Permian Bryophytes from Gondwana: A Perspective from the Teresina Formation Fossil Record

Bryophytes represent one of the oldest lineage of embryophytes, pioneers in colonizing the continental environments. They have a unique character that is not present in any other group of plants, where the gametophytic generation is dominant and lack vascular tissues. Despite their fragile appearance, they present an extensive fossil record that attests their persistence and adaptation to varied climatic types and habitats. The record of bryophytes in the Gondwana paleocontinent during the Permian shows that they were already a diverse group, and they lived synchronically with Glossopteris flora. Its record includes 14 species distributed in the present continents of South America (Brazil and Argentina), Africa (South Africa), Antarctica, and India, which were part of Gondwana during the Permian. In the same period, Brazil was located in the western portion of Gondwana. The Brazilian portion of the Paraná Basin, which has one of the most extensive and spectacular records of Gondwanan Permian fossil plants, exhibits bryophyte representations. The best-preserved taxa (C. riopretensis and Y. yucapirus Christiano-de-Souza, et al. 2012) occurs in layers of the Teresina Formation, whose lithology and fossil content attests the transition from a deep marine environment to a shallow environment deposited under the influence of hot and arid climate. It is worth to note that the fossil record (flora, fauna, and ichnofossils) of the Teresina Formation is also reviewed, suggesting a complex ecosystem.