Northeast Ohio 10/17 Another New Plant?

[saysac]

I do not believe I found one of these before.

[saysac]

more pics

[abyssunder]

You are right,is something new! Very intriguing!

[ZiggieCie]

MY! You do have a great little window into, a Garden of Eden of the past.

[paleoflor]

The constricted base and forking but not anastomosing venation, suggest the pinnules belong to something Neuropteris-like (sensu lato). Not sure what exactly, though.

[saysac]

So it IS something new! Could it be a plant that has just started to produce its leaves and it is a young plant?

[saysac]

Paleoflor it does look like Neuropteris, from the images I am seeing.

[Stocksdale]

Yes, it looks Neuropteris-like. It's a little different than the typical ones. What are your thoughts, Paleoflor?

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first Neuropteris-like thing from Sherry's location. That is a bit interesting since they usually are a very common element of the carboniferous.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Stocksdale

[saysac]

Alethopteris and Cladophlebis were suggested on the Carboniferous facebook page. The thought is that Neuropteris is too large for what I found. Any thoughts?

[Stocksdale]

Oh. I didn't realize how small it is. Each pinnule is only 6mm or so. I think it is definitely a bit different than Neuropteris.

[paleoflor]

Alethopteris has pinnules that are asymmetric and decurrent at the basiscopic side. As far as I know, Cladophlebis also has pinnules that are broadly attached to the rachis (moreover it is a predominantly Mesozoic morphogenus). The pinnules in your specimen are clearly constricted and, as such, incompatible with both genera. By contrast, there are no clearly defined size-limits (to my knowledge), that would exclude your specimen being something with neuropteroid pinnules.

Edited October 18, 2015 by paleoflor

[saysac]

So could this possibly be a small young Neuropteris plant?

Edited October 18, 2015 by saysac

[paleoflor]

Or simply some species with small-sized pinnules, I don't know. Also, Neuropteris is not the only genus having Neuropteris-like (neuropteroid) pinnules, so it may be a different genus bearing similar pinnules. For an ID on the species level, you'd need to be familiar with the age-range (lower Pennsylvanian, right?) that you're collecting, which I'm definitely not... What I am quite sure of, however, is that both Alethopteris and Cladophlebis can be ruled out. These genera are characterized by pinnules that are grossly different in shape. If you look at a typical Alethopteris, for example, you'll notice that on the basiscopic side (side of pinnules facing the point of pinna attachment, i.e. right hand side in this picture) the pinnules are decurrent (or confluent, if you like) and broadly attached to the pinna. This generic characteristic of Alethopteris is not present in your specimen, so your specimen is not Alethopteris. It is often easier to rule out possibilities than it is to pinpoint the only one that fits all observations (if existing)...

[saysac]

Thank you Paleoflor and Paul. I am thankful for your interest in the fossils and your work in identifying them.

[Stocksdale]

Here's Odontopteris neuropteroides Newberry. Don't know if it has a newer name or not.

Resembles the new fossil. It was found in the same horizon (Sharon Conglomerate) as Sherry's fossil.

Here's some more on it.

http://discover.odai.yale.edu/ydc/Record/3073742

Edited October 18, 2015 by Stocksdale

[ZiggieCie]

Here is some info I posted in another thread. I hope you find it useful in the future.

Here is an instruction sheet on archival marking techniques used by the American Museum of Natural History. This should answer most questions.

Assembling an Archival Marking Kit for Paleontological Specimens

http://vertpaleo.org/PDFS/7f/7f3a76e9-e87c-4b0a-a893-8e9b53a6efec.pdf

Ziggie

[Stocksdale]

Just wanted to add this here for future reference. The one I had mentioned above was renamed as ODONTOPTERIS NEWBERRYI.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Stocksdale