Arthropitys is an extinct genus of calamitacean equisetale. The petrified fossils of Arthropitys bistriata, the type species, can be found in the Leukersdorf Formation, Chemnitz petrified forest, Chemnitz, Germany.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Chemnitzer Wald ist 291 Millionen Jahre alt The genus existed from the Carboniferous (Bashkirian)C. W. Good. (1975). Pennsylvanian-Age Calamitean Cones, Elater-Bearing Spores, and Associated Vegetative Organs. Palaeontographica 153:28-99 until the Early Triassic (Olenekian).I. A. Dobruskina. (1982). Triassic Floras of Eurasia. Akademia Nauk SSSR, Transactions 365:1-196
History The first remains of Arthropitys were discovered in the Leukersdorf Formation, Germany during the early 16th century and were described by Georgius Agricola (1494–1555) in 1546.
In the mid-18th century, gemstone prospector David Frenzel (1691–1772) found numerous examples of this wood in the hills in and around Chemnitz.
One of Frenzel's 1751 finds is one of the few petrified wood specimens still possessing its roots. Later a collector, the Hilbersdorf contractor Güldner, bequeathed some of the petrified logs to King Albert Museum in Chemnitz. The first director of the Museum, Johann Traugott Sterzel, took over the investigation of the findings. The Sterzeleanum in the museum (the petrified forest display) is dedicated to him.
The genus Arthropitys was named and described by Frenzel (1751) and the type species A. bistriata was named by Cotta (1864).H. N. Andrews. (1970). Index of Generic Names of Fossil Plants, 1820–1965. Geological Survey Bulletin 1-354 The type locality for A. bistrata and A. sp. is the Chemnitz petrified forest.
From 4 April 2008, to Fall 2011, an excavation in Hilbersdorf was held to find and research more trunks. Their researchers discovered, amongst others, Arthropitys bistriata. Many more plants and animals from this excavation are still being used for ongoing research.
A. deltoides was named by Cichan and Taylor (1983) and was discovered in Kentucky.
A. taoshuyuanensis was named by Chen et al. (2018) from specimens found in the Wutonggou Formation of China.
A. buritiranensis was named by Neregato et al. (2021) from specimens found in the Motuca Formation of Brazil.
Distribution Specimens have also been discovered in Belgium,J. Galtier. (1997). Coal-ball floras of the Namurian-Westphalian of Europe. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 95:51-72 Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US (Illinois,C. W. Good. (1971). The Ontogeny of Carboniferous Articulates: Calamite Leaves and Twigs. Palaeontographica 133:137-158 Indiana,T. L. Phillips and W.A. DiMichele. (1998). A Transect through a Clastic-swamp to Peat-swamp Ecotene in the Springfield Coal, Middle Pennsylvanian Age of Indiana, USA. Palaios 13:113-128 Kentucky and Ohio).
Classification Rößler, Feng & Noll (2012) classified Arthropitys within Calamitaceae.
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