GÉOLOGIE
Calamophyton is not a Sphenopsid
by S. LECLERCQ,
Professor at the University of Liège,
and H.J. SCHWEITZER,
Dozent Doctor at the University of Bonn.
In 1960 an extremely productive fossil locality of Middle Devonian plant remains was encountered in a quarry near Lindlar (Rhineland) . The beds in which they occurred are Middle Eifelian in age.
Among the plant fossils were numerous remains of Calamo¬ phyton ftrimaevum Kräusel and Weyland, including several stems of young plants. The habit of the stems and of the larger fronds closely resembles that of Pseudosporochnus. This gave rise to the suspicion that Calamophyton may not be a protoarti-culate but rather a fern. To test this hypothesis a portion of a structurally preserved stem was included in plastic at the labora¬ tory of Professor S. Leclercq. Though the preservation was not particularly good (fig. 4) a rough polystelic structure of the cladoxylalean type could be recognized.
Encouraged by this observation S. Leclercq began to investi¬ gate a petrified branch of Calamophyton bicephalum Leclercq and Andrews from Goé (Belgium, Lower Givetian). This very well preserved specimen showed unquestionable polystelic structure. Therefore the authors have decided to publish a joined paper on the anatomy of Belgian and German specimens above mentioned. It is the purpose of this preliminary note to give the description of a transversal section taken at two different levels of each specimen : a third order branch (Belgian material) ; a stem (German material) .
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