# Pteruchus

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{{Short description|Extinct genus of seed ferns}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Geological range/linked|Triassic}}
| image = Pteruchus africanus.jpg
| image_caption = ''Pteruchus africanus'' fossil pollen organ, Late Triassic, Molteno Formation, Umkomaas, South Africa.
| taxon = Pteruchus
| authority = Thomas (1933)<ref name="Thomas-1933">{{cite journal 
| title=On some pteridospermous plants from the Mesozoic rocks of South Africa 
| author=Thomas, H.H.
| journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 
| year=1933 
| volume=222 
| issue=483–493
| pages=193–265
| doi=10.1098/rstb.1932.0016
| doi-access=free 
}}</ref>

}}

'''''Pteruchus''''' is a form genus for pollen organs of the seed fern ([Pteridospermatophyta](/source/Pteridospermatophyta) family [Umkomasiaceae](/source/Umkomasiaceae). It was first described by Hamshaw Thomas<ref name="Thomas-1933"/> from the Umkomaas locality of South Africa. It is associated with the seed bearing organs ''[Umkomasia](/source/Umkomasia)'' and ''[Dicroidium](/source/Dicroidium_odontopteroides)'' leaves.
[[File:Umkomasia macleani reconstruction.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Umkomasia macleani'' reconstruction of whole plant including leaves (''[Dicroidium odontopteroides](/source/Dicroidium_odontopteroides)'', pollen organs (''[Pteruchus africanus](/source/Pteruchus_africanus)'' based largely on material from the Umkomaas locality of South Africa<ref>{{cite journal 
| title=Reconstructions of selected seed ferns. 
|author1=Retallack, G.J.  |author2=Dilcher, D.L
 |name-list-style=amp | journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 
| year=1988 
| volume=75 
|issue=3 | pages=1010–1057
  | doi=10.2307/2399379
|jstor=2399379 }}</ref>
]]

== Description ==
The pollen organ ''Pteruchus'' differs from other seed fern pollen organs in having numerous pendant pollen sacs from a blade-like head, in an arrangement similar to an epaulette.

== Whole plant reconstructions ==
*''[Pteruchus africanus](/source/Pteruchus_africanus)'' may have been produced by the same plant as ''[Umkomasia macleanii](/source/Umkomasia_macleanii)'' (ovulate organs) and ''[Dicroidium odontopteroides](/source/Dicroidium_odontopteroides)'' (leaves), based on cuticular similarities between these leaves and reproductive structures at the Umkomaas locality of South Africa.<ref name="Thomas-1933"/>
*''[Pteruchus barrealensis](/source/Pteruchus_barrealensis)'' may have been produced by the same plant as ''[Umkomasia feistmantelii](/source/Umkomasia_feistmantelii)'' (ovulate organs) and ''[Dicroidium zuberi](/source/Dicroidium_zuberi)'' (leaves), based on cuticular similarities between these leaves and reproductive structures near Sydney Australia.<ref>{{cite journal 
| title=Reconstructing Triassic vegetation of Australasia: a new approach for the biostratigraphy of Gondwanaland 
| author=Retallack, G.J.
| journal=Alcheringa 
| year=1977 
| volume=1 
| pages=247–278
| doi=10.1080/03115517708527763
}}
</ref>
*''Pteruchus septentrionalis'' from the Lower Jurassic of Germany has been placed in the separate genus ''[Muelkirchium](/source/Muelkirchium).''<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=Heidi M.|last2=Barbacka|first2=Maria|last3=Bamford|first3=Marion K.|last4=Holmes|first4=W. B. Keith|last5=Anderson|first5=John M.|date=2019-10-02|title=Pteruchus (microsporophyll): part 2 of a reassessment of Gondwana Triassic plant genera and a reclassification of some previously attributed|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2019.1617348|journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology|language=en|volume=43|issue=4|pages=511–533|doi=10.1080/03115518.2019.1617348|s2cid=198398356|issn=0311-5518|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q25095303}}

Category:Triassic plants
Category:Pteridospermatophyta

{{triassic-plant-stub}}

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