Dollyphyton

Dollyphyton; Temporal range:
	Holotype of Dollyphyton boucotii, from the Douglas Lake Member of Lenoir Limestone, at Douglas Dam, Tennessee[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Bryophyta
Class:	Sphagnopsida
Order:	Sphagnales
Family:	Flatbergiaceae
Genus:	Dollyphyton; Retallack (2019) [1]
Type species
	Dollyphyton boucotii; Retallack (2019)

Dollyphyton is a genus of fossil with controversial interpretation from the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian, 460 million years old) Douglas Lake Member of the Lenoir Limestone from Douglas Dam Tennessee.[1] The generic name honors Dolly Parton whose Dollywood resort is nearby. The epithet honors Art Boucot.

Interpretative sketch of Dollyphyton boucotii

Leaf of Dollyphyton boucotii

Leaves and terminal spore mass of Dollyphyton boucotii

Description

Dollyphyton is considered as a fossil peat moss by Gregory Retallack. Its leaves are wide and have lateral teeth. Its capsule is terminal on a short pseudopodium.

Interpretation

Unlike most peat mosses Dollyphyton has broad leaves like those of the living peat moss Flatbergium, considered basal to Sphagnales.[2] Interpretation of this fossil as a peat moss has been doubted in some quarters[3] but accepted in others.[4]

References

Retallack, G.J. (2019). "Ordovician land plants and fungi from Douglas Dam, Tennessee". The Palaeobotanist. 68: 1–33.
Shaw, A.J.; Cox, C.J.; Buck, W.R.; Devos, N.; Buchanan, A.M.; Cave, L.; Seppelt, R.; Shaw, B.; Larrain, J.; Andrus, R.; Greilhuber, J. (2022). "Newly resolved relationships in an early plant lineage: Bryophyta Class Sphagnopsida (peat mosses)". American Journal of Botany. 974: 1511–1531.
Edwards, Dianne; Morris, Jennifer L.; Axe, Lindsey; Duckett, Jeffrey G.; Pressel, Silvia; Kenrick, Paul (2022). "Piecing together the eophytes – a new group of ancient plants containing cryptospores". New Phytologist. 233 (3): 1440–1455. doi:10.1111/nph.17703. ISSN 0028-646X. PMID 34806774. S2CID 244495761.
Leigh, Egbert (2022). "Fossil soils: trace fossils of ecosystems on land and windows on the context of evolution". Evolution Education and Outreach. 15:14: 1–5. doi:10.1186/s12052-022-00173-3. S2CID 255483235.

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[Retallack_2019-1] Retallack, G.J. (2019). "Ordovician land plants and fungi from Douglas Dam, Tennessee". The Palaeobotanist. 68: 1–33.

[2] Shaw, A.J.; Cox, C.J.; Buck, W.R.; Devos, N.; Buchanan, A.M.; Cave, L.; Seppelt, R.; Shaw, B.; Larrain, J.; Andrus, R.; Greilhuber, J. (2022). "Newly resolved relationships in an early plant lineage: Bryophyta Class Sphagnopsida (peat mosses)". American Journal of Botany. 974: 1511–1531.

[3] Edwards, Dianne; Morris, Jennifer L.; Axe, Lindsey; Duckett, Jeffrey G.; Pressel, Silvia; Kenrick, Paul (2022). "Piecing together the eophytes – a new group of ancient plants containing cryptospores". New Phytologist. 233 (3): 1440–1455. doi:10.1111/nph.17703. ISSN 0028-646X. PMID 34806774. S2CID 244495761.

[4] Leigh, Egbert (2022). "Fossil soils: trace fossils of ecosystems on land and windows on the context of evolution". Evolution Education and Outreach. 15:14: 1–5. doi:10.1186/s12052-022-00173-3. S2CID 255483235.