Pecopteris

{{Short description|Extinct genus of ferns}}

{{Taxobox

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Devonian|Sakmarian|Late Devonian to Early Permian}}

| image = Pecopteris villosa.jpg

| image_caption = Partial frond of Pecopteris villosa from Mazon Creek (Carboniferous)

| regnum = Plantae

| divisio = Pteridophyta

| classis = Filicopsida

| subclassis =

| ordo = Marattiales

| familia = Marattiaceae

| genus = Pecopteris

| genus_authority = Brongn.

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = Approximately 250 to 300, see text

}}

Pecopteris is a very common form genus of leaves. Most Pecopteris leaves and fronds are associated with the marattialean tree fern Psaronius. However, Pecopteris-type foliage also is borne on several filicalean ferns, and at least one seed fern.{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Thomas N|last2=Taylor|first2=Edith L|last3=Krings|first3=Michael|title=Paleobotany: The biology and evolution of fossil plants|date=2009|isbn=978-0-12-373972-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_29tNNeQKeMC&pg=PA418}}

Taylor, Thomas N. & Edith L. Taylor. The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, page 598. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993). {{ISBN|0-13-651589-4}}. Pecopteris first appeared in the Devonian period, but flourished in the Carboniferous, especially the Pennsylvanian. Plants bearing these leaves became extinct in the Permian period, due to swamps disappearing and temperatures on Earth dropping.{{Cite web|date=2013-12-19|title=Pecopteris fossils|url=https://uwaterloo.ca/earth-sciences-museum/resources/pecopteris-fossils|access-date=2021-02-14|website=Earth Sciences Museum|language=en}}