The Rhynie chert is an Early Devonian Lagerstätte found near the village of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, containing exceptionally preserved plant, fungus, lichen and animal material petrified in three dimensions by covering with fast-setting volcanic minerals. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. A Lagerstätte ( German; literally place of storage; plural Lagerstätten) is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossil Rhynie is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland which the A97 road runs through situated 14 miles northwest of Alford. Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain is one of the 32 unitary Council areas in Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. In Geology, petrifaction or petrification is the process by which Organic material is converted into stone or a similar substance without The bulk of the fossil bed consists of primitive plants (which had water-conducting cells and sporangia, but no true leaves), along with arthropods, lichens, algae and fungi. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other In Biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint "
This fossil bed is remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, the age of the site (Pragian, Early Devonian, formed about [1][2]) places it at an early stage in the colonisation of land. The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. Secondly, these cherts are famous for their exceptional state of ultrastructural preservation, with individual cell walls easily visible in polished specimens. Chert (ˈtʃɝt is a fine-grained Silica -rich Microcrystalline, Cryptocrystalline or Microfibrous Sedimentary rock that may contain Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure is the detailed structure of a biological specimen such as a cell, tissue, or organ, that can be observed by Electron Stomata have been counted and lignin remnants detected in the plant material, and the breathing apparatus of trigonotarbids (known as book lungs) can be seen in cross-sections. In Botany, a stoma (also stomate; plural stomata) is a tiny opening or pore found mostly on the underside of a Plant Leaf Lignin or lignen is a complex Chemical compound most commonly derived from Wood and an integral part of the secondary Cell walls of Plants A book lung is a type of Respiration organ used for atmospheric gas exchange and is found in Arachnids such as Scorpions and Spiders Each of these Fungal hyphae can be seen entering plant material, acting as decomposers and mycorrhizal symbionts. A hypha (plural hyphae) is a long branching filamentous cell of a Fungus, and also of unrelated Actinobacteria. A mycorrhiza (Greek for fungus roots coined by Frank 1885 typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (occasionally This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek
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The chert was formed when silica-rich water from volcanic springs rose rapidly and petrified the early terrestrial ecosystem, in situ and almost instantaneously, in much the same fashion that organisms are petrified by hot springs today[3] - although the astounding fidelity of preservation has not been found in recent deposits. In Geology, petrifaction or petrification is the process by which Organic material is converted into stone or a similar substance without An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( [4] Hot springs, with temperatures between 90–120 °C,[3] were active in a number of episodes; the water had probably cooled to under 30 °C before it reached the fossilised organisms. [5] Their activity is preserved in 53 beds, 80mm thick on average, over a 35. 41m sequence,[6] interbedded with sands, shales and tuffs - which speak of local volcanic activity. Tuff (from the Italian "tufo" is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption [7] Deposition was very rapid. [8] The fluids originated from a shallowly dipping extensional fault system to the west, which bounded an extensional half-graben. A graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults Graben is German for ditch. [7]
Fossils were formed as silica formed in the hot springs themselves;[3] when silica-rich water flooded the surrounding areas;[3] and when it permeated into the surrounding soil. [3] The texture of the sinter formed resemble those found today in freshwater streams at Yellowstone which are typically alkaline (pH 8. 7) and tepid (20-28 °C). [4] The springs were periodically active, and flowed into an alluvial plain containing small lakes. [6] By analogy with Yellowstone, the chert itself probably formed in a marshy area towards the latter end of the extent of outwash from the springs. [5] Living vegetation covered around 55% of the land area, with litter covering 30% and the remaining 15% of the ground being bare. [5] A braided[9] river flowing to the north periodically deposited the sandy layers found in cores when it flooded its banks. [5]
Sedimentary textures which appear to have formed in the hydrothermal vents themselves are preserved with a brecciated texture;[3] "geyserite", a sediment with a botryoidal form reminiscent of modern vent margins, is also found. [3] Spores collected from within surrounding rocks had been heated to different degrees, implying a complex history of local heating by volcanic processes. [8]
The preservation of plants varies from perfect three dimensional cellular permineralisation to flattened charcoal films. [3] On occasion, plants may have their vertical axes preserved in growth position, with rhizoids still attached to rhizomes; even the plant litter is preserved. Rhizoids are a structure in plants and fungi that functions like a root in support or absorption In Botany, a rhizome is a horizontal stem of a Plant that is usually found underground often sending out Roots and Shoots Plant litter (sometimes called leaf litter or tree litter) is dead Plant material such as leaves, Bark, and Twigs [3]
