Data from: Teruelia diezii gen. et sp. nov.: an early polysporangiophyte from the Lower Devonian of the Iberian Peninsula

A new basal land plant, Teruelia diezii gen. et sp. nov., is described from the shallow-water marine deposits of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian–Pragian) Nogueras Formation of the Iberian Peninsula (north Gondwana palaeocontinent). Teruelia is preserved as a compression fossil and consists of isotomously branched, robust stems terminated in large, fusiform, twisted sporangia. This morphology suggests that Teruelia is very probably equivalent to Aglaophyton, a permineralized early polysporangiophyte known up to now only from the Lower Devonian (early Pragian to ?earliest Emsian) Rhynie Chert in Scotland (Laurussia palaeocontinent), which represents an early terrestrial hot-spring ecosystem. Accepted phylogenies identify Aglaophyton as sister to vascular plants. Our phylogeny-based results identify the Aglaophyton/Teruelia biological entity (i.e. Aglaophyton anatomical characters plus Teruelia external morphology) as the most direct vascular plant precursor. It shows that at least one Rhynie Chert type plant had a much wider distribution than previously known and suggests that Aglaophyton was not restricted to hydrothermal environments, unlike other Rhynie Chert plants.

本文记述了一种新的基部陆生植物——新属新种特鲁埃尔蕨（Teruelia diezii gen. et sp. nov.），其化石发现于伊比利亚半岛（北冈瓦纳古陆）下泥盆统（洛赫考夫期至布拉格期）诺盖拉斯组的浅海相沉积地层。特鲁埃尔蕨以压型化石形式保存，具有等二歧分枝的粗壮茎干，茎干顶端着生大型纺锤形扭曲孢子囊。该形态特征表明，特鲁埃尔蕨极可能与阿格劳蕨（Aglaophyton）属于同一类群：阿格劳蕨是一种此前仅发现于苏格兰（劳伦西亚古陆）下泥盆统（布拉格阶至?最早期埃姆斯阶）莱尼燧石（Rhynie Chert）中的矿化早期多孢植物体，代表了早期陆生热泉生态系统。已被广泛认可的系统发育研究将阿格劳蕨定为维管植物的姊妹群。本研究基于系统发育的分析结果显示，结合阿格劳蕨解剖特征与特鲁埃尔蕨外部形态的“阿格劳蕨-特鲁埃尔蕨类群”，是目前已知最直接的维管植物前驱类群。该研究证实，至少有一种莱尼燧石型植物的分布范围远较此前认知更广，同时表明阿格劳蕨并不像其他莱尼燧石植物那样仅局限于热液环境中。