VI.—On the So-called “Plant Fossils” from the Silurian of Central Wales

Fossil plants are extinct plants whose remains (referred to as plant fossils) are found preserved in sedimentary deposits. Plant fossils are classified using fossil-taxa as defined in the International Code of Nomenclature. Fossil-taxa differ conceptually from taxa of living plants in that they often do not refer to whole organisms, but to the remains of one or more parts of the parent organism, in one or more preservational states. There can be complications when two parts of a plant are shown to be connected, or when two preservational states are correlated, and to avoid disrupting the wider palaeobotanical taxonomy it is often best to keep the fossil-taxa separate. Extinct fossil plants reconstructed by piecing together the plant fossils are best not given formal Linnean taxonomic names. There can also be problems using living plant taxa for fossils, even when there is a close morphological similarity of particular plant parts. Fossil-taxa for different plant parts can reflect different taxonomic ranks of the parent plants so care must be taken when using such taxa in floristic or phylogenetic studies. Because of taphonomic factors, a number of “artificial” fossil-taxa have proved useful, despite that they do not fully reflect the systematic positions of the parent plants.

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Through a glass darkly

The Emerald Planet ◽

10.1093/oso/9780192806024.003.0016 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

David Beerling

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽

Scientific Basis ◽

Microscopic Investigation ◽

Modern Synthesis ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

New Era ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Age Of Discovery ◽

Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries ◽

Scientific Truth

Throughout this book we have encountered a varied cast of historical characters, who have pioneered the development of palaeobotanical thought over the past two centuries. Although the fascination of plant fossils has an exceptional pedigree, reaching back to at least the eleventh century, Edward Jacob (Chapter 7) was the earliest of these ‘searchers of scientific truth’ introduced here. Jacob’s eighteenth-century claim to fame lay in his descriptions of the fossilized remains of exotic subtropical floras and faunas in the crumbling sediments around the coastline of the Isle of Sheppey. Jacob was followed by the true palaeobotanical pioneers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, who established the scientific basis for the anatomical and microscopic investigation of fossil plants. Through their synthesis of palaeontological knowledge, they established the study of fossils as technical and exacting, rather than a mere hobby. And a common thread linking us with this ‘golden age’ of discovery and description is the notion that the fossils record some aspects of Earth’s ancient climates. It’s a telling reminder that curiosity compels us to ask why certain fossils are where they are and to speculate on what it means. Albert Seward, who examined Scott of the Antarctic’s fossils (Chapter 6), codified this concept best with his celebrated and timely 1892 essay. Seward’s essay opened the eyes of devotees of fossil plants to possibilities beyond the traditional activities of description and classification. The argument of this book is that the emerging modern synthesis sees the dawning of a new era in the study of fossil plants. I am advocating that this modern synthesis arises out of the seamless integration of new knowledge concerning the physiological and ecological behaviour of living plants and ecosystems into the subject of palaeobotany. The promise of incorporating a powerful and exciting third strand, the science of the genetic pathways controlling the form of organisms—evolutionary developmental biology—into our thinking, is on the horizon. If this view is correct, then the study of living plants may be the driving force for unlocking greater riches from fossilized plant remains.

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XIX.—On Lepidophloios Scottii (a new species from the Calciferous Sandstone series at Pettycur, Fife)

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s008045680000377x ◽

1909 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 443-453 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Wm. T. Gordon

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

Systematic Examination ◽

Research Scholar ◽

Mode Of Occurrence ◽

A New Species

As Carnegie Research Scholar in Geology under Professor James Geikie, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., at Edinburgh University, I have entered upon a systematic examination of fossil plants from Pettycur, Fife. Though many plants have been described from this locality, nothing systematic, as far as I know, has ever before been attempted. The main objects of this research are to endeavour to connect the various strobili obtained at the locality in question with the stems on which they were borne; to describe any new species met with, and to give some account of the mode of occurrence of the material in which the plants are enclosed. Some of these objects have already been attained, but others will require further study to decide.

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The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Fire

Burning Planet ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198734840.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew C. Scott

Keyword(s):

Organic Material ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

Tea Leaves ◽

Natural Approach ◽

Doctoral Research ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Plant Fragment ◽

Small Needle ◽

Agent Of Change ◽

Coal Measures

When I started my doctoral research in October 1973 I never imagined that I would spend so much of my career thinking about fire. I had not considered fire as an agent of change on Earth, or that charcoal deposits may preserve its long history on the planet. I had never thought of fire as a preservational mechanism for fossil plants, producing charcoal that would show their anatomy so that they could be identified, and help us to piece together the vegetation that must have clothed the land millions of years ago. In all my years of collecting fossils as a child and student I had never found, or at least noticed, any fossil charcoal. I had wanted to look at the ecology of the plants that were found during the Carboniferous, 300 million years ago. The natural approach was to look at the large fossil plants that could easily be found in rocks such as the Coal Measures that are often found scattered on old coal tips. But many smaller plant fragments are also preserved in the rocks. I started a programme of dissolving the rocks in acids and obtaining residues of the fossil plants that remained. The rocks are made up of minerals that dissolve in different acids from the plant fossils, which are made of organic material. It was hard work, and I spent many hours a day picking through the plant fragment residues, which were about the size of tea leaves, trying to identify what the fragments represented. Incredibly, at that time, few researchers had tried to look at plant fossils in this way. I soon noticed a large number of fragments that looked like charcoal, and examined these with an SEM. Under the SEM the astonishing detail in the charcoalified leaves was revealed (BW Plate 6). The small needle-like leaves had two beautifully preserved rows of stomata. But what kind of plant did they come from? I took the material to Bill Chaloner, who was one of the world’s authorities on the lycopods, one of the most common plants found in the coal measures.

