New early land plant Capesporangites petrkraftii gen. et sp. nov. from the Silurian, Prague Basin, Czech Republic

Abstract

Research on the earliest terrestrial plants often brings difficulties related to uncertain systematic classification. As plant macrofossils are usually poorly preserved, no internal anatomy is recorded thus enabling only morphological features to be used for plant description and classification. Most of these early land plants show dichotomous branching and terminal sporangia, placing them among the basal polysporangiophytes. However, some plants may exhibit unusual characteristics which raise further questions.The classification of early terrestrial plants has been debated, with discussions about whether they exhibit features that more closely resemble bryophytes or tracheophytes. These debates point to distinct evolutionary pathways. The recent emergence of a new group of plants known as eophytes could represent a link between bryophytes and tracheophytes.This manuscript focuses on a recently discovered Silurian fossil plant named Capesporangites petrkraftii gen. et sp. nov. The plant shows features reminiscent of bryophytes as elongated sporangium having a cap-like formation at the apex and a columella-like structure at the base but also fits into the classification of polysporangiophytes. The study highlights the difficulty of investigating the morphology of fossils with respect to preservation methods and emphasizes the importance of a thorough description of even minor aspects of early land plant fossils. This attention to detail contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary path these plants have followed.