Mazon Creek Flora

[connorp]

I've been spending a lot of time lately studying the Mazon Creek flora, and am continuously astonished by the diversity and quality of specimens that can be found. I don't think we see enough plants on the forum, so I figured I would go ahead and share some of my favorite finds.

 

First is a specimen I recently shared, and a fitting start to the thread. This is Crenulopteris acadica, the most common true fern found in the Mazon Creek flora. It has been the most common plant I find, accounting for probably half my finds.

 

 

Next is a favorite of mine. This is a section of Calamites (probably C. cisti) encrusted by a number microconchids. I always enjoy finding concretions with associations of different species.

 

 

Last for now is a specimen of the rare seed fern Callipteridium neuropteroides with great coloration.

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by connorp

[connorp]

Unlike most ferns present, Diplazites unita is commonly found fertile. I've seen estimates ranging from 1/3 to 2/3 of all specimens. It is one of the most common flora taxa found.

[deutscheben]

Very nice, I look forward to seeing more of your flora finds.

[Mark Kmiecik]

NIce. I think I have a dozen or more Diplazites and not one of them is fertile. I guess location is what it's all about.

[connorp]

 

Here's one of my favorite seed ferns. I believe it is Neuropteris vermicularis.

Edited December 14, 2021 by connorp

[Dunderdung]

Beautiful specimens! 

[connorp]

Here is a partial but nice sized Cyclopteris orbicularis pinnule.

 

[connorp]

Although water worn, this is a neat association of a fertile Diplazites unita pinna and a Myalinella meeki bivalve.

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Nice specimens. I especially like the Neuropteris vermicularis. If that yellow stain on it is sulfur, you can remove by soaking in benzene or toluene without affecting the fossil or the matrix, unless of course, you like it there. In that case, disregard my presence. I think the Diplazites and Myalinella association is a random post-mortem event, but I agree it's unusual to find both in one concretion. I'm liking it.

[connorp]

18 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Nice specimens. I especially like the Neuropteris vermicularis. If that yellow stain on it is sulfur, you can remove by soaking in benzene or toluene without affecting the fossil or the matrix, unless of course, you like it there. In that case, disregard my presence. I think the Diplazites and Myalinella association is a random post-mortem event, but I agree it's unusual to find both in one concretion. I'm liking it.

I like the extra coloration personally And yes I agree that the association is not indicative of any interaction. Though I do recall seeing some nice examples on the forum of Myalinella attached to bark.

[deutscheben]

That Neuropteris is great! I find associations delightful too, whether for scientific or for aesthetic reasons.

[connorp]

Let's mix it up with something besides ferns. This is Cormophyton mazonensis, a rooting structure thought to belong to an unknown lycophyte. According to Witry (2020), "a rooting system of this type ... would be found on plants that grew in drier, rather than swamp-like, environments."

 

[connorp]

I don't often keep highly water worn specimens, but I found it interesting how well marked the venation was on this fern despite the rest of it being quite weathered. I believe it is Oligocarpia leptophylla.

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by connorp

[connorp]

At the sites I've hunted, the cone bract Lepidostrobophyllum lanceolatus has been quite common. This is a better preserved example of one.

 

[Bobby Rico]

On 12/14/2021 at 2:40 AM, connorp said:

Here's one of my favorite seed ferns. I believe it is Neuropteris vermicularis

That’s a beautiful piece.

[connorp]

The next piece is a neat association between two less common species. At the bottom is the lower half of the cone bract Lepidostrobophyllum hastatus. Cone bracts are very common, but this is the only specimen of this species I have found. The fern is a pinna of Pecopteris oreopteridia. Although uncommon, it seems to be the most common species still assigned to Pecopteris. I have several larger examples, but this is by far the best preserved pinna in my collection. The lateral veins are very well preserved here. In this species they fork only once near the base. If you zoom in, you will also notice that the pinnules look to be covered in small "scales", a feature characteristic to this species but not obvious in less well preserved examples.

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Nice one!

[connorp]

17 hours ago, connorp said:

The lateral veins are very well preserved here. In this species they fork only once near the base. If you zoom in, you will also notice that the pinnules look to be covered in small "scales", a feature characteristic to this species but not obvious in less well preserved examples.

Here is a shot under magnification to give a clearer visual of these features.

[connorp]

This is my only specimen so far of the rare species Pecopteris bucklandii. It is similar to P. oreopteridia - they both have lateral veins that fork once. However in the former, the upper vein may split again low in the pinnules, which is seem a few times in this specimen. Also, at least from pictures I've seen, pinnules in P. bucklandii tend to be longer compared to their width than in P. oreopteridia, although I don't know if this feature is consistent.

 

 

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Great preservation on that one.

[connorp]

1 hour ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Great preservation on that one.

It would be a stunning piece if it wasn't broken. Maybe I'll find the other half this season, it's happened before!

[connorp]

Here's a nice Annularia inflata I had open over the weekend.

 

[deutscheben]

That’s a sizable one, very nice.

[connorp]

Here's one of my favorite specimens. It is one side of a primary pinna of Crenulopteris acadica. If both sides were present, I would infer that this pinna would be around 30 cm in width. Wittry (2020) reports that they could potentially grow up to a meter in width - that's really big!

 

[Opuntia]

Wow! Thank you for sharing