Lesson plan
Dutoitea
Dutoitia is a genus of Devonian rhyniophyte, named after the renowned South African geologist Alex du Toit. It is one of the earliest plants from Gondwana to colonize land. Its fossils were preserved in fine mudstones of the 400-million-year-old Bokkeveld and Witteberg Groups of South Africa. This erect, gracile plant is less than 10 cm high and very simple in structure. Its diminutive stems (0.1–3.0 mm in diameter), which are devoid of leaflike appendages, branch in two and end in club- or cup-shaped sporangia, occasionally containing its reproductive spores. Stomata (tiny pores) are present in the cuticle of their stems for gas exchange, and primitive cells inside the stems transported water from the roots to the aerial parts of the plant. Three species are recognized, D. pulchra Hoeg 1930 (from the Bloukrans River in the Knysna district, Ceres Subgroup, Lower Bokkeveld Group), D. alfreda Plumstead 1967 (Port Alfred, Weltevrede Subgroup, Lower Witteberg Group) and D. maraisia Plumstead 1967 (Howisons Poort, Witpoort Sandstone, Middle Witteberg Group).
Article summary
Dutoitia is a genus of Devonian rhyniophyte, named after the renowned South African geologist Alex du Toit. It is one of the earliest plants from Gondwana to colonize land. Its fossils were preserved in fine mudstones of the 400-million-year-old Bokkeveld and Witteberg Groups of South Africa. This erect, gracile plant is less than 10 cm high and very simple in structure. Its diminutive stems (0.1–3.0 mm in diameter), which are devoid of leaflike appendages, branch in two and end in club- or cup-shaped sporangia, occasionally containing its reproductive spores. Stomata (tiny pores) are present in the cuticle of their stems for gas exchange, and primitive cells inside the stems transported water from the roots to the aerial parts of the plant. Three species are recognized, D. pulchra Hoeg 1930 (from the Bloukrans River in the Knysna district, Ceres Subgroup, Lower Bokkeveld Group), D. alfreda Plumstead 1967 (Port Alfred, Weltevrede Subgroup, Lower Witteberg Group) and D. maraisia Plumstead 1967 (Howisons Poort, Witpoort Sandstone, Middle Witteberg Group).
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.