''Arthropitys'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of calamitacean equisetale. The

petrified In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...

fossils of ''Arthropitys bistriata'', the type species, can be found in the Leukersdorf Formation, Chemnitz petrified forest,

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The genus existed from the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

(

Bashkirian The Bashkirian is in the International Commission on Stratigraphy geologic timescale the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage or oldest age (geology), age of the Pennsylvanian (geology), Pennsylvanian. The Bashkirian age lasted from to Mega annu ...

)C. W. Good. (1975). Pennsylvanian-Age Calamitean Cones, Elater-Bearing Spores, and Associated Vegetative Organs. ''Palaeontographica'' 153:28-99 until the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which ...

(

Olenekian In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age (geology), age in the Early Triassic epoch (geology), epoch; in chronostratigraphy, it is a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Lower Triassic series (stratigraphy), series. It spans the time betw ...

).I. A. Dobruskina. (1982). Triassic Floras of Eurasia. ''Akademia Nauk SSSR, Transactions'' 365:1-196

History

The first remains of ''Arthropitys'' were discovered in the early 16th century and were described by

Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was b ...

(1494–1555) in 1546. In the mid-18th century, gemstone prospector David Frenzel (1691–1772) found numerous examples of this wood in the hills in and around Chemnitz. One of Frenzel's 1751 finds is one of the few petrified wood specimens still possessing its roots. Later a collector, the Hilbersdorf contractor Güldner, bequeathed some of the petrified logs to King Albert Museum in Chemnitz. The first director of the Museum, Johann Traugott Sterzel, took over the investigation of the findings. The Sterzeleanum in the museum (the petrified forest display) is dedicated to him. The genus ''Arthropitys'' was named and described by Frenzel (1751) and the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''A. bistriata'' was named by Cotta (1864). The type locality for ''A. bistrata'' and ''A.'' sp. is the Chemnitz petrified forest. From April 4, 2008, to Fall 2011, an excavation in Hilbersdorf was held to find and research more trunks. Their researchers discovered, amongst others, ''Arthropitys bistriata''. Many more plants and animals from this excavation are still being used for ongoing research. ''A. deltoides'' was named by Cichan and Taylor (1983) and was discovered in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. ''A. taoshuyuanensis'' was named by Chen ''et al.'' (2018) from specimens found in the Wutonggou Formation of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. ''A. buritiranensis'' was named by Neregato ''et al.'' (2021) from specimens found in the Motuca Formation of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Distribution

Specimens have also been discovered in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

,J. Galtier. (1997). Coal-ball floras of the Namurian-Westphalian of Europe. ''Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology'' 95:51-72

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the UK and the US (

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

,T. L. Phillips and W.A. DiMichele. (1998). A Transect through a Clastic-swamp to Peat-swamp Ecotene in the Springfield Coal, Middle Pennsylvanian Age of Indiana, USA. ''Palaios'' 13:113-128

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Classification

Rößler, Feng & Noll (2012) classified ''Arthropitys'' within

Calamitaceae Calamitaceae is an extinct Family (biology), family of Equisetales, equisetalean plants related to the modern horsetails, known from the Carboniferous and Permian periods. Some members of this family like ''Arthropitys'' attained tree-like statur ...

Gallery

File:Arthropitys sp 56.JPG, Two ''Arthropitys .sp'' fossils discovered in

File:ETH-BIB-Arthropitys bistriata (Calamariaceae), Chemnitz (Sammlung Zacharias, Dresden)-Dia 247-01767.tif, ''A. bistriata''

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s from

File:Versteinerter Wald Chemnitz 2009.jpg, Fossils from the petrified forest of Chemnitz in which ''Arthrophitys .sp'' is common. Located in

occurrence on display in the courtyard of DASTietz and Museum of Natural History Chemnitz

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q55604249 Equisetales Fossil taxa described in 1864 Carboniferous plants Permian plants Triassic plants