piranha Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Today this beautiful Oligocene aquatic plant arrived. It is a magnificent specimen of Cystoseirites partschii. This example showcases the articulated apical and basal regions and miraculously preserves some of the reproductive structures of conceptacle and receptacle morphology. The apical portion of the plant, which is shed annually, also preserves a 3D pneumatocyst (air vessicle) also present during fertile periods and allowing flotation and optimal photosynthetic exchange for this robust and highly successful phaeophyte (= extant Cystoseira: brown algae / kelp). Enjoy Cystoseirites (=Cystoseira) partschii Late Oligocene - Southern Caucasus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleozoicfish Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Beautiful and I love that some of sexual anatomy is present! Great acquisition. Spectacular! -PzF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Oh my! Besides being a spectacularly preserved specimen, it is an incredibly beautiful fossil My envious and heartfelt congratulations! "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...
AgrilusHunter Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Very, very nice! Congratulations on a great addition. "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Certainly is awesome! Congratulations! Is that a bryozoan encrustation on your first picture, also? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks guys for the nice comments Certainly is awesome! Congratulations! Is that a bryozoan encrustation on your first picture, also? Probably not Steve... just a strange digital artifact from the angle of the light source. Looking at the photos again I'd say my attempt to bring out the fine detail caused other anomalies in appearance. Here is another image with softer lighting that shows a closer approximation of actual surface texture. I might need a better camera one of these days :pic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 That is very nice. Your description is so good, I was impressed even before I saw the images. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks Missourian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Nice to see some marine flora. I dont recall seeing much on the forums. My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Nice to see some marine flora. I dont recall seeing much on the forums. Follow this LINK for additional examples of Phaeophyta from the Monterey Formation in California. Thanks Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Aha! That one caught my eye too but went above my budget... I'm sure it has a good home now, thanks for posting it, Scott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 That is a cool plant. I like how it has fossil worm tubes associated with it as it likely did in life. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thanks Eric and Dave Dave, The round objects are actually the conceptacles. The image posted should have indicating arrows and a good diagnostic diagram to illustrate the description. During the fertile period the receptacle fronds become swollen with the presence of conceptacles. As this taxon is dioecious, the conceptacles will bear female or male gametes, but not both. The morphology and life cycle of this organism is fascinating. My new favorite fossil... for now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Ok, I'll buy the Conceptacle concept but I see spiral shapes in some of those bumps, kinda like Spirorbis. Maybe it's the lighting but below are examples of what I'm comparing them to. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Conceptacle Concept? That is priceless! Yes, after looking again, those do appear to be similar to the Spirorbis in your photos. The conceptacle / receptacle frond is directly above the 'cl' in the very first photo. A few tiny ostioles also appear to be present but my camera is not suited for super-macro at a distance of 2 cm or less. With luck the fossil will eventually be evaluated directly by a marine algae specialist and will report back any details. Thanks again everyone for the great feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 That is indeed beautiful specimen Scott !!! Congratulations on this spectacular acquisition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 That is indeed beautiful specimen Scott !!! Congratulations on this spectacular acquisition Thanks Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 The conceptacle / receptacle frond is directly above the 'cl' in the very first photo. Ah, I see it now. Thank you for the pointer! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 What an amazing in size, appearence, preservation and importance specimen you have brought again, Scott That's one more spectacular gem in your ''The collection'' jewellery Congratulations Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks Dave & Astrinos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Wow! what a beautiful fossil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Wow! what a beautiful fossil Thanks Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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