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Runcaria, a middle devonian seed plant precursor.

P Gerrienne1, B Meyer-Berthaud, M Fairon-Demaret

  • 1Département de Géologie, B18, Université de Liège, Sart Tilman, Liège 1, Belgique. p.gerrienne@ulg.ac.be

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|October 30, 2004
PubMed
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Fossil Runcaria, a 385-million-year-old seed precursor from Belgium, predates the earliest seeds by 20 million years. This discovery reveals crucial insights into the evolutionary origins of seed plants.

Area of Science:

  • Paleobotany
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Plant Science

Background:

  • The seed habit was a major evolutionary innovation in the Middle Paleozoic era.
  • Seed plants represent the most diverse plant lineage today, with over 250,000 extant species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the early evolution of seed plants.
  • To identify and characterize a potential seed precursor that predates known early seeds.

Main Methods:

  • Paleobotanical analysis of fossil specimens from Belgium.
  • Morphological examination of Runcaria, focusing on its reproductive structures.

Main Results:

  • Identification of Runcaria, a middle Givetian (385 million years ago) fossil.

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  • Runcaria is described as a radially symmetrical, integumented megasporangium with a cupule and a distal extension.
  • This precursor predates the earliest definitive seeds by approximately 20 million years.

    • Conclusions:

    • Runcaria provides critical evidence for the evolutionary pathway to seed formation.
    • The morphology of Runcaria, including its distal extension, suggests a role in anemophilous pollination.
    • This finding significantly advances our understanding of the sequence of character acquisition leading to the seed habit.