Structurally Preserved Fossil Plants from Antarctica: II. A Permian Moss from the Transantarctic Mountains

Abstract

An anatomically preserved moss from the late Permian of Antarctica is described. The fossils include delicate, unistratose leaves and axes with numerous rhizoids preserved in a silicified peat. Leaves exhibit a multi-layered midrib of thick-walled cells, and a lamina of rhomboidal cells that become more elongate toward the margin. The axes consist entirely of parenchyma with a central column of slightly smaller diam cells. Rhizoids are attached to the outer layer of the cortex and surround all the axes. These Permian fossils represent the oldest anatomically preserved bryophytes yet described from Gondwanaland and compare most closely with modern members of the Bryidae.