Permineralized lycopsid from the Permian of Antarctica

Compression–impression fossils from the central Transantarctic Mountains suggest a somewhat diverse Permian flora, but permineralized peat of the same age does not exhibit this diversity. Permineralized fossils from Skaar Ridge in the central Transantarctic Mountains contain helically arranged sporophylls, each bearing a single reniform-shaped adaxial sporangium that contains trilete spores. Although the fossils are fragmentary, they are important as the first record of lycopsids with cellular detail from the Late Permian of Antarctica. The only Permian record to date of this group from the Transantarctic Mountains is Collinsonites schopfii Schwendemann et al., which consists of only impressions of vegetative parts.

► Record of the first lycopsid sporophyll from Permian of Antarctica. ► Antarctic lycopsid unlike other Permian Gondwanan lycopsids. ► Diversity of Antarctic landscape greater than presently known.