Original paper
Ctenophyllum - a junior synonym of Pterophyllum (Bennettitales: Williamsoniaceae)
Pott, Christian
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen Band 269 Heft 3 (2013), p. 271 - 283
published: Sep 1, 2013
DOI: 10.1127/0077-7749/2013/0350
ArtNo. ESP155026903005, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Ctenophyllum is a genus for cycadophyte foliage from the Rhaetian/Hettangian of Europe and was introduced for a few species with minute leaflets by Schimper (1870). Until to date, its affiliation (bennettite or cycad) has not been addressed or resolved as the crucial epidermal anatomy of the type material was never analysed. The collections of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, hold a few specimens from the type locality in Theta, Bayreuth, Germany, yielding well-preserved organic remains. The study of the cuticles revealed that the foliage is bennettitalean. Subsequent evaluation of the taxonomic and nomenclatural background revealed that Ctenophyllum is a younger synonym of Pterophyllum; it was also encountered that the correct name for Pterophyllum braunianum is Pterophyllum angustum. Ctenophyllum, erected by Rydberg (1905) to accommodate several extant Fabaceae, is, by contrast, a synonym of Astragalus.
Keywords
ctenophyllum • pterophyllum braunianum • pterophyllum angustum • bennettitales • nomenclature • taxonomy • rhaetian • hettangian • bayreuth