Rhynie Chert

Abstract

Abstract The Rhynie chert of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK contains exceptionally well‐preserved Early Devonian ( c . 407 Ma) fossil plants and arthropods. The chert is a siliceous rock resulting from the alteration of sinter deposited around surface vents by hydrothermal hot springs, and the cherts lie within shales and sandstones deposited by floods from a river system. The seven embryophyte plants include primitive rhyniophytes and early lycopods. Both sporophyte and gametophyte generations are preserved for several plants. Saprophytic, parasitic and symbiotic fungi are associated with the plants. The terrestrial fauna is dominated by arthropods with trigonotarbids, mites, myriapods and primitive hexapods, and freshwater pools contained branchiopod crustaceans and a euthycarcinoid. The biota comprises the oldest well‐preserved terrestrial ecosystem on Earth, and the primitive terrestrial plants form the cornerstone of palaeobotany. Key Concepts: The Rhynie chert contains the oldest well preserved terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Silica preserves delicate 3D structures in plants and arthropods. The earliest full sporophte/gametophyte plant life histories are preserved. Superb preservation reveals many organisms with their earliest known occurrence in the chert. The advanced ecological relationships in the Rhynie chert indicate a long pre‐Devonian period of terrestrial colonisation by plants and arthropods. The ecosytem has many features in common with modern plant litter communities.