Abstract
A SMALL loose block of Rhynie Chert (Scottish Middle Old Red Sandstone) has been found to contain a number of isolated spores which appear to have been germinating at the time when the onset of conditions favouring their preservation occurred. In some cases it is clear that development had only just commenced, the spores having split open and produced small sac-like outgrowths in which no evidence of structure can be distinguished (Fig. 1a). A few specimens have been obtained, however, which probably represent slightly later stages, and in some of these, the outgrowths seem to be composed of thin-walled cells, although the possibility cannot be entirely excluded that they may be merely artefacts resulting from shrinkage or re-arrangement. The largest and best-preserved specimen found so far has an overall length of about 0.5 mm., the distal end of the rather narrow outgrowth showing a clearly defined multicellular pattern although this can be recognized discontinuously to the basal portion where it emerges from the spore. Owing to its obliquity in the matrix, it has not proved possible to obtain a satisfactory photograph, but its form is generally similar to that of the specimen shown in Fig. 1b. While the outgrowth in this case is slightly smaller and rather badly decayed, the tripartite splitting of the spore is clearly visible. Another specimen showing this feature together with evidence of possible cellular structure appears as Fig. 1c, part of the (? incomplete) outgrowth being shown at a higher magnification in Fig. 1d.
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Kidston, R., and Lang, W. H., Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., 51, 2 (1917–21).
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LYON, A. Germinating Spores in the Rhynie Chert. Nature 180, 1219 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1801219a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1801219a0
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