paleoflor Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Hi all, It has been ages since my last post here. While I generally find it pleasant to just read and enjoy the contributions of others, it is about time I post some pictures of my own again (only polite, don't you agree?). Hope you enjoy these long overdue photographs. The attached images show one of the acquisitions I made during the several months of radio-silence. The specimens shows large Walchian conifer fronds, of the Hermitia germanica-type. Given the size, it is easily one of the more remarkable plant fossils in my collection. The site was discovered, collected and closed, all around 25-30 years ago. More information on the Walchian Conifers from the Permian of the Saar-Nahe Basin can be found in the Dissertation of Sunia Lausberg 2002 (in German). Cheers, Tim Hermitia germanica Kerp and Clement-Westerhof 1984 Locality: Steinbruch Juchem, Niederwörresbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany Age: Rotliegend / Asselian (Lower Permian) Stratigraphy: Donnersberg Formation, Rhyolithic Tuffseries III or IV (tuff matrix 60 x 35 cm) (detail of twigs and branches) Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Good to hear from you, Tim! You came bearing beautiful gifts, too I like anything Permian, and these are wonderful 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...
RomanK Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Great specimen Tim! I like it. Roman http://s1143.photobu.../donbassfossil/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 Thanks, guys. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hi Tim, Congrats on the fantastic fossil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Museum quality plant stuff!!! Thanks for sharing!!! Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Really nice piece. Some day, I hope to collect some similar Walchia from a Pennsylvanian site close to me. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Highly interesting! I wasn't aware that fossils were found at that quarry, which is actually world famous for its magnificent agates and amethyst and smokey quarz druses. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Really nice piece. Some day, I hope to collect some similar Walchia from a Pennsylvanian site close to me. A Pennsylvanian site that produces Walchian conifer fossils; sounds like a very interesting locality. Good luck collecting there! Highly interesting! I wasn't aware that fossils were found at that quarry, which is actually world famous for its magnificent agates and amethyst and smokey quarz druses. Apparently, the fossil remains where found in a relatively small-scale Tuff layer/lens. If you are interested, I recommend downloading Lausberg (2002), and reading Kapitel 4, Fortsetsung 7 (dealing specifically with the Juchem locality). Nice detail: one of the photographs of the locality, presented in this chapter of the dissertation, actually depicts exactly my specimen, I strongly believe. What are the odds of finding a photograph of an "old collection" specimen, still embedded in the rock face, back in the late 1980s? Modified from Lausberg 2002 (Figure 45, p. 239) Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDudeCO Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 very nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 A Pennsylvanian site that produces Walchian conifer fossils; sounds like a very interesting locality. Good luck collecting there! Apparently, the fossil remains where found in a relatively small-scale Tuff layer/lens. If you are interested, I recommend downloading Lausberg (2002), and reading Kapitel 4, Fortsetsung 7 (dealing specifically with the Juchem locality). Nice detail: one of the photographs of the locality, presented in this chapter of the dissertation, actually depicts exactly my specimen, I strongly believe. What are the odds of finding a photograph of an "old collection" specimen, still embedded in the rock face, back in the late 1980s? Hermitia.jpg Hermitiab.jpg Modified from Lausberg 2002 (Figure 45, p. 239) Hi Tim, what a super specimen--Congrats. It is really intriguing to see a field picture of what you now have in your collection. I do got to say though that I feel really old when you talk about an old collection from the late 1980's.. I am just teasing--could be that the first fossil that I ever found was in the late 60's and thats really what makes me think I'm getting old... Great post! Regards, Chris I'm glad to see this fossil plant and see your posts again! Regards,Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Hi Tim, what a super specimen--Congrats. It is really intriguing to see a field picture of what you now have in your collection. I do got to say though that I feel really old when you talk about an old collection from the late 1980's.. I am just teasing--could be that the first fossil that I ever found was in the late 60's and thats really what makes me think I'm getting old... Great post! Regards, Chris I'm glad to see this fossil plant and see your posts again! Regards,Chris Ha ha, oh my apologies! I have this nasty habit of referring to material from any closed site as "old" material, simply because you can no longer get any "new" material (which is, if you think about it, not very logic usage, actually). On the other hand, you are lucky to have been able to collect in the 60s-80s, for many of the coal mining operations were still active back then (in Europe, at least). Many of the "old" (sensu lato, he he...) localities are gone now... Kind regards, Tim Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Apparently, the fossil remains where found in a relatively small-scale Tuff layer/lens. If you are interested, I recommend downloading Lausberg (2002), and reading Kapitel 4, Fortsetsung 7 (dealing specifically with the Juchem locality). Thanks for the info, Tim. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Interesting material, Tim. How did you end up with a specimen that was used in a paper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 I obtained the specimen in trade from a Dutch fossil dealer, who in turn obtained it from a German collector. This was probably one of the rather few pieces in private collection (the fact that some pieces were in private hands, is in fact mentioned in the manuscript) and was probably collected early on by a local collector (perhaps the one who discovered the site, I don't know). The figure in which the specimen can be seen still in the rock face was obtained from a local museum (see reference in text). Whether the specimen itself was used, however, is not clear from the text. It is not figured elsewhere in the thesis as an actual study specimen, only as "outcrop". Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Hmmmm.. Well at least the fossil pictured in the paper is not lost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stocksdale Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I was just reading this paper about Walchian conifers being found in the paleosols underlying the baker coal of Illinois. I found it very interesting. The thinking is that there would have been 10,000 years of dryer conifer forests during the time of lowest ocean levels. Then as the water was rising, the forests returned to a typical coal forest with lycopods, horsetails and tree ferns for another 10-20,000 years until the sea finally rose to cover the coal forests. The paper was freely available through the Smithsonian website so I'll post it here. paleo_2009-Falcon-LangEtAl_ConiferPennIllinois_Geology(1).pdf Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.–Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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