Need Help With Woody Structures from Glenshaw Formation: Mahoning Shale of Western Pennsylvania

[minnbuckeye]

I had the opportunity to collect plant fossils in Western Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. Success was had IDing the fern leaves. But I am having difficulty identifying the woody pieces found that are not Calamites. These came from the Glenshaw Formation, Mahoning Shale which is Pennsylvanian. I realize that a decaying swamp is full of twigs that likely are unidentifiable, but there seems to be structure in at least some of these which could lead to some sort of identification. I am hoping those knowledgeable with the Pennsylvanian flora can chime in. 

 

1.  Here are some larger pieces of plant material. Probably unidentifiable. Is the orange all plant with the centers structure being the piths or is the orange area staining and the only "wood" is the "pith" area?

 

 

2. Some smaller "twigs":

 

3. This one has evenly spaced projections which hopefully aid in identification.

 

4. This piece has some unique pattern to the wood:

  

 5. Many circular items were exposed by spitting the shale. Would these be seeds or seed pods?

 

 

 6. I like how busy and colorful this piece is. Is there anything identifiable?

 

7. Different types of plant material. Ideas? 

 

 

 8. This stem exhibits a pattern to it that may help with identification 

Thanks for looking!! I will try and post a trip report after improving my IDs!!!

  

 

 

 

[daves64]

Not fair! I got some shale recently & everything in it was basically shale colored!  Can't help with Id's, but those are very nice!  Still not fair though *grumble*

Edited July 28, 2021 by daves64

[Coco]

Hi,

 

What is cxf files ? I can't see them...

 

Coco

[minnbuckeye]

14 minutes ago, Coco said:

What is cxf files

I don't know where they came from. Lately when posting pictures, things get added by the computer that I did not do. Here is another example. SORRY!

[daves64]

cxf files are generally from Collage Photo Editing software. 

[minnbuckeye]

@historianmichael, I just read your post on Pennsylvanian fossils. It seems like there is quite a bit of knowledge about the subject tucked into your brain. Could you look at my pics and see if anything is familiar to you. Sadly, I just can't get much of a reply to my request for identification

[historianmichael]

Unfortunately it is really hard to identify fossil plant material without diagnostic features. A fern is just a fern without being able to see its venation. The only one I would give a thought on is #6. It reminds me of pieces of Cordaites leaves, but I cannot even be sure that is what it is without being able to see some diagnostic features. Sorry I can't be of much help. 

[minnbuckeye]

@paleoflor, I just noticed your corrections to some misidentified plants in another post. Could you take a look at this post and provide me with any help in identifying or understanding what I found. A few specimens have some specific anatomy that makes me think an answer to my curiosity  can be had. At least thank you for looking!!

  

@RomanK, just saw your post and thought you would also have insight on the subject!!

Edited August 7, 2021 by minnbuckeye

[paleoflor]

@minnbuckeye Herewith my two cents. Will not be of much help though, I'm afraid. First step I would take is try to find locality-specific literature and more strict age constraints on the flora, as this will help reduce the numbers of possible candidates for an ID. 

 

1. I would say the orange zone appears to be mineral staining, but this kind of thing can be particularly difficult to see on photographs correctly. Difficult to ID the stem.

2. Difficult to ID this kind of material. You can see a detached altethopterid pinnule on the lower right photograph, though.

3. Nice specimen, though I wouldn't be able to ID it with confidence. The structure below the branch with projections (white arrow in photo below) is also quite interesting, this seems to a pinna of some sort... What is the scale of this photograph? Could be some lyginopterid stem, perhaps? Might be worthwhile to compare with Dicranophyllum? Sorry, difficult to say...

4. The pattern you see here is related to coalification (somewhat comparable to cleats) and therefore not very helpful in identification of the plant material. No idea...

5. These indeed seem to be seeds of some kind (especially the lower two photographs).

6. You can see some pinnules and pinna fragments, but not something I'd be able to identify further.

7. Start with identifying the pinnules visible on the bottom right photo.

8. Could this be the counter piece of No. 3? Similar appearance, plus also a pinna-like structure (now above the main stem on the top left photo). 

[minnbuckeye]

@paleoflor, thanks for your insight! It answers many questions but opens up some more! Great catch about 8 and 3 being the split pieces. Will use your suggestions and do further research. 

  

Mike

[hemipristis]

#6 is rather aesthetic

[cngodles]

On 7/28/2021 at 10:40 AM, minnbuckeye said:

Is the orange all plant with the centers structure being the piths or is the orange area staining and the only "wood" is the "pith" area?

 

I've had this same question in the past. In the Glenshaw Formation shale layer I collected it, which is a dozen or so feet below the Brush Creek limestone, I found a similar specimen. It's not iron stained, but has the outline around the stem in a similar fashion. I've wondered if it was a leafy material that was surrounding the stem. More confusing was that it appears largest at the place where the stem would attach to whichever branch. Anyway, hope this helps to give a different perspective.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by cngodles

[minnbuckeye]

@cngodles  Thanks for showing your example!