Permineralized fruit from the Late Cretaceous Nanaimo Group

[Norki]

Hello all,
 

I recently collected this interesting permineralized fruit from the Browns River on Vancouver Island, B.C. This river exposes outcrops of the lower Trent River formation of the Nanaimo Group, which represents a relatively nearshore Campanian marine environment. The fossil itself was found in an outcrop of fairly poorly consolidated sandstone, which also contained large pieces of coalified wood debris and a poorly preserved, crushed ammonite.

I'm not particularly optimistic about getting a positive ID on this, but I am interested to see what others think about it, and would definitely appreciate some educated suggestions about a possible affinity.

As far as I'm aware, fossil fruits from the Nanaimo Group are quite rare, so I would also be interested to know if anything similar to this has been found before or not.

 

(Fossil is ~1.5cm long, the angle it's photographed at isn't completely flat).

Front (note the longitudinal groove):

 

Rear (this end is partially eroded away, presumably because it was the part sticking out of the rock):

 

Top (note the round scar of the hilum):

 

 

Bottom:

 

 

Surface texture:

 

Thanks for your attention!

@Wrangellian@fossisle

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Norki

[Wrangellian]

Nice find, if that's what it is! It could be... I'm no expert but there is a similar-looking thing pictured in West Coast Fossils (Beard), which says that collectors rarely find them and they are "potentially so significant that considerable effort should be expended to find additional specimens"! So there you go... Hang onto it. I think Graham Beard should see it. He runs the paleo museum in Qualicum Beach.

 

How long are you on the island?

Edited February 26, 2022 by Wrangellian

[Norki]

1 hour ago, Wrangellian said:

I'm no expert but there is a similar-looking thing pictured in West Coast Fossils (Beard), which says that collectors rarely find them and they are "potentially so significant that considerable effort should be expended to find additional specimens"!

Yep, I read that bit too, which got me interested in finding out more about it.

I was only on the island for a few days, but I live in Vancouver currently, so it's never too far away. I'll make a point to contact Graham Beard about this find- I wasn't aware that he ran a museum (which incidentally, I suppose I should probably check out some time).

Edited February 26, 2022 by Norki

[Mahnmut]

Please let us know how it goes!

Best regards,

J

[Wrangellian]

On 2/25/2022 at 10:20 PM, Norki said:

Yep, I read that bit too, which got me interested in finding out more about it.
I was only on the island for a few days, but I live in Vancouver currently, so it's never too far away. I'll make a point to contact Graham Beard about this find- I wasn't aware that he ran a museum (which incidentally, I suppose I should probably check out some time).

 

Here's a sneak-peek:

 

[Norki]

So, @fossisle recommended to me that I contact Ruth Stockey at Oregon State University about this find... She's a paleobotanist and is currently studying Late Cretaceous cycads from Haida Gwaii, and as it turns out, she believes that this is the fossil seed of a cycad - so mystery solved, at least for now!

Anyway, she is obviously quite interested in studying it, so I've donated it to the Courtenay and District Museum to get a provisional catalogue number, and mailed it off to Oregon State. I'll try to make a point to keep this thread updated about what happens with the fossil, in case anyone is interested.

 

On 2/27/2022 at 3:28 AM, Wrangellian said:

 

Here's a sneak-peek:

 

 

I was on the island last week, and had a chance to check out the Courtenay and District Museum, partly to get my specimen donation papers filled out and signed, and I'm sure glad I did. What a beautiful place, and with such friendly and knowledgeable staff! It's also amazing to see the diversity and beauty of what can be found in the Nanaimo group all in one place, some of those specimens are really something else.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Norki

[doushantuo]

Kudo's for donating it!

[fossisle]

Glad it worked out!!