Wellman, C.H. orcid.org/0000-0001-7511-0464, Cascales-Miñana, B. and Servais, T. (2023) Terrestrialization in the Ordovician. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 532 (1). pp. 171-190. ISSN 0305-8719
Abstract
This contribution reviews the evidence for terrestrial organisms during the Ordovician (microbial, land plant, fungal, animal) and for the nature of the terrestrial biota. The evidence regarding the origin and early diversification of land plants combines information from both fossils and living organisms. Extant plants can be utilized in: (1) phylogenetic analyses to provide evidence for the nature of the algal–land plant transition and the characteristics of the most basal land plants; (2) evolutionary developmental biology studies of the characters that enabled the invasion of the land; (3) molecular clock analysis to provide evidence regarding timing of the origin and diversification of land plants. We conclude that the Ordovician was a critical period during the terrestrialization of planet Earth that witnessed the transition from a microbial terrestrial biota to one dominated by a vegetation of the most basal land plants.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/R001324/1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/V001639/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Dec 2022 14:39 |
Last Modified: | 04 Oct 2024 14:03 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Geological Society of London |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1144/sp532-2022-92 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:194499 |