Batty Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Just got back from a week long hunt, need help with an ID on this plant fossil. Found at a coal mine possibly Cretaceous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Nice find Batty!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I'll stay tuned to this one; never seen its like before! "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...
Carl Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Exquisite! Where from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Looks fernlike hope one of our experts on plants can tell Ya exactly what it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Beautiful frond. Just beautiful. It could be a fern, or another plant type that bears compound leaves. To get it identified, I think you should try and find locality specific literature. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanB Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Beautifully preserved fossil! Jean JeanB Montreal, QC, Canada Ordovician, Trenton group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 beautifully preserved fossil, can't wait to see what it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tethys Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Beautiful preservation! I think it is a conifer, due to the needles. I cannot zoom in enough to see any details of bark, or fruiting structure so I will guess something in the yew family based on its branching pattern. I'm not sure if Australia has any species of Taxus, but I can find several references to Austrotaxus sp. which look very similar. I too await an expert on fossil plants of Oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 You should also investigate the flowering Evergreen genus: Grevillea. There are a number of species recorded from Australia. The attached example is from the Eocene but Grevillea is reported from the Cretaceous of Australia as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magicman Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 That is a nice museum quality fossil. It has many similarities to Metasequoia as you can see in the following link: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/mcabee/Camaecyparis/Camaecyparis.htm I'm new here so I posted the HTML that you can copy and paste. Similar fossils were found in Illinois when coal mining. Since you mentioned the coal mine, I thought that might be relevant. See the following link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/13/springfield-coal-fossil-forest_n_1499981.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Exquisite! Where from? From the Leigh Creek coalmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Piranha I was thinking along the same lines, I couldn't find a pic to compare but it looks so familiar it's annoying me. I figured a type of drought resistant plant due to the short leaves. Thanks guys and girls, it is a lovely fossil and we will be going back to the mine in autumn/early summer, it takes planning to get in there as it's a working mine and permission is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 From the Leigh Creek coalmine This is very useful information. The Leigh Creek coalmine mines the (appropriately called) Leigh Creek Coal Measures. According to the Geoscience Australia Stratigraphic Unit Database, this Formation ranges from Triassic to Jurassic in age (opposed to Cretaceous). Given this new age constraint, I am quite certain you are dealing with Dicroidium here. This is a form genus for Triassic pteridosperm fronds (Umkomasiales order). Characteristic for Dicroidium is the basal bifurcation of the fronds. If you look at your specimen, you can see the two main pinna converge to a potential union at the base (yellow below). Further corroborating this, is the asymmetry of the (half) fronds, as indicated by the blue arrows. If you do a Google image search, you will find many examples with larger pinnules. Note however, that in the Late Triassic, forms of Dicroidium evolved that were more adapted to drought/dry conditions. The book by Anderson and Anderson (1983) may be useful in your identification. I have to go to work now, but I will try and look up the species for you later today. Regardless, it is a wonderful example with a lot of contrast. Kind regards, Tim 4 Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoworld-101 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Batty that is a fantastic fern you should be very proud. Better than any I have found by a mile. "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thanks Tim, awesome information. I'm grateful for any info . Paleoworld, it's now sitting on the bookcase wih all my other fossils. I'm am very happy with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Please find below two scans from Anderson and Anderson (1983). The slender pinnules suggests that the fossil is a form of Dicroidium superbum. This species shows considerable variation in pinnule morphology though, and several forms can be recognized. The two scans above depict D. superbum forma bipennatum and D. superbum forma tripinnatum, with which you might want to compare your fossil. Both forms occur in your locale (denoted on the scans in the table as "Aus, SA" = Australia South Australia, and as a black dot on the maps) and show a resemblance to your find. I further attached a scan from M.E. White (1988). Note that the scientific names used in this source are considered outdated. However, it does show a reasonable picture of D. superbum forma tripinnatum together with a reconstruction of a complete frond of Dicroidium zuberi showing the typical bifurcated frond architecture that Dicroidium superbum also has (unfortunately, I have no good pictures of a complete frond of that particular species). Tim 3 Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 beautiful specimen "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Thanks Herb. Thanks again Tim. You are a fount of information. I guess is better hurry up and finish resurrecting my antique display cabinet to house it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Yes, that one is top-shelf for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 thanks Wrangellian, I'm treasuring this one. Cant wait to go back there and find some critters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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