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This was found in the surf after a storm. It was quite near where erosion had exposed lignite reported to be of Cretaceous age. I included a shot of an interesting piece collected. The site is a terminal moraine south of Woods Hole MA. The texture may be obscured by salt and Elmer's used as a stabilizer. But . . . Does this look to be Teredo borings in Cretaceous peat ?

There was big chunks of peat washing up on the beach that I go to and I looked it up and it’s remnant’s of an ancient forest floor? There was land out there a few thousand years ago and a mile or so down the coast ancient tree stumps show from under the sand every once in awhile so does this peat actually contain plant matter from thousands of years ago?

My last few excursions have been a continuation of my exploration of the Woodbine. In my experience, it is a very difficult formation to hunt on, so even the smallest of discoveries is a welcome sight to behold. If you have the fortune of finding something there, it is likely to be different and unlike anything from the nearby surrounding formations. My most recent outing took me to an exposure rich with coalified material. The "peat" layer I dug into was extremely brittle and fell apart with minimal effort. Densely packed in was numerous chunks of wood and fragments of leaves likely from the forest floor of the ancient continent Appalachia. If I hadn't dug it out from under several meters of rock myself, I would have thought these things to be modern in age (many of the leaves were just like the dried ones you could find in throughout a yard). I tried my best to spot any bones, but it seemed that only plants were present. I spent most of the day carefully splitting these slabs only to find bits of leaves that immediately fell apart upon exposure. Luckily, I was able to grab a handful of nice specimens that I could take home and consolidate with some paraloid b72. They are much sounder structurally now, though they are still very fragile. I'm not sure if it's even worth trying to ID as many of my specimens are extremely fragmented. However, I think they are distinct enough to see the general shape of the leaves and create a crude snapshot of a Cretaceous forest floor. If you see something you recognize, feel free to share! Here are some photos: Piece 1: Sort of looks like a conifer leaf Piece 2: Piece 3: Piece 4: A tiny leaf Piece 5: This one is actually double-sided. On the front is a large leaf. The other side has a conglomerate of many small leaves similar to the ones found on piece 3. Thanks for reading!