LIU, ZHAO HUA*, GENE MAPES, AND GAR W. ROTHWELL. Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens OH 45701, U.S.A. - Taxonomic diversity among Late Pennsylvanian conifers at Hamilton, Kansas.
The Late Pennsylvanian flora at Hamilton, KS has yielded approximately
three thousand conifer specimens including leafy shoots, pollen
cones, ovulate cones, ovules and seeds, and decorticated stems that
show a wide range of variation in structural features and
preservational modes. These specimens display characters of external
morphology, internal anatomy and cuticular detail, and are
interconnected in various combinations of organs that provide a large
number of characters for formulating and testing hypotheses of
taxonomic diversity. These include the morphological and cuticular
characters used in classical fossil conifer studies, as well as new
information on anatomical and developmental variation, and
reproductive biology. Based on our analyses of vegetative shoots,
pollen cones, pollen, ovulate cones and ovules/seeds we have
identified intergrading combinations of characters for individual
organs. When the characters of organs that are in organic attachment
are included, these combined analyses allow us to test our hypotheses
of taxonomic diversity using multivariate techniques and cladistic
methodologies.
Key words: conifer diversity, Late Pennsylvanian, Paleozoic