Testing_4131 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Sorry if the pictures are not the best quality, I had to use my iPad to take the pictures. Also sorry if this is long, I’ve never posted here before and wanted to get in as much Information as I could lol. I found this while fossil hunting yesterday. The white stuff is mud I haven’t cleaned off yet. I’ve included pictures of both the positive (right) and negative (left) imprint just in case it’ll help. I’ve found something similar to this before, but the surface texture was different, and it was in different rock. The other one was in grey shale and was black in color, with lines going down it similar to other plants from the same time, and it tapered into more of a point. It’s worth noting that they were found in relatively the same location, only about 50-100 feet (15-30 meters) away from each other, but the time they were found is separated by about a year. I assumed the other one was a tree sapling, as I had read that a sapling of a specific species of Carboniferous tree grew in a spike-like shape while young, but now I’m not sure. The area I hunt in is a mountain that’s being dug out, the fossils would be about ~5-10 feet (1.5-3 meters) below ground and directly beneath a thick layer of coal if they weren’t exposed by the power equipment. Based on research I’ve done online and the other fossils I’ve found, I’m pretty sure this area represents a Carboniferous forest, specifically the Pennsylvanian era. The ruler in the picture is extended to 11 inches (27 cm). This was found specifically in Pike county, KY, as the title suggests. I can post pictures of the other shale fossil if you guys think it’ll help. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri perhaps? Welcome to the forum by the way. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 It doesn't look like a leaf to me. Rather I would suggest that the texture seems more that of a seed from a pteridosperm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Cool find! How about one of the strap like leaves from Cordaites?.... Seems to have lots of traces of parallel veination along the left side of the specimen and the ovoid/rounded end fits that model . The elongated tubular raised structure could be some burrowing activity. Regards, Chris 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 28 minutes ago, Plantguy said: Seems to have lots of traces of parallel veination along the left side of the specimen I can as easily convince myself there is transverse veination in the center though. And the opposite end of the other piece just looks wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testing_4131 Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 Thank you for your answers so far! So far I think the most likely option would be either a seed from a Pteridosperm or a Cordaites leaf, which upon looking up pictures of I think I’ve actually found before, just smaller! Speaking of, only problem here would be size. I couldn’t find online how big either of those plants could get, unfortunately. I took some more precise measurements of the fossil, and, not including the rock the fossil is imbedded in, it’s about 5 and a half inches (14 cm) long, and 2 inches (5cm) wide. It was likely a little longer in life, but as you can see, the bottom half is broke off. Would this size fit the size range of either of those plants? Again, thanks so much for the help so far! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testing_4131 Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 4 hours ago, Ludwigia said: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri perhaps? Welcome to the forum by the way. I don’t think so, unfortunately. I’ve found those before, and it’s missing the branching structures extending from the middle. Also, all of the other ones I’ve found were a lot smaller. I’m not sure what their maximum size range is though, so that last part could be disregarded. And thanks for the welcoming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Cordaites borassifolius is often preserved similarly. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/19/2023 at 8:58 AM, Rockwood said: I can as easily convince myself there is transverse veination in the center though. And the opposite end of the other piece just looks wrong. The preservation is pretty poor, its incomplete and all of the weathered material isnt helping so I tend to agree but still thinking a strap like leaf.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/19/2023 at 9:15 AM, Testing_4131 said: Thank you for your answers so far! So far I think the most likely option would be either a seed from a Pteridosperm or a Cordaites leaf, which upon looking up pictures of I think I’ve actually found before, just smaller! Speaking of, only problem here would be size. I couldn’t find online how big either of those plants could get, unfortunately. I took some more precise measurements of the fossil, and, not including the rock the fossil is imbedded in, it’s about 5 and a half inches (14 cm) long, and 2 inches (5cm) wide. It was likely a little longer in life, but as you can see, the bottom half is broke off. Would this size fit the size range of either of those plants? Again, thanks so much for the help so far! Cordaites leaves could get pretty big...hundreds of millimeters long...(a few feet long) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 They were likely tough enough to leave a mold even after much of the tissue was degraded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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