# Pitus

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitus
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{{Short description|Extinct genus of plants}}
{{automatic taxobox
| taxon = Pitus
| fossil_range = Mississippian
| image = Pitys withamii fossil outside Natural History Museum.jpg
| image_caption = ''Pitus withamii'' fossil outside [Natural History Museum, London](/source/Natural_History_Museum%2C_London)
| authority = Witham
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = *''Pitus primaeva'' Witham 
*''Pitus antiqua'' Witham
*''Pitus withamii'' (Lindley and Hutton) Arnold
}}
'''''Pitus''''', also known as '''''Pitys''''', is an extinct [genus](/source/genus) of early "[pteridosperm](/source/pteridosperm)" (also known as "seed fern") [seed plant](/source/seed_plant) ([gymnosperm](/source/gymnosperm) ''sensu lato''). A [morphogenus](/source/morphogenus) representing wood, they are primarily known from remains found in [Euramerica](/source/Euramerica) (also known as Laurussia) during the Early [Carboniferous](/source/Carboniferous) ([Mississippian](/source/Mississippian_(geology))),<ref name=":0" /> including Newfoundland and Scotland. They are particularly well known from fossils found in southern Scotland of [Viséan](/source/Vis%C3%A9an) age (with the species ''P. withamii'' having the colloquial name of the '''Craigleith tree<ref name=":1" />''')  when the area had a [tropical climate](/source/tropical_climate). Their trunks reached at least {{Convert|20|m}} in height and {{Convert|1|m}} wide at the base, and were the tallest trees at the time. They are associated with [rachis](/source/Rachis) of ''[Lyginorachis](/source/Lyginorachis),'' and the leaves of ''[Sphenopteris](/source/Sphenopteris).''<ref name="Pitus">{{cite journal |last1=Henderson |first1=Elsa |last2=Falcon-Lang |first2=Howard J. |title=Diversity and ontogeny of Pitus tree-trunks in the early Mississippian rocks of the Isle of Bute, Scotland: The importance of sample size and quantitative analysis for fossil wood systematics |journal=Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology |date=2011 |volume=166 |issue=3–4 |pages=202–212 |doi=10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.009 |bibcode=2011RPaPa.166..202H }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite journal |url=https://research-scotland.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/d5c89368-6428-461b-a8ed-3eee8dd6678e/content |journal=Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) |title=The Craigleith Tree ("''Pitys withamii'' Tree"): Morphology, taxonomy, preservation and ecological context|last=Cleal|first=Christopher J.|date=2022}}</ref> They are considered to be part of the "hydrasperman" group of seed ferns (which is likely [paraphyletic](/source/paraphyletic)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bateman |first=Richard M. |last2=Spencer |first2=Alan R. T. |last3=Hilton |first3=Jason |date=2026-01-26 |title=Early evolutionary history of the seed |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/brv.70134 |journal=Biological Reviews |language=en |doi=10.1002/brv.70134 |issn=1464-7931}}</ref>). A distant relationship with modern [cycads](/source/cycads) has been proposed.<ref name=":1" /> Attribution of remains from Australia to the genus has been questioned.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Laloux |first=Bertrand |last2=Decombeix |first2=Anne-Laure |date=2022-12-12 |title=New Pitus and Eristophyton-type woods from the Tournaisian of Queensland, Australia: taxonomic, biogeographic, and palaeoclimatic implications |url=http://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/fr/periodiques/comptes-rendus-palevol/21/42 |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |issue=42 |doi=10.5852/cr-palevol2022v21a42 |issn=1777-571X}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Gymnosperms
Category:Prehistoric gymnosperm genera
Category:Carboniferous plants

{{carboniferous-plant-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pitus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.