Among the oldest convincing fossils of early vascular land plants are those of the Division Rhyniophyta. The members of this division consist of: (1) simple axes with cuticle, stomates, epidermis, cortex and a terete (circular) centrarch xylem (xylem development occurs from the center of the stem to the periphery), without well-developed appendages or roots; (2) simple, isotomous branching syst...

The Rhipidistia (Osteichthyes, Crossopterygii) comprise three superfamilies of Paleozoic fossil fishes, the Holoptychoidea, Osteolepoidea and Rhizodontoidea. Of these the members of the Holoptychoidea (families Holoptychidae and Porolepidae) are by far the least well known, and consequently there exists a considerable gap in our knowledge of the evolution of the Rhipidistia as a whole. The aim ...

To test the extent of herbivory in early terrestrial ecosystems, we examined compression-impression specimens of the late Middle Devonian liverwort Metzgeriothallus sharonae, from the Catskill Delta deposit of eastern New York state. Shale fragments of field-collected specimens were processed by applying liquid nitrocellulose on exposed surfaces. After drying, the film coatings were lifted off ...

BACKGROUND Living gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) comprise two divisions, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes, including euchondrichthyans with prismatic calcified cartilage, and extinct stem chondrichthyans) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes including tetrapods). Most of the early chondrichthyan ('shark') record is based upon isolated teeth, spines, and scales, with the oldest articulated sharks...

In view of the recent recognition of widespread Late Paleozoic remagnetization of Devonian formations across North America, we undertook a reinvestigation of the Upper Devonian Perry Formation of coastal Maine and adjacent New Brunswick. Thermal demagnetization of samples from the redbeds yielded a characteristic direction (D = 166 ° l = 4 ° ) that fails a fold test. Comparison of the correspon...