Rockin' Ric Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Here's my contribution. I collected these only a few weeks ago and haven't prepped them yet. Heck, I haven't even cleaned them yet. So many fossils......so little time. The first is a bifurcated stem. I never saw this characteristic in a calamite. The last two are of a specimen which is unusual in that it's "draped" over the matrix.......like a waterfall. Tom Tom, that last picture is a very interesting specimen! Never seen anything like it, not even close to all the Calamites I've found so far. Thanks for sharing them with us. WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOM BUCKLEY Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Tom, that last picture is a very interesting specimen! Never seen anything like it, not even close to all the Calamites I've found so far. Thanks for sharing them with us. Thanks Ric. I'm glad you like it. Tom AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST STROKE SURVIVOR CANCER SURVIVOR CURMUDGEON "THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) Hello all, I was going thru some boxes and came across these 3D Calamite stems! 2 boxes full I might add (not all are pictured). I decided to post them here as well as my collection. These fossils were lying on the surface at a construction site, never seen so many fossils scattered about. I really don't see many 3D Calamites posted here, then again I haven't gone through all the posts yet? 3D Calamite stems Edited July 20, 2011 by Rockin' Ric WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoTerra Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 These are some of my flora finds from a locale in eastern Oklahoma. They are lower Hartshorne Formation, Pennsylvanian. There are a few Calamites amongst several other specimens from this site, including a three dimensional seed fern seed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 These are some of my flora finds from a locale in eastern Oklahoma. They are lower Hartshorne Formation, Pennsylvanian. There are a few Calamites amongst several other specimens from this site, including a three dimensional seed fern seed. Wow PaleoTerra! You got yourself a lil' Carboniferous forest on display. Really nice specimens, I really like your ferns and calamites, nice detail. Am I seeing some Stigmaria in there too? Thank you for sharing them with us! WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoTerra Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Thank you very much Rockin' Ric! Definitely admiring the apicals and some of the more unusual Calamites stuff from this topic tho! And yes, there are three pieces of Stigmaria in the picture. At one time I had a beautiful collection of Lepidostrobus preserved as carbon relief imprints from this site, but an ex-girlfriend made off with them along with a whole box of other framed goodies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hey Ric, good thread...Enjoy seeing the variety everyone has in their collections. Here's the best 3D example I have that came from Whitley County, Kentucky. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hey Ric, good thread...Enjoy seeing the variety everyone has in their collections. Here's the best 3D example I have that came from Whitley County, Kentucky. Regards, Chris Hey Chris, that is a very nice Calamite you have there. Looks round in the photo, is it like that or flat? I like the exquisite detail in the ribbing? I like the 3D's as well as those in the matrix. Thanks for sharing your specimen with us! WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Well Ric, I guess it would be more than fair to say that I'm a way bit late in responding to your question.....ooops...over a year late.....Ooops!....Yes, its a nice example that does have a distinct curvature to it...almost a full 1/2 round about 8" long...Its set in a good sized chunk of deceivingly heavy sandstone...a solid 15+lbs.... Maybe I should find some time to log on more often and see what's happening of late..hoping to do more of that in the next few weeks and see what you'all have been up to.....my apologies... Best Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Posted this about 2 years ago. With new members coming in each day...wanted to see if there are any others who have Calamites in their collections. One of my favorite plant fossils to collect! So let us see your CALAMITES!!! WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Going to spend some more time on here looking at all the pictures after add mine. These are the 2 that are definitely calamite. The one is pretty small and just an impression I believe. On the other side of it there is more plant and also a oval scar. Not sure if that is calamite or not though.... The other one is one of my favorite finds so far! Glad you bumped this post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stocksdale Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 I'll revive this topic with a few more examples. Calamites stem with leaves (Asterophyllites?), from Chapel Hill area, Alabama Detail of the above stem Calamites dimensional cast), from Chapel Hill area, Alabama Calamites, nodule (labeled as from Mazon Creek but looks like from Missouri) All bars are 1 cm. Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.–Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Those are some nice specimens! I especially like the compressions (first two) from Alabama. Let's see how long we can keep this topic going... Herewith an example of Calamites cruciatus Sternberg 1825, from the Kanawha Fm. of West Virginia. Scale = 5 cm. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 A nice little stem of Calamites (subgenus Calamitina) from the Westphalian of Belgium. Note the branch scars every third node. Specimen ~13 cm. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Great collections!Congrats all of you! " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Here's one i found late last year. It's my biggest example yet. This is very compressed, and the nodule is only 1/2" thick. Mazon Creek pit 2. Francis creek shale. Braidwood flora ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 ...Note the branch scars every third node... Yes; why is that? I had assumed that all nodes hosted branching. Each whorl can be assumed to have hosted leaf-whorls, yes? "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 February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Chas, good question. I dont know. I defer to Tim on the subject of branching/leaf whorls but I dont think all nodes hosted branching and I think he's pointing out where they happen to be in this sample. I'm also not sure about the whorls and leaves--I believe there is the potential for them on every node but many times are absent or you cant distinguish them. Maybe I'm all wet...wont be the first time... Tim will set us straight. While I'm at it....to add to the general thread....here are some whorls and leaves. Wish I could say I found this but that didnt happen! Mazon Creek, IL, Annularia radiata. