flyguy784 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Found this in my favorite, local spot. Can't find a like image anywhere. It's from the Lockatong formation (upper). These are late Triassic, lake shore deposits. The area where I found this piece had lots of plant material. Ferns, Cycads and petrified wood. To me, it looks like a fossilized fiddle head. One photo has a quarter for scale. Any ideas?? Oh, Montgomery County PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordpiney Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 looks like some kind of seed pod or something along those lines. unfortunatly, carboniferous plants arnt really my thing. sweet fossil though john! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I wonder whether it might be a Cycad trunk impression? "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...
flyguy784 Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 I wonder whether it might be a Cycad trunk impression? I thought the same thing at first glance. That would be impossible however. It was not exposed on either side of a larger slab about 1 1/2" thick. It didn't show up till I split that slab. The fossil itself is only 3/8" thick. Like a pancake. Radiating from it's outermost spiral are fine hair like leaflets. I did find another, smaller specimen. No where near the detail though. But it is identical except that the radial ridges are more tightly spaced and far finer. I don't mind saying, I was thrilled when this guy showed its face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 looks like some kind of seed pod or something along those lines. unfortunatly, carboniferous plants arnt really my thing. sweet fossil though john! Hi Phil, how about Triassic plants? Got your E mail. looking at my schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted September 27, 2009 Author Share Posted September 27, 2009 Come on, nobody? I frequently see the experts in this forum id stuff that I can't even pronounce. I can't believe this has you guys stumped. Has anyone ever seen a fossilized fern whorl like this? I haven't found a referance to one yet. In the picture with the quarter, notice the litte Cycad frond on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 perhaps seeking out an expert on the lockatong formation is in order? somebody at Rutgers? state natural history museum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted September 27, 2009 Author Share Posted September 27, 2009 perhaps seeking out an expert on the lockatong formation is in order? somebody at Rutgers? state natural history museum? Thanks Tracer, good idea. I'll send it to professor McGhee at Rutgers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenixflood Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 There are some members of this site that may know what it is. Maybe they just haven't seen this post yet. The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Very interesting piece, I'm seeing a wide flat cycad or palm leaf maybe? Never seen anything like that before. Will have to meet up you sometime to go hunting now that my summer trip is over. -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...
flyguy784 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Well apparently it's quite unusual. Sent several E mails to the experts. Same response, WOW, never saw anything like it. They've forwarded my pics to yet more experts. I've cleaned it up a bit, looks fantastic. I'll put up some better photo's later today. The current photos don't do this thing justice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Come on, nobody? I frequently see the experts in this forum id stuff that I can't even pronounce. I can't believe this has you guys stumped. Has anyone ever seen a fossilized fern whorl like this? I haven't found a referance to one yet. In the picture with the quarter, notice the litte Cycad frond on the left. I'm not one of the experts, but I think you might be on to something. Given the thickness (thinness) of the fossil, it might be very well be a fossilized fern whorl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docdutronc Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hi I am not familiar with the material of the Triassic period, but the development round makes me think to a crosier, perhaps juvenil cycad ferns , there are several layers that form a spiral !! nice !! best regards from France Bruno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanK Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 One more non-expert opinion. It looks like Neocalamites or Equisetaceae. Not sure, but my doubt - ribs. As for cycads - we need leaf scars and stem bark like palm. I can be wrong. Not precisely match, but similar. Some pics I found in the web. Roman http://s1143.photobu.../donbassfossil/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Mystery solved. Received the following from a couple experts. Hi John Thanks very much for this. The fossil in the picture is Equisetites, which is the name given for Mesozoic Horsetails similar to the living genus Equisetum. The specimen is preserved compressed down from the top (a little oblique). Plant fossils like this are practically unknown from the Lockatong. In fact they are not common anywhere in the Newark Basin, so your fossils are VERY important. Do you have any pictures of the other plants? I would be very interested in seeing them. And This looks like the base of a Calamites stem. They are known from the Late Triassic, and would have been growing along the lakeshores of what became the Lockatong Formation in much the same way that horsetails grow today. If so, we're looking directly at the bottom of a stem. The nodes became very compressed during subsequent burial and fossilization. Well, that's one paleobotanist's analysis So I guess I have my answer. Not as exciting as I originaly thought but I think that's a common occurence in the paleo world. Still an impressive piece. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Triassic horsetail; very cool! Weird sort of preservation, too. 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...
Plantguy Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Definitely still a cool fossil. Never seen any triassic material like it anyway. Great find! Very nice RomanK with your prelimary ID! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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