214 Systematic Paleontology 



SPOROPHYTA 



CLASS PTERIDOPHYTA 



Order FILICALES 

 Family SCHIZAEACEAE 



Genus SCHIZAEOPSIS Berry 

 [Annals of Botany, vol. xxv, 1911, p. 194] 



Ferns of unknown habit with repeatedly dichotomous fan-like fronds 

 made up of ribbon-like coriaceous segments. Veins for the most part 

 thin and parallel for the greater part of their course, but forking 

 dichotomously at intervals. Fructifications massed in fusiform bodies 

 of relatively large size, and consisting of numerous closely packed sporan- 

 gia, whose structure and detailed arrangement are unknown. These 

 fructifications are borne at the distal ends of certain of the veins at 

 varying heights, usually along the margins, but occasionally on the face 

 of the laminge. Ordinarily they are massed toward the distal ends of 

 the ultimate divisions of the frond, as in the modern 8chizcea elegans, 

 the ultimate ones appearing as continuations of the ultimate teeth which 

 terminate the distal lacinse. Spores spherical, tliick walled, massively 

 striated. 



The fern genus, Acrosticliopteris (Baieropsis) , which is very sim- 

 ilar in vegetative' character to Scliizceopsis, is best retained for the some- 

 what similar remains of fronds until definite information is obtainable 

 regarding their reproductive structures, although it is extremely prob- 

 able that some at least of the species of Acrostichopteris should be re- 

 ferred to the Schizseacese, and the same remark is equally applicable to 

 certain species ordinarily referred to the genus Baiera.^ 



There are abundant theoretical reasons for expecting to find repre- 

 sentatives of this family as far back at least as the later Mesozoic. Such 



^ This is, of course, not true of all species of Baiera, some of which in their 

 fruiting characters, show conclusively a relationship with Ginkgo. 



