Contribution
An Early Carboniferous leaf-colonizing fungus
Hübers, Maren; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Krings, Michael; Kerp, Hans
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen Band 261 Heft 1 (2011), p. 77 - 82
publié: Jul 1, 2011
DOI: 10.1127/0077-7749/2011/0150
ArtNo. ESP155026101006, Prix: 29.00 €
Abstract
Documented evidence of fungi inhabiting the leaves of Palaeozoic land plants is rare. This paper describes impressions of rosette-like fungal thalli on a dispersed plant cuticle from the Lower Carboniferous of Chemnitz-Glösa (Germany). Circular structures in the centre of one thallus are interpreted as infection pores. Host reactions occur in the form of extensive cutinizations around the thallus margins. The thalli are interpreted as hyphopodia or some other epiphyllous structure of a parasitic fungus that facilitated host attachment and penetration. This discovery represents the oldest direct fossil evidence of fungal growth on leaf surfaces.
Mots-clefs
fossil fungi • hyphopodium • cuticular analysis • hainichen subgroup • visean