description.— Pterophyllum brevipenne is preserved on five slabs; most of the preserved parts represent the lower middle portions of leaves (Fig. 8B–E). The typical tapering of the lamina is recognisable as are also the characteristic short leaflets (Fig. 8D). The preserved portions are up to 166 mm long (Fig. 8A). The leaflets are perpendicularly inserted lat-

→ Fig. 7. Cycadophyte Pterophyllum filicoides ( Schlotheim, 1822) Zeiller, 1906 from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) strata of Svalbard. A. NRM S080075, from Fleur de Lyshamna. B. NRM S080073, from Fleur de Lyshamna, with a few venation details visible (arrowhead). C. VSEGEI 10979-60, from Schweinfurthberget. D. VSEGEI 10979-58, from Agardhbukta. E. NRM S080094, from Fleur de Lyshamna. F. VSEGEI 10979-62, from Kapp Pechuel Lösche/Lindemanberget. G. VSEGEI 10979-63, from Hyrnefjellet; G 1, detail of leaflets showing venation details (arrowheads), G 2, long apical leaflets (arrowheads). H. NRM S080282, from Fleur de Lyshamna. Scale bars 10 mm.

erally to a prominent but only 3 mm wide rachis (Fig. 8A–D), 5–6 mm wide and up to 28 mm long; the shortest being 12–13 mm long. They are slightly contracted basally and, as far as visible, bluntly rounded to truncate apically. Leaf apices, petioles and cuticle are not preserved.

Remarks.— These specimens are identical to and easily identified with Pterophyllum brevipenne from, e.g., the Carnian flora of Lunz in Lower Austria ( Pott et al. 2007f). They match exactly in size, shape and outline of the lamina and leaflets. The very characteristic apical leaflet that differs from the lateral examples is not preserved.The material identified by Vasilevskaya (1972) as P. brevipenne is confirmed, however, the specimens have, unfortunately, been figured upside-down. Pterophyllum brevipenne is less common and less widely distributed on Svalbard than P. filicoides and occurs only in the southern part of Spitsbergen.

Geographic and stratigraphic range.— Europe,Asia; Carnian.