Northeast Ohio, 8/1 Cordites Leaf?

[saysac]

Found 8/1. Is this a Cordites Leaf?

[abyssunder]

With the "A" in the name, looks like Cordaites leaf, or appropriate. An interesting document might be : Dilemma of late Palaeozoic mixed floras in Gondwana - Ashwini Srivastava, Deepa Agnihotri, 2010 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237853517_Dilemma_of_late_Palaeozoic_mixed_floras_in_Gondwana

[Fossildude19]

Sherry,

Can't help much with the ID, but I brightened your pic a bit for you.

[paleoflor]

Not sure for your locale, but are there other options? Cordaites have (near) parallel venation, while your specimen clearly shows fanning near the base of the leaf. On the other hand, the specimen is very small, so perhaps the characteristics of mature leaves don't apply directly. Not sure here, but these are my two cents.

[saysac]

Thank you Tim for your help with the photo and thank you Tim for your input. I found a photo in the Fossils of Ohio book, page 477 that looks very similar, Cordaites unger. Any thoughts on this?

[saysac]

I found this link

http://forums-naturalistes.forums-actifs.com/t4194-cordaites-unger-1850

[paleoflor]

Hello Sherry,

The epithet "Cordaites Unger, 1850" represents the whole genus Cordaites, i.e. several different species of Cordaites, and not any single species in particular. The genus epithet Cordaites was coined by Unger in 1850, hence the author and date. One of the characteristics of the whole genus is the parallel nervation I mentioned earlier. Your specimen seems to have non-parallel nervation, which is why I thought you might want to also look outside of the genus Cordaites for other options. It could very well be a juvenile leaf, though. As you know, I currently have no access to my books, so cannot be of much help.

Tim