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Weichselia; Temporal range: Mid Jurassic-early Late Cretaceous; Bathonian–Cenomanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	W. reticulata fossils, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Brussels
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Gleicheniales
Family:	Matoniaceae
Genus:	†Weichselia; Stiehler
Species
	Weichselia reticulata;

Weichselia is an extinct genus of fern. They were abundant from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous.^[1] While generally supposed to have affinities to Matoniaceae, some research has suggested that they have closer affinites to the Marattiales, though its morphology is strongly divergent from both of these groups. They are thought to have grown similar to modern tree ferns, with an upright stem topped with a crown of fronds.^[2]

Evolutionary history

The genus first appeared in the Middle Jurassic with remains found in North Africa and Georgia. During the Early-mid Cretaceous, the genus had a wide distribution, having been found in Europe, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, southern North America and northern South America. The youngest remains of the genus are known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Europe and North Africa. Remains are found in both continental and marginal marine deposits.^[3]

Ecology

Weichselia has been interpreted as being xeromorphic,^[2] and has been suggested that they grew in savannah^[3] and/or coastal environments.^[4] It has also been suggested that they were primary colonisers following the destruction of pre-existing vegetation.^[2]

References

^ Weichselia at Fossilworks.org
^ ^a ^b ^c Blanco-Moreno, Candela; Decombeix, Anne-Laure; Prestianni, Cyrille (2020-11-13). Lomax, Barry (ed.). "New insights into the affinities, autoecology, and habit of the Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata based on the revision of stems from Bernissart (Mons Basin, Belgium)" (PDF). Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (3): 1351–1372. doi:10.1002/spp2.1344. hdl:2268/295478. ISSN 2056-2802. S2CID 228860679.
^ ^a ^b Blanco-Moreno, Candela; Gomez, Bernard; Buscalioni, Ángela (December 2018). "Palaeobiogeographic and metric analysis of the Mesozoic fern Weichselia". Geobios. 51 (6): 571–578. Bibcode:2018Geobi..51..571B. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2018.05.001.
^ Hamad, Abdalla M.B. Abu; Amireh, Belal; El Atfy, Haytham; Jasper, André; Uhl, Dieter (November 2016). "Fire in a Weichselia-dominated coastal ecosystem from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kurnub Group in NW Jordan". Cretaceous Research. 66: 82–93. Bibcode:2016CrRes..66...82H. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.06.001.

Bibliography

Monje Durán, Camila; Martínez, Camila; Escapa, Ignacio; Madriñán, Santiago (2016), "Nuevos registros de helechos y coníferas del Cretácico Inferior en la cuenca del Valle Superior del Magdalena, Colombia" (PDF), Boletín de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, 38: 29–42, retrieved 2017-03-31