SteveInTiverton Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hi, Thanks again to those who helped me identify my "Pecopteris sp., probably P. arborescens." last week. You made my first post an educational experience. Earlier this summer i came across another nice specimen (albeit incomplete) loose on the beach. The images are both positives and negatives. Like the other its from the Rhode Island Formation (Middle to Upper Pennsylvanian) but much better detail was preserved in the pinnules. Note the pinnule size ranges from 20mm x 8mm to 13mm x 5mm. I've been pouring over the resources and would guess Pecopteris miltoni but I admit its really just a guess. Am I in the ballpark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pecopteris Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hello! Man, I wish I had found that on the beach!! Looks to me like Alethopteris sp. ... I believe that the gold/yellow color that you see is caused by the iron in the ground. However, don't quote me on that one . Nice find! "PECO" (Pecopteris) - I specialize in Carboniferous fossils. I have a wide array of plants. In my collection at the moment: Ferns, Calamites, Syringodendron, Aspidaria and Sigillaria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) Steve...Another great find... I think it looks like Mariopteris sp. with the wavy edged leaf but another close one ' leaf profile wise ' in my ID book is Fortopteris...It will be interesting to see what the others think... We have a few carb plant enthusisats on TFF as members now... Heres a couple of my Mariopteris finds including a nodule containing the climbing hooks... apparently Mariopteris was 'vine like' and used these to hook itslef up as it climbed into the canopy for better light presumably... Mariopteris muricata...One of my best nodule finds of this species... Climbing hooks... Edited October 20, 2012 by Terry Dactyll Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmerlin Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Very nice specimens love the fine detail can I suggest Neuropteris Desorii but Im far from being a plant expert As TerryDactyll suggests one of the Carb plant guys will put you in the right direction "A man who stares at a rock must have a lot on his mind... or nothing at all' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmerlin Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Steve...Another great find... I think it looks like Mariopteris sp. with the wavy edged leaf but another close one ' leaf profile wise ' in my ID book is Fortopteris...It will be interesting to see what the others think... We have a few carb plant enthusisats on TFF as members now... Heres a couple of my Mariopteris finds including a nodule containing the climbing hooks... apparently Mariopteris was 'vine like' and used these to hook itslef up as it climbed into the canopy for better light presumably... Mariopteris muricata...One of my best nodule finds of this species... Climbing hooks... Lovely specimens thanks for sharing "A man who stares at a rock must have a lot on his mind... or nothing at all' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hello Steve! More nice ferns for us I see. Again, I am no expert on plants, but to me, they look like either Pecopteris, or Neuropteris. I don't think Mariopteris, because the pinnules are rounded at the base. Some of the specimens show alternating pinnules on the stem, (which to me would indicate Pecopteris) but one shows pinnules that mirror the other side - could be an artifact of the preservation, or it could be a different type of fern? Not sure. Maybe one of the others will chime in. Honestly, I'm still having a hard time myself getting a grip on the veination patterns, and leaf/pinnule design to distinguish the differences. Sorry I can't be of more assistance. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
araucaria1959 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 This is indeed a difficult specimen, but I think Mariopteris can be correct - possibly. I don't think Neuropteris, since some of the pinnules show a trend towards lobation, while the margins of the pinnules of Neuropteris are usually straight and not wavy. Alethopteris differs in the way the pinnules are fixed to the twig. Here is a link to a species of Mariopteris - but only as an example for the morphogenus (not for the species). araucaria1959 http://www.google.de/imgres?q=Mariopteris&hl=de&tbm=isch&tbnid=T2scIBpzkvjawM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mariopteris_sauveurii.jpg&docid=wdia1CyrsgbEoM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Mariopteris_sauveurii.jpg&w=3072&h=1839&ei=jRODUPzSO4vntQbVnIGYCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=909&vpy=169&dur=2344&hovh=174&hovw=290&tx=147&ty=106&sig=115305578462837720505&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=222&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:86&biw=1246&bih=857 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveInTiverton Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hi there. I feel better now that I know the community doesn't think it's an easy ID. I was thrilled to have the veiniation detail and coloration compared to my last post. I spent a lot of time in the resources and just got more confused. What was throwing me off was the top 3 images look different than the bottom 4th image. Typically can a species look that different or is it possible they are separate samples? I'll look more closely at Mariopteris and Neoropteris and see how close I can get. Note a previous source provided by Piranha indicates Mariopteris nervosa was almost 20x as common in Rhode Island as Neuropteris at 6.1% of the fossils found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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