Psaronius And The Old Mine

[Stocksdale]

I've been finding a lot of material that I have assumed are remains of psaronius (the carboniferous tree fern) from a spoil pile of an older underground mine in the "Mazon Creek" area. The mine finished operation about hundred years ago so the material is a little different that what is found at the strip mines. I think larger chunks of material are found because of the lack of the large machinery that the strip mines utilized.

Here are some of the psaronius trunks in situ that are at the surface but are disintegrating.

Here's the one that I found last year that started my year-long obsession with learning about psaronius.

Although I've found a few other things (lepidodendron and seed fern), what I'm finding appears to be dominated by psaronius.

Here's my general observations and thoughts:

I think this may represent a forest dominated by psaronius trees growing in the peat that will eventually be Colchester coal. This psaronius dominant forest would be a transitional ecosystem that is different from the ecosystem during the peat/coal production. The Colchester Coal was formed during a glacial period when the tropics had a steady rain. The dominant plant material in the colchester coal are various lycopsids (up to 80% according to some studies). But as the climate warmed and the glaciers melted, the climate became more seasonally dry and monsoonal. Others have determined that Psaronius may have been better equipped to survive these conditions. So, perhaps a hundred years or more, lycopsids became less dominant and psaronius became more dominant. This all is happening while the sea levels continue to increase. At some point a combination of monsoonal conditions and rising seas cover this psaronius forest with mud, debris and sand. Eventually being inundated with the sea.

Here's some I found yesterday.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Stocksdale

[Stocksdale]

My thoughts about Psaronius dominating the transition ecosystem had mostly come from the talk by Scott D. Elrick at the last ESCONI meeting. He had noted (and I've read it in some of the papers by Bill DiMichele and others) that the layer above coal is consists mostly of Sigillaria and Psaronius. While the coal itself is mostly Lepidodendron species.

The other interesting thing at the ESCONI meeting was the Jack Wittry had noted the lack of Sigillaria at Mazon Creek. I wonder if the particular setting of Mazon Creek area made it mostly Psaronius dominant as opposed to the Sigillaria / Psaronius settings that Scott referred to seeing in coal mines elsewhere.

Anyone else finding similar things or things that would contradict this layman's attempt at an ecological hypothesis?

Edited June 21, 2014 by Stocksdale