Andy Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I have three fossils here and just want to double check their identifications. The first pic is supposedly a dugong rib bone from the Peace River in Florida. The second pic is a dawn redwood fossil from Beaverhead County, Montana. Does that sound right? And the last pic is a fossil leaf from the Green River Formation in Utah. What kind of leaf does it look like? Thanks- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 The leaf appears to be Allophylus flexifolia based on the alternating pattern inside the leaf. At first I thought it was Styrax transverse, but that leaf has a non-alternating pattern. The other two fossils look like you got the ID correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 i agree that the first two fossils are correctly identified, but i am not sure that the Green River leaf is Allophylus. what makes me think otherwise is in Common Fossil Plants of Western North America Tidwell describes Allophylus to be "broadly lanceolate with an average width-to-length ratio of 1:3.4". this leaf could possibly still be Allophylus if it is missing the top 1/2 of the leaf, but it appeas to be more complete than that to me. another possibility is Rhus lesquereuxi (sumac). i am no expert just have a good reference book and thought i would share the info. Brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 If you look on the right side of the piece in the second pic in the lower right and the mid to upper right, there are two imprints to the right of the main fern imprint. What could they be? Ginkgo? Thanks- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worthy 55 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Great fossils !! It's my bone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Murphy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Andy: You are correct in the identification of the frond in the middle photograph as "Dawn Redwood". It is likely that the frond is Metasequoia occidentalis (Newberry) Chaney 1915. This species of Metasequoia is very common in the shales associated with the coal beds in the Paleocene Fort Union Group of Bowman County, North Dakota where I collected a number of specimens in 1994. It is also found in the Fort Union Group in Wyoming and Montana. It is fascinating that Metasequoia has remained largely unchanged since the time of the dinosaur much like the Ginkgo. Metasequoia is also the state Fossil of Oregon. Regards, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 This dawn redwood fossil was found in the Muddy Creek Formation in Beaverhead County, Montana. I believe it is Oligocene. Thanks- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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