Devonian Aged Plant? Help!

[NNJJakeyBakey]

Been finding a lot of these in the mahantango formation, but have been unsure of what they may be. Alongside these (what my untrained eye sees as) Spores, I have found many “V” shaped branches, with the little knowledge I have, my first thought is Cooksonia.. Hoping someone with more knowledge can provide a definitive answer!

 

 

 

There are three examples within this one rock and I have many stems in other rock!

 

[NNJJakeyBakey]

More photos from the same area.

This specimen stumps me a bit as the structures look like vertebrae, but the ends of the stems have a similar shape to the second photo below.

A close-up of a “V” section of stem? I’ve found many many many of these structures in rock from the region!

[Rockwood]

I don't see anything that looks like plant fossils here. The bottom photo sort of suggests bryozoan, but it's not at all clear.  I doubt those are vertebra. 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Those are not vertebrae. They more closely resemble plant material. I agree that the last one looks very much like bryozoan.

[NNJJakeyBakey]

I’m certain they are plant material as well, however these photos are not my best example. I will research bryozoans a bit more as I’m not all that familiar with them. I intend to hopefully post some better pictures of those stems! My other finds definitely reinforce the idea of it being a plant rather than a bryozoan, so I will post those as I can find them! Thanks for your answers!!

[NNJJakeyBakey]

I also agree the last photo seems to be bryozoan especially given the texture and odd shape!

[Bringing Fossils to Life]

I find many plant stems at Seven Stars,which is likely Sherman Ridge Member of the Mahantango. Usually they look more 3D, and also branch like the ones you found. Sometimes (rarely) people find leaf impressions on branches. The last picture looks almost exactly like Atacotoechus furcatus, a Mahantango bryozoan.

[NNJJakeyBakey]

Thanks so much for your response!

[piranha]

My guru of paleobotany instantly recognized the mysterious fan-shaped flora:

 

 

"Yes indeed it is Eddya sullivanensis, a seedling of Archaeopteris, and on a much lower stratigraphic horizon.  Nice specimen: belongs in a museum."

 

 

"It is often difficult to recognize immature stages of sporophytes in the fossil record. One potential immature sporophyte is Eddya sullivanensis, a Late Devonian (Frasnian) plant interpreted as a juvenile form. Eddya has a maximum height of 30 cm (Beck, 1967) and consists of a slender axis that produced helically arranged, flabelliform leaves (6 cm long) with slightly undulating margins and dichotomous venation (FIG. 12.19). The underground root system of the plant is extensive with a robust primary root from which extend numerous lateral roots. The vascular system of the small stem consists of a eustele with mesarch primary xylem, surrounded by a small amount of secondary xylem that consists of tracheids with circular-bordered pits and narrow rays. It is hypothesized that E. sullivanensis represents an immature Archaeopteris plant, and the ontogenetic data on progymnosperms in general tends to supports this conclusion (Scheckler, 1978)."

 

 

text and figure from:

 

Taylor, E.L., Taylor, T.N., Krings, M. 2009

Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. 2nd Edition.

Academic Press, 1230 pp.

 

Beck, C.B. 1967

Eddya sullivanensis, gen. et sp. nov., A Plant of Gymnospermic Morphology from the Upper Devonian of New York.

Palaeontographica Abteilung B, 121(1-3):1-22

[NNJJakeyBakey]

45 minutes ago, piranha said:

My guru of paleobotany instantly recognized the mysterious fan-shaped flora:

 

 

"Yes indeed it is Eddya sullivanensis, a seedling of Archaeopteris, and on a much lower stratigraphic horizon.  Nice specimen: belongs in a museum."

 

 

"It is often difficult to recognize immature stages of sporophytes in the fossil record. One potential immature sporophyte is Eddya sullivanensis, a Late Devonian (Frasnian) plant interpreted as a juvenile form. Eddya has a maximum height of 30 cm (Beck, 1967) and consists of a slender axis that produced helically arranged, flabelliform leaves (6 cm long) with slightly undulating margins and dichotomous venation (FIG. 12.19). The underground root system of the plant is extensive with a robust primary root from which extend numerous lateral roots. The vascular system of the small stem consists of a eustele with mesarch primary xylem, surrounded by a small amount of secondary xylem that consists of tracheids with circular-bordered pits and narrow rays. It is hypothesized that E. sullivanensis represents an immature Archaeopteris plant, and the ontogenetic data on progymnosperms in general tends to supports this conclusion (Scheckler, 1978)."

 

 

text and figure from:

 

Taylor, E.L., Taylor, T.N., Krings, M. 2009

Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. 2nd Edition.

Academic Press, 1230 pp.

 

Beck, C.B. 1967

Eddya sullivanensis, gen. et sp. nov., A Plant of Gymnospermic Morphology from the Upper Devonian of New York.

Palaeontographica Abteilung B, 121(1-3):1-22

WOW! Thank you very much for the detailed information with overlays and citations! I very much appreciate your time and knowledge, thank you for teaching me something and helping put an identity on this specimen!

[piranha]

18 hours ago, NNJJakeyBakey said:

WOW! Thank you very much for the detailed information with overlays and citations! I very much appreciate your time and knowledge, thank you for teaching me something and helping put an identity on this specimen!

 

 

Always glad to assist!

 

As you mentioned finding a lot of these Mahantango specimens, would you be willing to donate a few examples to the Condon Collection at the University of Oregon? The research specialist that provided the ID is currently working on an upcoming paper, and these would be invaluable as an updated lower stratigraphic range indicator. Please contact me via PM and I can forward his email address. Thanks!