Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Hello guys, I have been digging through my box of Florissant Formation shale and I came across this piece of plant matter. I want to say it's a piece of a fruit or flower, but I'm not positive. @piranha? The piece of shale is small, about 1.5 inches long. It looks similar to a petal from this Magnoliophyta flower from idigpaleo.org. I think I can spot some differences, though. I'm hoping it's identifiable, thanks for any help you can provide! "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetradium Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Well it looks like a petal to me. Pretty rare as heck lol. There's also an abundant species leaf in same shale slab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Tetradium said: Well it looks like a petal to me. Pretty rare as heck lol. There's also an abundant species leaf in same shale slab. Yeah, the leaf is Fagopsis. It's pretty faint but the other side is identifiable. Edited June 6, 2021 by yardrockpaleo "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Trilo Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 (edited) Take a look at a pine seed under the genus Pinus. https://idigpaleo.org/Detail/objects/4279 Edited June 6, 2021 by Top Trilo “If fossils are not "boggling" your mind then you are simply not doing it right” -Ken (digit) "No fossil is garbage, it´s just not completely preserved” -Franz (FranzBernhard) "With hammer in hand, the open horizon of time, and dear friends by my side, what can we not accomplish together?" -Kane (Kane) "We are in a way conquering time, reuniting members of a long lost family" -Quincy (Opabinia Blues) "I loved reading the trip reports, I loved the sharing, I loved the educational aspect, I loved the humor. It felt like home. It still does" -Mike (Pagurus) “The best deal I ever got was getting accepted as a member on The Fossil Forum. Not only got an invaluable pool of knowledge, but gained a loving family as well.” -Doren (caldigger) "it really is nice, to visit the oasis that is TFF" -Tim (fossildude19) "Life's Good! -Adam (Tidgy's Dad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 7 minutes ago, Top Trilo said: Take a look at a pine seed under the genus Pinus. https://idigpaleo.org/Detail/objects/4279 Yes, that may be right. I'm interested to hear what others say. "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetradium Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 1 hour ago, yardrockpaleo said: Yes, that may be right. I'm interested to hear what others say. Hmmm that's weird. Must had detached from the seed. Book listed pine seed as #19 most common fossil. After all pines makes a ton of seeds and blow them to the wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 It is the seed wing of Pinus sp. Pinus florissanti Lesquereux 1883 was subsequently renamed Pinus macginitiei but without an association of seeds and foliage there is no proof they belong in the same species. text and figure from: MacGinitie, H.D. 1953 Fossil Plants of the Florissant Beds, Colorado. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication, 599:1-198 Lesquereux, L. 1883 Contributions to the Fossil Flora of the Western Territories. Part III: The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras. United States Geological Survey of the Territories, 8:1-283 Meyer , H.W. 2003 The Fossils of Florissant. Smithsonian Books, 258 pp. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 42 minutes ago, piranha said: It is the seed wing of Pinus sp. Pinus florissanti Lesquereux 1883 was subsequently renamed Pinus macginitiei but without an association of seeds and foliage there is no proof they belong in the same species. text and figure from: MacGinitie, H.D. 1953 Fossil Plants of the Florissant Beds, Colorado. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication, 599:1-198 Lesquereux, L. 1883 Contributions to the Fossil Flora of the Western Territories. Part III: The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras. United States Geological Survey of the Territories, 8:1-283 Meyer , H.W. 2003 The Fossils of Florissant. Smithsonian Books, 258 pp. That fits! Thanks for all the help guys! "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 59 minutes ago, piranha said: It is the seed wing of Pinus sp. Pinus florissanti Lesquereux 1883 was subsequently renamed Pinus macginitiei but without an association of seeds and foliage there is no proof they belong in the same species. text and figure from: MacGinitie, H.D. 1953 Fossil Plants of the Florissant Beds, Colorado. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication, 599:1-198 Lesquereux, L. 1883 Contributions to the Fossil Flora of the Western Territories. Part III: The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras. United States Geological Survey of the Territories, 8:1-283 Meyer , H.W. 2003 The Fossils of Florissant. Smithsonian Books, 258 pp. Any idea why the seed is not attached? Did it just fall off or was it eaten? "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 from MacGinitie 1953: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Might this look like one of the more tuffaceous layers where preservation tends to be a bit obscured as well ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Rockwood said: Might this look like one of the more tuffaceous layers where preservation tends to be a bit obscured as well ? It might be, I don't think so. The fossil is more definite than the tuffaceous layer fossils usually are. 1 "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; Wrecked is the ship of pearl! And every chambered cell, Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell" -From The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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