The type specimen of Nilssoniopteris solitaria (Phillips 1829) (Bennettitales)

Abstract

AbstractWe identified and located the type specimen ofScolopendrium solitarium, which is the basionym to what for decades was commonly referred to as “Nilssoniopteris vittata” and is now known asNilssoniopteris solitaria(Phillips) Cleal et P.M.Rees. As Cleal and Rees (2003) never located and studied the type specimen ofScolopendrium solitariumand simply trusted Harris (1969), who includedScolopendrium solitariumin the synonymy ofNilssoniopteris vittata, it remained to be shown that this specimen indeed has bennettitalean affinities. Here we provide results of a cuticular analysis of the material and confirm the bennettitalean nature ofScolopendrium solitarium, and consequently that its placement inNilssoniopteris solitariais valid.Nilssoniopteris solitariais, as a senior synonym ofNilssoniopteris tenuinervis, the type species ofNilssoniopteris. The name “Nilssoniopteris vittata” should no longer be used because it was based onTaeniopteris vittata, which is the conserved type ofTaeniopteris, a genus in which taeniopterid fossils are placed if epidermal anatomy is unknown. Specimens identified as this species but yielding a bennettitalean cuticle should be referred to asNilssoniopteris solitaria.