What is "neuropteris"

Neuropteris \Neu*rop"te*ris\, prop. n. [NL., fr. Gr. ney^ron a nerve + ? a kind of fern.] (Paleon.) An extensive genus of fossil ferns, of which species have been found from the Devonian to the Triassic formation.

Neuropteris is an extinct seed fern that existed in the Carboniferous period, known only from fossils. Major species include Neuropteris loschi. It is a fairly common fossil in bituminous coal with Alethopteris and similar ferns, especially in the Carboniferous Alleghany Mountains of Pennsylvania, they can be found near St. Clair, Pennsylvania .

One common leaf fossil found during the Carboniferous was once called Neuropteris scheuchzeri. In 1989, it was reclassified as Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri. It is the most abundant leaf fossils at Mazon Creek fossil beds in Illinois. Go to Macroneuropteris for more information.