Plants were only found on the land - none lived in the water of lakes or hot springs. [6] Rhynia typically grew on sandy surfaces, and is often preserved there in life position; Horneophyton grew on sinter, the sediment formed by the hot springs. Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii was the Sporophyte generation of a vascular axial free-sporing diplohaplontic embryophytic land plant of the Lower Horneophyton was an early plant which may form a "missing link" between the " Rhyniophytes quot and hornworts These two colonisers were subsequently joined by other genera. [6] The time between sinter deposition events was too short to allow the populations to develop to climax communities, and correspondingly early colonisers appear most frequently, pseudo-randomly, in logged sequences. [5]
Plants demonstrate best the great value of the exceptional preservation of the Rhynie chert. The presence of soft tissue, including parenchyma, is not observed elsewhere in the fossil record[10] until the advent of amber in the Triassic. Parenchyma is a term used to describe a bulk of a substance It is used in different ways in Animals and in Plants. The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago This allows the study of structures such as the air spaces behind stomata, whereas the conventional record at its best allows no more than the counting of stomata. In Botany, a stoma (also stomate; plural stomata) is a tiny opening or pore found mostly on the underside of a Plant Leaf [10] It has also enabled paleobotanists to firmly deduce that plants such as Agalophyton were not aquatic, as once believed. Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany (from the Greek words paleon = old and " Botany " study of plants is the branch of [10] Further, as plants are preserved in situ, it permits the study of exactly how and why the branching patterns of the early plants emerged, whereas the conventional record only showed that branching was present. [10] The analysis of rhizomes and rhizoids makes it possible to discern which plants had an active water uptake system (e. g. Horneophyton), and which were likely to have colonised waterlogged surfaces (Asteroxylon). [10] In some cases, it is possible to see different mechanisms of repairing wounds, and to deduce that they were caused by fungal or bacterial infection. [10]
The preservation of spores attached to sporangia allows spore genera to be matched with their producers - something that is otherwise very difficult to do. A sporangium (pl sporangia) is a Plant or fungal structure producing and containing Spores Sporangia occur in angiosperms, [11] The chert also allows the identification of the gametophyte phases of species such as Aglaophyton. Aglaophyton major was the Sporophyte generation of Diplohaplontic, pre-vascular axial free-sporing land plant of the Lower Devonian that [12]
Analysis of spores shows that the flora was lacking in some elements common elsewhere at this time, likely due to its setting in a mountainous region, rather than in a lowland flood plain like most other fossil deposits. [13] However, the spores, which are distinctive enough to permit their producing organism to be identified - are identical to those found elsewhere in "normal" environments. [13] There is no clear-cut evidence that the plants of the Rhynie assemblage were specifically adapted to stressed environments,[6] and it is likely that the flora in fact represents those members of the global fauna that happened to be capable of colonising and surviving a hot spring environment by virtue of fortuitous preadaptions. [13]
The only alga to have been found in the Rhynie chert is the charophyte Palaeonitella,[4] which inhabited the alkaline freshwater pools towards the end of the sinter apron. [14]
As a result of its exquisite preservation, the Rhynie chert boasts the most diverse non-marine fauna of its time. [5] Typical members of the Rhynie chert arthropod fauna include the crustacean Lepidocaris, the euthycarcinoid Heterocrania,[4] springtails (Collembola), harvestmen (Opiliones)[15], pseudoscorpions, Acari (mites), and trigonotarbids. Springtails ( Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered Insects (the other two are the Harvestmen are eight-legged Invertebrate animals belonging to the order Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) in the class Arachnida in the subphylum A pseudoscorpion, (also known as a false scorpion or book scorpion) is an Arachnid belonging to the order Pseudoscorpionida, also known Acarina or Acari are a Taxon of Arachnids that contains Mites and Ticks The diversity of the Acari is extraordinary and its The Order Trigonotarbida is an extinct group of Arachnids whose Fossil record extends from the Silurian to the Lower Permian and are [13]
The oldest known insects, which resemble the modern springtails, are found in the Rhynie chert,[16] pushing dates for the origination of insects back to the Silurian period. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described [17]
Fungi known from the Rhynie chert include the chytridiomycetes,[18] ascomycetes,[12] oomycota (Peronosporomycetes)[19] and glomeromycetes;[20] indeed the only fungal groups not yet known from the Rhynie are the Zygomycota (although they may have formed lichens - see later), and the Basidiomycota,[19] the latter of which may not even have evolved by Rhynie time. Chytridiomycetes has recently been redefined to exclude the Taxa Neocallimastigomycota and Monoblepharidomycetes, which are now Ascomycota is a Division / Phylum of Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya, whose members are commonly known as the Sac Fungi. [20]
The Chytridiomycetes, or Chytrids, are a basal group of fungi, closely related to the true fungi.
