MarcoSr Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 (edited) I'm interested in petrified wood for the scientific value (wood where the cell structure is well preserved), for the aesthetic value (mineralized with vivid colors and crystal shapes), and for oddities (like fungus, insect borings etc.) contained in the wood. Below are three petrified wood slabs, from the United States, from my collection. The below individual slab pictures were taken with the slabs dry, indoors using my camera with flash. The close-up pictures were taken with my Dino-Lite digital microscope. If you want to see a lot more of the petrified wood pieces in my collection, check out my TFF thread at the below link: Petrified Wood, conifer, fungus Polyporites wardii, early Permian late Triassic 295 to 201 MYA, Chinle Formation, northern Arizona - 3.60 lbs. 10.5x8.75x0.53 inches Traditionally this petrified wood has been identified as Araucarioxylon arizonicum, a conifer tree. However,according to Wikipedia “ The validity of the name Araucarioxylon arizonicum has been questioned. A. arizonicum may actually be composed of several different genera and species. A 2007 study on the syntypes used by Knowlton in describing the species has revealed that they belonged to three species. They were tentatively reclassified as Pullisilvaxylon arizonicum, Pullisilvaxylon daughertii, and Chinleoxylon knowltonii. The genus Araucarioxylon may thus be superfluous and illegitimate; and the petrified logs of Petrified Forest National Park may be composed of a greater diversity than initially believed.” What makes this slab unique are the oval shaped patterns framing and permeating the piece, which are actually the fossil remains of a fungus (named Polyporites wardii), that invaded the ancient tree before it was fossilized. The fungus is preserved in barite (fungus is almost never seen because it doesn't preserve in silica the way wood does). Petrified Wood, Triassic 225 MYA, Chinle Formation near Holbrook, Arizona - 745g 160 x200x12mm This slab has incredible colors (purple, red, orange, yellow etc.) which is a major reason why Arizona petrified wood is highly desired by petrified wood collectors. Petrified Wood, early Eocene 50 MYA, Green River Formation, Blue Forest along ancient Lake Gosiute, Sweetwater County, Wyoming - 1.2 lbs. 8.5x6x.38 inches This slab has really nice wood preservation with a very well defined heart in the center and stunning wood grain. There is blue agate, with golden calcite filling some of the agate voids, some nice insect borings, as well as fossil ostracods near the rind. Per Viney 2020 The Blue Forest of Ancient Lake Gosiute Sweetwater County Wyoming “The lacustrine setting in which the silicified wood formed is contrasted with two geologic environments commonly associated with silicified wood deposits, trees transported by streams and rivers buried in fine-grained fluvial sediments of deltas and floodplains as well as lahars and ash produced from volcanic eruptions that bury trees. A recent scientific study of the Blue Forest fossil wood reveals that preservation occurred as a multistage mineralization process. The taphonomic sequence that included stromatolitic growth followed by wood desiccation and then exposure to mineral-laden waters is consistent with a playa-lake model for Lake Gosiute.” Marco Sr. Edited January 14, 2023 by MarcoSr added link to another TFF thread 3 11 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Beautiful and fascinating. That fungus is incredible. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pieces. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Beautiful wood Marco. 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 13 minutes ago, sixgill pete said: Beautiful wood Marco. Don I really like the colors of that one piece from Arizona. When I bought it, I thought that the pictures were probably enhanced, and that it wasn't going to be that colorful. I was really pleasantly surprised when I opened the USPS box. Marco Sr. 3 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Beautiful and fascinating. That fungus is incredible. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pieces. I've seen a lot of petrified wood, but very few examples with fungus like that one piece. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) Wonderful piece and fantastic photos. If you feel like giving one of my old thread a bump, your photos would be most welcome. cheers Bobby . Edited August 7, 2021 by Bobby Rico 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Great, now I need to add some petrified wood to the collection. Thanks a lot. "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 8 hours ago, ThePhysicist said: Great, now I need to add some petrified wood to the collection. Thanks a lot. I have a good bit of petrified wood from Indonesia, but really didn't have any nice pieces from the United States. I always wanted a nice Blue Forrest slab from Wyoming and a nice Chinle Formation slab from Arizona, two really well know US petrified wood locations, so I recently bought the slabs in this post. Marco Sr. 11 hours ago, Bobby Rico said: Wonderful piece and fantastic photos. If you feel like giving one of my old thread a bump, your photos would be most welcome. cheers Bobby . Thank you. I'll add pictures of a couple of pieces to your thread. Marco Sr. 1 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 9 hours ago, ThePhysicist said: Great, now I need to add some petrified wood to the collection. Thanks a lot. Hay you will not be going wrong by adding some pet wood to your collection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 21, 2021 Author Share Posted August 21, 2021 (edited) Below is a small (136 gram 3.75x2.50x.375 to .5 inches), very colorful slice of petrified wood from Madagascar with some nice wood cell preservation. I see a lot of petrified wood from Madagascar, and the colors of this small piece really stand out and make it worthy of posting. EDIT: Nearly all the petrified wood from Madagascar is from the Araucaria, a type of conifer commonly referred to as the Monkey Puzzle Tree. I bought this piece because I thought it might be an example of the seed fern Rhexoxylon, which is very rare from Madagascar. I just heard back from a petrified wood dealer, who is very knowledgeable about petrified wood, and he also thinks that this piece is from the seed fern Rhexoxylon. Marco Sr. Edited August 22, 2021 by MarcoSr Add ID 3 2 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 I really don’t/didn’t find much petrified wood at the marine sites that I collect in MD and Virginia, so unfortunately I had to buy most of the petrified wood in my fossil collection like the slabs in the above posts. I do find a good amount of small pieces of lignitized wood especially in the Eocene, Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia. I have found small pieces of petrified wood, usually either embedded or partially covered with Pleistocene bog iron, in Virginia. Below are some examples. My son Marco Jr. found, by far, the nicest piece of petrified wood that I’ve seen from marine sites in MD/VA, in the Miocene, Eastover Formation