Nigel H Trewin, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Published online: January 2006
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0004142
The Rhynie chert (Scotland) was deposited by hot springs and contains exceptionally well-preserved Early Devonian (c. 410 Ma) fossil plants and arthropods. The biota comprises the oldest well-preserved terrestrial ecosystem on Earth, and the primitive terrestrial plants form the cornerstone of palaeobotany.
Keywords: Rhynie; chert; Devonian; plants; arthropods
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Figure 1. Section of a block of Rhynie chert, which comprises three beds of fossiliferous chert. The central bed contains plant stems (white) preserved in growth position. Bar, 100 mm.
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Figure 2. Cross-section of stem of Rhynia to illustrate preservation of cellular detail. Protuberances represent repaired damage possibly caused by sap-sucking arthropods or fungal infection. Bar, 1 mm.
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Figure 3. General reconstruction of the environment at Rhynie in Early Devonian times. Sinter deposited from geysers engulfs areas of plant growth adjacent to ponds on the alluvial plain of a river system. Sediment is supplied by the river, and from an eroding volcanic tuff cone.
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| References | |
| Anderson LI and Trewin NH (2003) An Early Devonian arthropod fauna from the Windyfield chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Palaeontology 46: 467–509. | |
| Engel MS and Grimaldi DA (2004) New light shed on the oldest insect. Nature 427: 627–630. | |
| Fayers SR and Trewin NH (2005) A hexapod from the Early Devonian Windyfield chert, Rhynie, Scotland. Palaeontology 48: 1117–1130. | |
| Fayers SR and Trewin NH (2004) A new crustacean from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 93: 355–382. | |
| Fayers SR and Trewin NH (2004) A review of the palaeoenvironments and biota of the Windyfield chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 325–339. | |
| Habgood KS, Hass H and Kerp H (2004) Evidence for an early terrestrial food web: coprolites from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 371–389. | |
| Kelman R, Feist M, Trewin NH and Hass H (2004) Charophyte algae from the Rhynie chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 445–455. | |
| Kerp H, Trewin NH and Hass H (2004) New gametophytes from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 411–428. | |
| Kidston R and Lang WH (1917–1921) On Old Red Sandstone plants showing structure from the Rhynie chert bed, Aberdeenshire. Parts I–V. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 51: 761–784, 52: 603–627, 643–680, 831–854, 855–902. | |
| book Powell CL, Trewin NH and Edwards D (2000) Palaeoecology and plant succession in a borehole through the Rhynie cherts, Lower Old Red Sandstone, Scotland. In: Friend PF and Williams BPJ (eds) New Perspectives on the Old Red Sandstone, vol. 180, pp. 439–458. Geological Society of London, Special Publications. | |
| Remy W, Gensel PG and Hass H (1993) The gametophyte generation of some early land plants. International Journal of Plant Science 154: 35–58. | |
| Rice CM and Ashcroft WA (2004) The geology of the northern half of the Rhynie Basin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 299–308. | |
| Rice CM, Anderson LI and Trewin NH (2002) Stratigraphy and structural setting of the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: an early terrestrial hot-spring system. Journal of the Geological Society, London 159: 203–214. | |
| Rice CM, Ashcroft WA, Batten DJ et al. (1995) The geology of an Early Devonian hot spring system near Rhynie, Scotland. Journal of the Geological Society, London 152: 229–250. | |
| Taylor TN, Hass H, Remy W and Kerp H (1995) The oldest fossil lichen. Nature 378: 224. | |
| Taylor TN, Hass H and Kerp H (1999) The oldest fossil ascomycete. Nature 399: 648. | |
| Taylor TN, Klavins SD, Krings M et al. (2004) Fungi from the Rhynie chert: a view from the dark side. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94: 457–473. | |
| Trewin NH (1994) Depositional environment and preservation of biota in the Lower Devonian hot-springs of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 84: 433–442. | |
| Trewin NH (1996) The Rhynie cherts: an early Devonian ecosystem preserved by hydrothermal activity. Proceedings of CIBA Foundation Symposium 202: 131–145. | |
| Trewin NH and Wilson E (2004) Correlation of the Early Devonian Rhynie chert beds between three boreholes at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology 40: 73–81. | |
| Trewin NH, Fayers SR and Kelman R (2003) Subaqueous silicification of the contents of small ponds in an Early Devonian hot spring complex, Rhynie, Scotland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40: 1697–1712. | |
| ePath Trewin NH, Fayers SR and Anderson LI (2002) Early Terrestrial Environments; the Rhynie Chert. www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie. | |
| Further Reading | |
| book Chaloner WG and Macdonald P (1980) Plants Invade the Land. London: HMSO. | |
| book Cleal CJ and Thomas BA (1995) Palaeozoic Palaeobotany of Great Britain. Geological Conservation Review Series 9. London: Chapman & Hall. | |
| Edwards D and Selden PA (1993) The development of early terrestrial ecosystems. Botanical Journal of Scotland 46: 337–366. | |
| book Stewart WN and Rothwell GW (1993) Palaeobotany and the Evolution of Plants, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. | |
| book Trewin NH (2001) "The Rhynie Chert". In: Briggs DEG and Crowther PR (eds) Palaeobiology II, chap. 3.4.5, pp. 342–346. London: Blackwells. | |
| book Trewin NH and Fayers SR (2004) "Chert". In: Selley RC, Cocks LRM and Plimer IR (eds) Encyclopedia of Geology. New York: Academic Press. | |
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