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Triassic Fern Id


flyguy784

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TriassicFernsLockatong003.jpgTriassicFernsLockatong002.jpgTriassicFernsLockatong001.jpg

Need ID's on these guys, found in Lockatong formation, Berks County PA Triassic

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Wow! I can't find anything like it. Vaguely reminiscent of Calamites??

"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!

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I'm actually giggling, my first picture post and I got a wow. Maybe I should go back and get some more of these. So far I think it's Pterophyllum sp. I think "Pterophyllum inequale" or "Pterophyllum affine". Early to middle Carnian. I think I need a better specimen to know for sure. At least it would help.

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When you Google "Pterophyllum", you get thousands of hits for Anglefish, and this:

(I see the similarities)

post-423-1217555204_thumb.jpg

"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!

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I found my tentative ID from one of my books, "Early to Middle Carnian (Triassic) Flora and Fauna of the Richmond and Taylorsville Basins,Virginia and Maryland,USA" By Bruce Cornet and Paul Olsen. Available from the Virginia Museum of Natural History. Although not my locality it has alot of the same fauna and flora ID's.

I'll also make sure I reduce my photo size a little more next time.

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Gotta ask. I'm curious, why so few attemps at an ID on these ferns. I see others post a pic or two and many posts follow. Why not so on these. I suspect that not many people hunt in this time period. Or, not many of the more experianced collectors collect in this geographic area. Just curious.

On a side note. I'm heading up to that spot today again, meeting a forum member, in fact, leaving in 30 mins. I'll post a report later today.

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Gotta ask. I'm curious, why so few attemps at an ID on these ferns. I see others post a pic or two and many posts follow. Why not so on these. I suspect that not many people hunt in this time period. Or, not many of the more experianced collectors collect in this geographic area. Just curious.

On a side note. I'm heading up to that spot today again, meeting a forum member, in fact, leaving in 30 mins. I'll post a report later today.

people know the most about what they've found the most and therefore researched the most. although i know there are fossil plants in the state in which i reside, i've never found any, so therefore know little about them. the other point is that people trend toward collecting and researching whatever they consider "cool" or "bad", so giant killer dinosaurs and sharks get way more views and posts, it seems. now if you ever find one of those plants like on "Little Shop of Horrors" and can document it, we'll probably all be researching the heck out of it. come to think of it, i believe there's a "seymour" texas where they've found dimetrodon fossils, and maybe that would be a good place to go look...

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Oh, what the heck. I "investigate" and "analyze" that which I don't know, so... could it be something like Cordaites bark pieces? There was no size reference in the pictures, and I'm not seeing any displacement of the "individual" little leaves or fronds or whatever you call the smallest parts of the thing. I noted the first picture showed the fossil as looking thicker and rounded on the edges of each parallel portion, compared to the other imprints, and I didn't see veins or outlines. Don't know - just keeping the macro concepts open until you figure out for sure what it is.

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...why so few attemps at an ID on these ferns...

I know zip about Triassic veggies; I keep hoping someone will step up & 'splain it, 'cause I'd like to know more!

"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!

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It's definetly a Triassic fern. In the top picture it's 1 1/4 inches across at the widest point. The Academy of Natural Sciences has an extensive collection of Triassic material from our local area. Collected and identified by Wilhelm Bock in the 1940's I believe. When I get a chance I'll go to Philadelphia and check it out. I'll post the ID when I do. Meanwhile, I think I'll go back to that "spot" and see if I can find a better/bigger specimen or two. Thanks for the attempts.

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