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Not much to add to Chris' fine answer. The calamiteans were a varied bunch and likely not all forms had branches on each node... Perhaps of additional interest, there even exists a classification scheme that separates Calamites into morphological subgenera on the basis of branch scar types and their spatial arrangement. I am not sure how current it is, however, as Rössler (2006) already showed that branching patterns in Calamites are generally more variable than considered by the scheme. Nonetheless, even though not as clear-cut, the separation is quite interesting and illustrative, in a general and conceptual sense. I. Subgenera of CalamitesCalamites subg. Stylocalamites WEISSCalamites subg. Cruciacalamites GOTHAN*Calamites subg. Diplocalamites GOTHAN*Calamites subg. Calamitina WEISS* Calamites subg. Eucalamites WEISS was further subdivied by Gothan into these two morpho-subgenera. The scheme, as I understand it, recognises the above four subgenera. In Stylocalamites, branch scars are very rare and the great majority of nodes bear none. In Cruciacalamites and Diplocalamites, all nodes bear branch scars. The difference between the two genera is that in Diplocalamites the number of branch scars per node is limited to two (exceptionally three), whereas in Cruciacalamites many branch scars occur per node. In Calamitina, branch scar-bearing nodes occur periodically, i.e. every few nodes. My last example would belong to this subgenus. Branch-scar arrangement on the fossil specimen scale. From left to right: Calamitina, Cruciacalamites, Diplocalamites, Stylocalamites. Whole-plant reconstructions for the different subgenera (compiled from Boureau 1971). From left to right: Stylocalamites, Cruciacalamites, Diplocalamites, Calamitina. I like the scheme, because it can sometimes help direct the identification of Calamites specimens to the species level (for example, if you observe branch-scars on every node, you can rule out all species within Stylocalamites and Calamitina). In a biological sense (if there ever was one assigned to the scheme), however, it is most probably outdated. In lieu of branch scars (i.e. for subgenus Stylocalamites and small specimens of subgenus Calamitina), another useful property in the identification of morphological species of Calamites is the shape of the ribs, especially the terminations. General morphology of ribs in C. cistii, C. undulatus and C. suckowii (from left to right). Also important: do ribs alternate at the nodes, or run straight through? Some works separate these into separate genera even... Note that there exist other schemes, like one that separates Calamites into subgenera on the basis of the arrangement of primary cauline and foliar steles. This scheme recognises three subgenera (Remy and Remy, 1977; 1978b). I am not very familiar with this classification scheme though. II. Subgenera of Calamites Calamites subg. Mesocalamites HIRMER, emend.Calamites subg. Calamitina WEISS, emend.Calamites subg. Calamitopsis REMY and REMY 3 Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Some very nice specimens! Does the node of your specimen bear branch-scars, fossilized6s? Looks like it... Herewith another example of Calamites (Calamitina) goeppertii from the Flénu Fm. of southern Belgium. Again note the periodic occurrence of whorls of branch-scars. Specimen about 40 cm long. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 RE: variations in Calamites branching habits: I have since been wondering whether some of this might not be response to local habitat conditions. There are plenty of modern analogs where individual plants only spread foliage where the added light collected will offset the energy expense of creating it. The alternating growth could even be seasonally dependent. "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...
paleoflor Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I have since been wondering whether some of this might not be response to local habitat conditions. There are plenty of modern analogs where individual plants only spread foliage where the added light collected will offset the energy expense of creating it. The alternating growth could even be seasonally dependent. All plausible. One of the core challenges for paleobotanists is to take the bits and pieces (literally, fossil fragments) and try to puzzle together what the whole plant might have been. This is no easy task, of course, because you don't know a priori which pieces belong together (the whole body of fossil specimens will undoubtedly belong to several plant types). That is why paleobotanical taxonomy is a bit odd, at times. The scheme in the above post is predominantly morphological in nature, not biological. Note this also links back nicely to a previous discussion on calamitalean stem casts and pith casts, for we are not always sure what it is precisely that we are looking at with these fossils. 1 Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I have since been wondering whether some of this might not be response to local habitat conditions. There are plenty of modern analogs where individual plants only spread foliage where the added light collected will offset the energy expense of creating it. The alternating growth could even be seasonally dependent. What do you think would be a way to test this? Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stocksdale Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 (edited) I have since been wondering whether some of this might not be response to local habitat conditions. There are plenty of modern analogs where individual plants only spread foliage where the added light collected will offset the energy expense of creating it. The alternating growth could even be seasonally dependent. I did a series of school science fair projects on phototropism and other ways the chemistry of plants changed with amount of light. I might have to dust off some of that and think about how it applies to paleobotany. I've recently thought about lepidodendrons and their dramatic change in leaf sizes as it grew. I've wondered if that is simply determinate growth based on genetics or if the change in growth is caused by the amount of light the tree receives. As far as testing the idea of Calamites branching, I imagine looking at the plant chemistry of living Equisetum would be the best way to go.... You could see if higher levels of Auxin (a chemical that moves to the shady parts of plants) encourage or deter branching. Edited February 27, 2015 by Stocksdale Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.–Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 What do you think would be a way to test this? Bringing this to the test would be a daunting task; our base samples may be separated temporally by many thousands of years, and we would need to be thinking in terms of months... Unless someone finds a hard temporal baseline (an iridium layer or some such), comparative speculation is what we have to work with. There are too many pages in the fossil record which are stuck together! "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...
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