{{Short description|Genus of plants (fossil)}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Late Devonian-Cretaceous<br>~{{fossil range|388|70}} | image = Sphenopteris - Plant Fossil from France.jpg | image_alt = Fossilized fern-like leaf structure | image_caption = ''Sphenopteris'' specimen found in Carboniferous rocks in Loire-Atlantique department, France | taxon = Sphenopteris | authority = Sternberg 1825 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * ''S. alata'' † * ''S. elegans'' † * ''S. fragilis'' † * ''S. obtusiloba'' † * ''S. pinnae'' † * ''S. plicata'' † * ''S. pottsvillea'' † * ''S. sanjuliensis'' † * ''S. spiniformis'' † * ''S. suessi'' † * ''S. trifoliata'' † * ''S. valentinii'' † * ''S. warragulensis'' † | synonyms = *Synonyms of ''S. elegans'' **''Sphenopteris adiantoides'' }}
'''''Sphenopteris''''' is a genus of seed ferns containing the foliage of various extinct plants, ranging from the Devonian to Late Cretaceous.<ref name="dk">{{cite book | title=Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth | publisher=Dorling Kindersley | author=Palmer, Douglas| year=2009 | location=New York | page=149 | isbn=978-0-7566-5573-0 | edition=1st American|display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>[http://www.georgesbasement.com/Langford-WilmingtonCoalFlora/Webpage/Sphenopteris-severalspeciesPP71-73.htm Manuscript entitled, Fossil Flora and Fauna of the Pennsylvanian Period, Will County, Illinois]</ref> One species, ''S. höninghausi'', was transferred to the genus ''Crossotheca'' in 1911.<ref>F. L. S., Johnson, T. D. (1911). A seed-bearing Irish Pteridosperm, ''Crossotheca Höninghausi'', Kidston (''Lyginodendron oldhamium'', Williamson). ''Royal Dublin Society''</ref>
== Biology == The frond of ''Sphenopteris'' could be up to {{convert|20|in|cm}} long.<ref name="dk" />
== Distribution == In Brazil, fossil of form genus ''Sphenopteris'' was located in outcrop ''Morro Papalé'' in the city of Mariana Pimentel. They are in the geopark Paleorrota in Rio Bonito Formation and date from Sakmarian in Permian.<ref>[http://sigep.cprm.gov.br/sitio101/sitio101_impresso.pdf Afloramento Morro do Papaléo, Mariana Pimentel, RS]</ref> Fossils of ''Sphenopteris'' have also been found in the Valle Alto Formation, Caldas, Colombia, among many other locations.<ref name=FWSphenopteris>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=157221 ''Sphenopteris''] at Fossilworks.org</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[http://jogginsfossilcliffs.net/research/documents/speciestables.pdf Jardin Botanico de Córdoba: Species tables]
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Category:Pteridospermatophyta Category:Prehistoric plant genera Category:Devonian plants Category:Carboniferous plants Category:Mississippian plants Category:Pennsylvanian plants Category:Permian plants Category:Triassic plants Category:Jurassic plants Category:Early Cretaceous plants Category:Late Devonian first appearances Category:Cretaceous extinctions Category:Prehistoric plants of South America Category:Fossils of Brazil Category:Fossils of Colombia Category:Jurassic Colombia Category:Fossil taxa described in 1825 Category:Fossils of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Late Cretaceous plants Category:Paleozoic life of New Brunswick Category:Paleozoic life of Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Paleozoic life of Nova Scotia Category:Paleozoic life of Nunavut
{{devonian-plant-stub}} {{carboniferous-plant-stub}} {{permian-plant-stub}} {{triassic-plant-stub}} {{jurassic-plant-stub}} {{cretaceous-plant-stub}}