The chytrids display a range of behaviour in the Rhynie chert. Eucarpic and holocarpic forms are known - i. e. some forms grew specialised fruiting bodies while others did not show specialisation in this fashion. [18] Saprotrophy may be present, and parasitism is common; one individual has even been found parasitising a germinating gametophyte. . [18] The fungi were aquatic, and grew in both plants and algae; they are also found preserved "loose" in the chert matrix. [18] Their flagellate spores are preserved. [18]
In the rare instances that cyanobacteria are found in the fossil record, their presence is usually the subject of much controversy, for their simple form is difficult to distinguish from inorganic structures such as bubbles. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of Bacteria that obtain their energy
However, bona fide cyanobacteria are preserved in the Rhynie chert. The aquatic organisms are thought to belong to the Oscillatoriales section on the basis of biomarker absence. A biomarker is a substance used as an indicator of a biologic state [21] The fossils are filamentous, around 3 μm in diameter, and grew on plants and the sediment itself. They occasionally form structured colonies which go on to create microbial mats. [21]
A new genus of lichen, Winfrenatia, has been recovered from the Rhynie chert. The lichen comprises a thallus, made of layered, aseptate hyphae; a number of depressions are formed on its top surface. Each depression contains a net of hyphae holding a sheathed cyanobacterium. The fungus appears to be related to the Zygomycetes, and the photobiont resembles the coccoid Gloeocapsa and Chroococcidiopsis. Gloeocapsa is a type of Photoautotrophic Bacteria ( Cyanobacteria) and is a Prokaryote. [22]
The Rhynie chert, by preserving a snapshot of an ecosystem in situ in high fidelty, gives a unique opportunity to observe interactions between species and kingdoms. There is evidence of parasitic behaviour by fungi on algae Palaeonitella, provoking a hypertrophic response. Hypertrophy is the increase of the size of an organ or in a select area of the tissue [18] Herbivory is also evident, judging by boring and piercing[23] wounds in various states of repair, and the mouthparts of arthropods. [24]
Coprolites - fossilised droppings - give a useful insight of what animals ate, even if the animals cannot be identified. A Coprolite is Fossilized animal dung Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in Coprolites found in the Rhynie chert are typically between 0. 5 and 3 mm in size, and contain a variety of contents. [25] Analysis of coprolites allows the identification of different feeding modes, including detritovory and herbivory; some coprolites are so densely packed with spores that it is possible that these made up a substantial proportion of some organisms' diets. [25]
Plants responded to fungal colonisation in different ways, depending on the fungus. The rhizoids of Nothia displayed three responses to fungal infestation: the hyphae of some (mutualistic) colonists were encased by plant cell walls; other (parasitic) fungi were met with typical host responses of increased rhizome cell size; while yet other fungi solicited an increase in thickness and pigmentation of cell walls. [20] Once inside a plant cell, fungi produced spores, which are found in decaying plant cells;[20] the cells may have decayed as a defence mechanism to prevent the fungi from spreading. [19]
Fungal interactions are known to promote speciation in modern plants, and presumably also affected Devonian diversity by providing a selection pressure. [19]
Mycorrhizae are also found in the Rhynie chert. A mycorrhiza (Greek for fungus roots coined by Frank 1885 typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (occasionally A mycorrhiza (Greek for fungus roots coined by Frank 1885 typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (occasionally [26]
The bed lies under at least 1 metre of overburden, in a single small field near the village of Rhynie, so is effectively inaccessible to collectors; besides which, the site is an SSSI. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Overburden is the term used in Mining to describe material that lies above the area of economic interest e Rhynie is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland which the A97 road runs through situated 14 miles northwest of Alford. A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom. A second unit, the Windyfield chert, is located some 700m from the Rhynie. The Rhynie chert extends for at least 80m along strike and 90m down-dip. [5]
The chert was discovered by Dr William Mackie while mapping the western margin of the Rhynie basin in 1910–1913. [27] Trenches were cut into the chert at the end of this period, and Kidston & Lang worked furiously to describe the plant fossils between 1917 and 1921. [27] The arthropods were examined soon afterwards by different workers. [27] Interest in the chert then waned until the field was reinvigorated by Lyon in the late 1950s, and new material was collected by further trenching from 1963-71. [27] Since 1980, the chert has been examined by the Münster school, and from 1987 Aberdeen University, who confirmed that the chert was indeed produced by a hot spring setting. [27] Cores, allowing an insight into the evolution of the chert over time, were drilled in 1988 and 1997, accompanied by further trenching efforts, which unearthed the Windyfield chert. [27]
Until recently, the Rhynie chert was the only such deposit known from the geological record, although recent work has turned up other localities from different time periods and continents. [28]