Rockin' Ric Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) These Calamite cast fossils are part of my Carboniferous Collection along with many stems. I've been told that it's both but can't get a concensus on which it is? If it is a rootlet, is it just this one that anchors ithe calamite in the soil or are there many others like this? I recall seeing present day horsetails with shoots that look like this? The Calamites were found all within' a 2 mile radius of each other and are part of the Interbedded Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation that runs through Alabama. In the first pic, the cast on the right is 8 1/2" long, the right and below are 6 1/2" long. The second pic these are 7" , 7 1/2" and 3". Added 4 more to the orginal post... Edited April 2, 2011 by Rockin' Ric WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I have heard both, but am coming to believe the "proproot" interpretation, since they generally are curved. Very nice specimens! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Rockin'Ric.... I think those are wonderful examples... I'd be well chuffed with any of those specimens in my rucksack... Try this link for the root idea but I also have heard that they could be a growing tip which is also a possibility....If you look at modern horsetails the very top of any growth looks segmented a reduces in diameterjust like they do... Maybe the curved ones are roots and the straight ones are growing tips... http://www.xs4all.nl/~steurh/engcalam/erhizoom.html Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Those are quite rare and very nice!! We find all sorts of pieces of calamites, but for every 10,000 pieces, there might be one of those found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Here are some pictures of Equisetum japonicum, a modern horsetail. They show that you are right, these forms resemble your fossils, so in principle they could be the end-points. However, I agree with Steve here: these are parts of the rhizome. Note that the inter-nodal length (distance between the horizontal "crossbars") is shorter than the breadth (or diameter if you like) of the specimens. This is indicative for Calamites suckowii, the species to which I therefore think these specimens belong. This Calamites species is often hypothesised to be part of the rooting-system, which is in line with the identification by Steve (e.g. Remy and Remy, 1977). Anyhow: very, very nice specimens, haven't seen those often before! Source: http://passe.temps.de.guy.noel.over-blog.com/article-6388689.html Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Those are spectacular specimens. Personaly, I believe they are growth tips or shoots. Not sure we can use one living (modern) species as a reference. Whatever they are, they're fantastic pieces. I worked at an open pit coal mine in Alabama many years back. It was, as I recall, within in a few miles of Birmingham. It was before my interst in fossils but I remember clearly seeing many Calamites sections laying around. If only I knew then what I know now. Really nice stuff you have there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Thanks guys for the comments! I have more of a tendency to believe the end-points are shoots but from the comments I've gotten it could go either way? I'm a bit surprised that these are somewhat rare? The site they came from was a construction site that was cut into a hillside and you wouldn't believe these things were just lying on the ground after the excavators got ahold of the tons of rock! Just this past Sunday, I was looking in a rockpile that will be used for fill-dirt and found the one in the second photo on your left, it was in this huge boulder. I didn't have a chisel, but used a rock hammer and screwdriver to free it, it just popped out and that is what I assumed happened to all the others found when the excavators freed them from their tombs. Oh, in the first picture, the cast on the left has an extended piece which when I found it was in two pieces. Put together, the fossil is about 2' in length! I found a few more I had stored away and will post those later. I plan on showing my collection in the members gallery as soon as I can get them organized? Loved to show em' to you guys. Thanks again for the valuable info! Edited April 1, 2011 by Rockin' Ric WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docdutronc Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Thanks guys for the comments! I have more of a tendency to believe the end-points are shoots but from the comments I've gotten it could go either way? I'm a bit surprised that these are somewhat rare? The site they came from was a construction site that was cut into a hillside and you wouldn't believe these things were just lying on the ground after the excavators got ahold of the tons of rock! Just this past Sunday, I was looking in a rockpile that will be used for fill-dirt and found the one in the second photo on your left, it was in this huge boulder. I didn't have a chisel, but used a rock hammer and screwdriver to free it, it just popped out and that is what I assumed happened to all the others found when the excavators freed them from their tombs. Oh, in the first picture, the cast on the left has an extended piece which when I found it was in two pieces. Put together, the fossil is about 2' in length! I found a few more I had stored away and will post those later. I plan on showing my collection in the members gallery as soon as I can get them organized? Loved to show em' to you guys. Thanks again for the valuable info! Hi here are some Calamites from northern France and Belgium ,they are are very similar .... Bruno http://forums-naturalistes.forums-actifs.com/t3487-annularia-feuillage-de-calamites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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