of Virginia, 5 or 6 years back. See the below pictures. Petrified wood in bog iron from the Pleistocene of Virginia: Petrified log from the Miocene, Eastover Formation, of Virginia (33 inches long, 28 inches around at the base, over 100 pounds). These pictures were taken in my driveway.: Marco Sr. 2 3 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 This piece of petrified wood from Brazil has some of the most interesting patterns that I’ve seen in petrified wood and is one of my favorite pieces in my collection. Although the species is very common (It is estimated to represent close to 90% of some fossil assemblages in Brazil), I don’t see it for sale often on the web like other species. The below individual slab pictures were taken with my camera indoors, with the slabs dry, using camera flash. The close-up pictures were taken with by Dino-Lite digital microscope at various magnification levels. Petrified tree fern, Tietea singularis, Permian 275MYA, Motuca Formation, Parnaíba Basin in Filadélfia, Tocantins, Brazil (340 grams 8 x 4.75 x.25 inches): Marco Sr. 2 2 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Absolutely stunning! 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Very nice collection I am a big fan of polished petrified wood and have a little collection myself. Your picture a beautifully abstract. Cheers Bobby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 55 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Absolutely stunning! Thank you. I look at a lot of petrified wood for sale on the web, and 99% of it looks the same to me. I try to buy the 1% pieces which are unusual and different and which are very aesthetically interesting. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 42 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said: Very nice collection I am a big fan of polished petrified wood and have a little collection myself. Your picture a beautifully abstract. Cheers Bobby I love abstract art, the colors, the shapes. That is why I have an interest in petrified wood. Close-up images of petrified wood are natural abstract art. I try to frame my close-up petrified wood pictures as if they were abstract art that I was going to put up on my wall. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vietnamfossil Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Very wonderful collection! Im also a fan of petrifield wood slab with polished as cross section. I have collect almost of petrifield wood in Vietnam from many diferent period. About the polished, is that you do it your self? Still enjoy your collection, hope to see more in future. Cheer Le. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 1 hour ago, vietnamfossil said: Very wonderful collection! Im also a fan of petrifield wood slab with polished as cross section. I have collect almost of petrifield wood in Vietnam from many diferent period. About the polished, is that you do it your self? Still enjoy your collection, hope to see more in future. Cheer Le. Thank you. No, I buy most of my petrified wood pieces polished already. I have polished a few pieces by hand, but I'm not very good at polishing by hand. I have not seen petrified wood from Vietnam before. Can you post a few pictures of some pieces? Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vietnamfossil Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 These slabs are being with me now. As I still have some more but I keep in another place so I don’t have photo. This is an iron slab from Daknong province - Pliocene to Early Pleistocene . Very few wood structure remain can see on microscope . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vietnamfossil Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 This one from Eocene - Oligocene . This is carbon wood from North Vietnam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vietnamfossil Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 I have more wood slab I will post photo later when I came back home. Covid make everything complicated. If you like to collect petrified wood from Southeast Asia I would like to make trade with you. I like your Pleistocene wood as I’m studying in Pleistocene environment. Le Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 16, 2021 Author Share Posted September 16, 2021 On 9/16/2021 at 2:40 AM, vietnamfossil said: These slabs are being with me now. As I still have some more but I keep in another place so I don’t have photo. This is an iron slab from Daknong province - Pliocene to Early Pleistocene . Very few wood structure remain can see on microscope . On 9/16/2021 at 2:42 AM, vietnamfossil said: This one from Eocene - Oligocene . This is carbon wood from North Vietnam. Very nice. Thank you for posting. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 16, 2021 Author Share Posted September 16, 2021 4 hours ago, vietnamfossil said: I have more wood slab I will post photo later when I came back home. Covid make everything complicated. If you like to collect petrified wood from Southeast Asia I would like to make trade with you. I like your Pleistocene wood as I’m studying in Pleistocene environment. Le I will PM you about this. Most of the Pleistocene pieces that I have are small, only a few inches. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 The below slab of Teredo-bored petrified wood is one of my favorite petrified wood pieces in my collection. Teredo-bored petrified wood is the state fossil of North Dakota. During the Paleocene period, parts of North Dakota were covered by swamps, and trees growing in these swamps fell into the water and were washed out to sea where they were bored into by small, worm-shaped marine mollusks called Teredos. The bored holes filled in with minerals as the wood fossilized. I find it very interesting that the bored holes don’t cross each other. The below individual slab picture was taken with my camera indoors, with the slab dry, using camera flash. The close-up pictures were taken with by Dino-Lite digital microscope at various magnification levels. Even with all the bored holes, there are still portions of this slab that show detailed wood cell structure. Teredo-Bored Petrified Wood Slab, Paleocene 60 MYA, Canon Ball Formation, North Dakota (2,150 grams 10.25x9x.625 inches): Marco Sr. 2 5 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 @MarcoSr Lovely pieces and very nice images. Thanks. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 7 hours ago, snolly50 said: @MarcoSr Lovely pieces and very nice images. Thanks. Thank you. Over the last few years my fossil interests have been changing. I still search matrix every day for micro vertebrate fossils, but I have become very interested in larger fossils like agatized coral, stromatolites and petrified wood. Unfortunately, I don't have access to fossil collecting sites that contain agatized coral, stromatolites or petrified wood nor do I have the tools or skills to cut and polish these types of fossils, so I do my collecting on the web, searching for unusual specimens that I can purchase. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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