Miospore evolution from the Ordovician to the Silurian

The definition of the term cryptospore is amended to include only spores thought to be produced by embryophytes and to exclude all enigmatic palynomorphs. Cryptospores are included here in the miospore group. The oldest published assemblage of typical cryptospores is Llanvirn in age. The evolution of cryptospore assemblages is very slow from the Llanvirn to the early Llandovery. The Telychian and Sheinwoodian stages are periods of drastic impoverishment in cryptospore biodiversity, followed by an important modification in miospore assemblages. This step in the evolution of the vegetation is correlated with the rapid transgression of seas on the continent during the early Llandovery. On the other hand, the Hirnantian glaciation does not affect diversity of the miospore assemblages. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V, All rights reserved.