551 / Mesozoic
Pachypteris
Pachypteris gradinarui
Thick leathery pinnules and lower-surface stomata helped this seed fern withstand seasonal dryness.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 205–190 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Jurassic
- Geographic range
- Warm river-valley woodland · Romania
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Pachypteris?
Pachypteris (Pachypteris gradinarui) was an extinct organism known from About 205–190 million years ago, with a range in Warm river-valley woodland · Romania.
Life and ecology
Pachypteris foliage grew on a shrub or small tree sharing river woodlands with conifers.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Pachypteris disappear?
Jurassic vegetation turnover is possible context; the record does not establish why this leaf form disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Pachypteris?
Compressed leaves and fine cuticles preserve veins, epidermal cells and stomata; whole-plant affinity still relies on reproductive organs.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS