Prehistoric Ecosystems: Jurassic Period - Forests

[Totoro]

JURASSIC PERIOD - FORESTS

TOP 5 BLOG APPROVED ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF TYPICAL FOREST HABITAT


OTHER MAJOR HABITATS
-Oceans and Seas


CONFIRMED BIOTA

Animals:
Allosarus
Brachiosaurus
Diplodocus
Apatosaurus
Stegosaurus
Ceratosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Archaeopteryx
Pterosaurs
Seismosaurus

Plants:

Ferns
Osmundopsis
Dictophyllum

Horestails
Equisetites

Tree Ferns
Marattia

Ginkgoes
Ginkgoites
Czekanowskia

Cycads
Pseudoctenis
Pentoxylon

Conifers
Brachyphyllum
Elactocladus
Rissikia
Agathis


LINKS
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-67754-4

[Totoro]

OK, there's a crude foundation with some example content plugged in.   Lots more needed, obviously.  What else is needed from an outline/structural standpoint?   If nothing, then just post content additions/corrections below and readers can read the threads.   I'll try to periodically read the entries and update or correct the first post to summarize the collective knowledge of the entries. 

Thanks for contributing!

Note:  obviously, this can get as ridiculous as we want.   We can list major groups or guilds, or all species, along with current genus/species nomenclature, etc.   I'm happy to take this where folks want it to go. 

[irimali]

So I'm gonna start off with some info on interesting but less frequently portrayed plants.  Apologies if this is too much info, just trying to include a few pics and sources for anyone interested.

Czekanowskia was an extinct genus living from the late triassic through the early cretaceous.  Fossils are known from europe, asia, north america, greenland and possibly antarctica.  It's been classified as a relative of ginkgoes based on the leaf shape, though it may be a gymnosperm belonging to a different family or a seed fern, at least according to Paleobotany 2nd edition.  Fossil leaves:





The leaves have a unique shape.  Picture a long pine needle splitting in two, then each side of the fork forking again and again.  Sort of like the leaves of the extant fern schizaea:



Here's a page with a couple fossil photos and foliage reconstructions:

https://sites.google.com/site/paleoplant/classification/czekanowskia

Also a paper looking at the probable life appearance:

https://www.gnsi.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2011&month=10&day=14&id=243:using-engineering-principles-to-reconstruct-leaf-shape

And a pic from that paper:



It suggests that czekanowskia may have looked similar to the unrelated living plant casuarina:



although up close the leaves would have looked different, they may have drooped in a similar fashion.  Fossil leaves from some members of the family have been found in groups attached to short shoots, and some have been found with both long shoots and short shoots:





So it could have had a branching pattern similar to modern ginkgoes(1st pic), larches and cedars(2nd pic).

This paper says they may be deciduous, which is also mentioned in paleobotany 2nd edition, so feel free to portray them in fall colors if you like:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283246762_A_New_Species_of_Czekanowskia_Czekanowskiales_from_the_Middle_Jurassic_of_Ordos_Basin_China

If you scroll down to the bottom of this paper there's also a list of other plant genera from the middle jurassic Yan'an Formation, just in case you're looking for something like that

[irimali]

Adding to that, I'll mention the ginkgophytes baiera(permian-cretaceous) and sphenobaiera(triassic-cretaceous-going extinct 72.6 mya)

Baiera:



Sphenobaiera:





Also ginkgo yimanesis:



Which may have been similar to modern gingko biloba :

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep38191

based on fossil wood from 153-165 mya(middle-late jurassic) of china.  I can't find much info on baiera or sphenobaiera besides descriptions of the leaves.  This paper:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X15000049

mentions Baiera fossils from a deciduous temperate forest in early cretaceous china.

This paper:

https://bioone.org/journals/Palaios/volume-35/issue-6/palo.2019.104/PLANT-TAPHONOMY-IN-A-LAKE-AFFECTED-BY-VOLCANISM-AGUA-DE/10.2110/palo.2019.104.short?tab=ArticleLink

shows a reconstruction of sphenobaiera living along the water's edge:



I remember an episode of Dinosaur Train mentioning that early gingkos were smaller shrubs growing along stream banks but I can't find an article mentioning that.  Anyone have any more info?

[irimali]

Caytonia/Sagenopteris:



By Abbieeturner - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47421888

A seed plant known from middle triassic(anisian) to cretaceous(albian).  Fossils are known from north and south america, greenland, europe, japan and antarctica.  Leaves are known as sagenopteris, pollen bearing structures as caytonanthus, and seed bearing structures(as well as whole plant reconstructions) as caytonia.  Caytonia is reconstructed as a small tree(based on woody axes with sagenopteris leaves attached) growing in swampy environments (often found with horsetails).  It's fruit may have attracted small animals for dispersal.  on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caytoniales

This is the only image I could find showing how the leaves attach to the branch:

https://www.michaelwachtler.com/download/entdeckungen-pdf/35_SAGENOPTERIS.pdf


from this site:

https://www.michaelwachtler.com/en/entdeckungen-michael-wachtler.asp?MAID=173&LG=3&APP=8&NKey=michaelDiscoveries

I've tried to find a modern plant that might have a similar overall appearance but nothing quite fits exactly.  Acer maximowiczianum (nikko maple) is a smallish tree-up to 65 feet tall which does grow along streams and has palmate leaflets(though only 3 leaflets instead of 4 like sagenopteris).  Still, I'd probably use pics like this:



from here:

https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acer-maximowiczianum.58079/

as reference at least for the general look of the foliage from a distance.  Unfortunately it's hard to find a pic of a wild individual but it's a start. 

I attempted to draw one once, behind this stegosaurus:



Turned out all right.  apparently it's the only attempt at a life reconstruction of caytonia on flickr.

[Totoro]

@irimali, belated thank you, this is wonderful stuff.  Exactly what I was looking for and tons of fun to read and ponder.  I'll slowly work this kind of thing into the top post as I find time to build and polish those very rough starts. 

Oh, and of course, the Stegosaurus/Caytonia illustration is amazing! *drools*

Also, this page will be a placeholder for Period Wildlife Illustrations and fossil pix.


Ceratosaurus
By Daniel Eskridge.  (Order image here: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/ceratosaurus-moon-daniel-eskridge.html)

[Totoro]

This page will be a placeholder for Period Plant illustrations and fossil pix.

[Totoro]

This page will be a placeholder for scenic illustrations of this Period.

[irimali]

Found this today:

https://twitter.com/Tomozaurus/status/1293345452348174336

A couple sketches and some notes on one Jurassic and one Cretaceous araucariaceaens.

[Tyto_Theropod]

This looks like it's going to be a super handy thread for anyone doing dios and/or palaeoart, so thanks for all the effort, guys!  I'll leave the plants to the experts, but I might be able to make some contributions on animals.  Just as a sidenote, the animals listed are from the Morrison Formation and I was under the impression that that preserves more of a savanna type biome.  Was I wrong about this?  Is this description just referring to the climate?

Finally - @irimali, that Stegosaurus picture is beautiful!

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

This looks like it's going to be a super handy thread for anyone doing dios and/or palaeoart, so thanks for all the effort, guys!

I have to second this. Thanks for all the effort and knowledge.
And it is super helpful.