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Rhynie Chert

Rhynie Chert. Joshua Vance. Rhynie, Scotland Discovered by William Mackie in 1912 Fossils were studied by Robert Kidston and William Lang. Location and Discovery of the Rhynie Chert. Deposited in the Early Devonian (396 +/- 12 million years)

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Rhynie Chert

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  1. Rhynie Chert Joshua Vance

  2. Rhynie, Scotland • Discovered by William Mackie in 1912 • Fossils were studied by Robert Kidston and William Lang Location and Discovery of the Rhynie Chert

  3. Deposited in the Early Devonian (396 +/- 12 million years) • Scotland was apart of the super continent Laurussia • Located just south of the equator • Sub-tropical to tropical environment • Volcanic activity • Heavily metamorphosed volcanic bedrock • Extensional Setting • Low angle extensional fault to the west • Hot Springs • One of the oldest preserved hot spring deposits • Siliceous • Similar to present day Yellowstone Age and Geologic Setting for the Rhynie Chert

  4. Rhynie, Scotland ~396 mya

  5. Rhynie Chert is one of the oldest preserved terrestrial ecosystems and hot spring deposits • Preservation of organic material on the anatomical scale • Delicate plant structures were preserved • Whole life cycles of organisms may be studied • Short lived developmental stages have been preserved Paleontological Significance of the Rhynie Chert

  6. Hot springs erupted siliceous hot water that cooled and precipitated silica onto nearby organisms • Soon after death organisms became inundated by siliceous fluids • Organisms were fossilized due to the permeation of silica through organic material or by direct silica replacement • This process most likely occurred quickly Taphonomy of Rhynie Chert Flora and Fauna

  7. Tracheophytes • Vascular tissue that circulates water which allows them to grow to larger sizes than non-vascular plants • Sporophytes meaning they are diploids (two sets of chromosomes per cell) • Gametophytes meaning they are haploids (one set of chromosomes per cell) • Examples: Aglaophyton, Horneophyton, and Rhynia Rhynie Chert Flora

  8. Arthropods • Invertebrates • Examples: Trigonotarbids, Mites, and Euthycarcinoids Rhynie Chert Fauna

  9. Evolutionary momentum is building up in the Early Devonian • Larger diversity of plants and animals • Complexity of species is increasing • Plants remain relatively simple • No leaves • Relatively small in size • Evolutionary advances • Vascular tissue • Oldest known vascular plants • Plant/animal interactions Evolutionary Significance of Flora and Fauna

  10. Fisher, Dan. et al. “Localities of the Devonian: Rhynie Chert, Scotland.” 11 May 1998. University of California Museum of Paleontology. < http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/devonian/rhynie.html > • Kerp, Hans. “The Rhynie Chert and it’s Flora.” December 2002. The Palaeobotanical Research Group. University of Munster. < http://www.uni-muenster.de/GeoPalaeontologie/Palaeo/Palbot/erhynie.html > • Nunn, Elizabeth. “The Rhynie Chert.” 2003. Department of Earth Sciences. University of Bristol. < http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Lagerstatten/Rhynie/index.html > • Stromberg, C. “The Rhynie Flora: Elaborations on a Theme.” 1998. Department of Integrative Biology. University of California Museum of Paleontology. < http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/IB181/VPL/Elp/Elp2.html > • Steur, Hans. “The Oldest Land Plants.” 2 September 2007. Ellecom, The Netherlands. < http://www.xs4all.nl/~steurh/eng/old2.html > • Trewin, Nigel et al. “The Biota of Early Terrestrial Ecosystems: The Rhynie Chert.” 2 March 2005. The Rhynie Chert Research Group. University of Aberdeen. < http://www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie/index.htm > Sources

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