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V.—Additional Remarks upon Inversions of Carboniferous Strata in Somersetshire

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756800155372 ◽

1876 ◽

Vol 3 (10) ◽

pp. 455-458

Author(s):

Horace B. Woodward

Keyword(s):

Coal Measure ◽

Coal Field ◽

Detailed Structure ◽

Mode Of Occurrence ◽

The Subject ◽

The Masses ◽

Carboniferous Limestone ◽

Geological Magazine

In the Geological Magazine for April, 1871, I attempted to account for the mode of occurrence of the masses of Carboniferous Limestone that are found in the midst of the Coal-measure country at Luckington and Vobster in Somersetshire, and I then drew a picture of a faulted and inverted anticlinal to explain the phenomena. Mr. McMurtrie, who has more recently re-opened the discussion on the subject, and in a friendly manner assailed my theory, again asserts that the Limestone masses “must in some way have been folded over” from the Mendip range. He has very clearly brought forward all the local facts that bear upon the question, and has represented in diagram the mode by which he would account for the position of these isolated areas of Carboniferous Limestone. No one is so familiar as is Mr. McMurtrie with the detailed structure of the Somersetshire Coal-field, and I look forward with great interest to the facts which he is enabled from time to time to bring forward; nevertheless I may be pardoned for still differing from his general conclusions, inasmuch as the facts at present made known appear to me neither to upset my own theory, nor to establish that advocated by Mr. McMurtrie. Indeed it is only due to him to observe that he does not consider the question as finally settled, although he brings forward facts which seem to him to militate against the theory I ventured to propose.

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Fossil plants from the Viséan of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s0263593300006064 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 84 (3-4) ◽

pp. 249-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

A. C. Scott ◽

R. Brown ◽

J. Galtier ◽

B. Meyer-Berthaud

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Study ◽

Black Shale ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Plant Distribution ◽

Individual Plant ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

Similar Material ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Sequence Unit

ABSTRACTPlant fossils are a common and important element in the East Kirkton biota of Brigantian (late Viséan age). The most important taxa are preserved as compressions or anatomically preserved as permineralisations. The basis of the quantitative study of the flora and the distribution of individual plant species was the trenched section excavated for the East Kirkton Project. The largest diversity of compressions have been recorded from loose blocks. In the trenched section, the uppermost ashes contain only lycopsid compressions including Stigmaria. Nodules in the underlying shales yield mainly lycopsid leaf and sporophyll compressions. The uppermost limestones (Units 39-52) contain drifted fragments of pteridosperm fronds mainly Sphenopteridium crassum, S. pachyrrhachis, Spathulopteris obovata and Adiantites antiquus. Permineralised Lyginorachis spp. occur at this level. Large permineralised woody gymnosperm axes have been found loose (including Pitus, 50 cm in diameter). Permineralised axes, mainly reworked, including the gymnosperms Bilignea, Eristophyton, Stanwoodia and possibly Protopitys, have been found in Units 72-88. Poorly preserved permineralised lycopsids are rare, but include Lepidophloios. Loose chert blocks contain root mats of permineralised Stigmaria, together with Lepidocarpon, the sphenopsid Archaeocalamites and the fern Botryopteris. Similar material is found in Unit 83 of the Limestone sequence. Unit 82, the black shale containing many of the articulated vertebrates, contains predominantly pteridosperm frond and pinnule material including Spathulopteris obovata. The distinctive changes in the flora from the base to the top of the trenched sequence reflect mainly ecological and taphonomic controls upon plant distribution and preservation. Evidence suggests a close relationship between climate, fire, erosion, deposition and vegetation type through the sequence and a climatic change, from a drier to a wetter environment, is suggested at the top of the East Kirkton Limestone sequence.

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New data on the late cretaceous flora of the New Siberia island, New Siberian Islands

Стратиграфия ◽

10.31857/s0869-592x27353-69 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 53-69

Author(s):

A. B. Herman ◽

V. V. Kostyleva ◽

P. A. Nikolskii ◽

A. E. Basilyan ◽

A. E. Kotel’nikov

Keyword(s):

Late Cretaceous ◽

Taxonomic Diversity ◽

Time Interval ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

New Siberian Islands ◽

Humid Climate ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Angiosperm Species ◽

Warm Temperate

New plant fossils collected in 2016 from the Derevyannye Gory Formation on the New Siberia Island are studied. Thirty species of fossil plants are identified and illustrated. They belong to liverworts, ferns, ginkgoaleans, conifers and angiosperms. Sixteen of them have not beed found in the New Siberia Flora before. A new angiosperm species Dalembia (?) gracilis Herman is described. The New Siberia Flora is characterised by a moderately high taxonomic diversity, predominance of conifers and angiosperms with large-leafed platanoids and trochodendroids being the most abundant among angiosperms, by predominance of dentate-margined angiosperms and rarity of plants with entire-margined leaves, and by absence of cycadaleans and bennettitaleans. The flora existed during the Turonian–Coniacian time interval and most probably should be dated as Turonian. Plants of the New Siberia Flora experienced a warm-temperate humid climate with warm summers, mild frost-free winters and insignificant seasonality in precipitation.

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Stratigraphy and fossil plants from the Cutler Formation (Late Paleozoic) and their paleoclimatic implications, eastern Paradox Basin, Colorado

Geology of the Intermountain West ◽

10.31711/giw.v2.pp9-27 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 9-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kendall Grazul ◽

Jacqueline Huntoon ◽

Jennifer O’Keefe

Keyword(s):

Alluvial Fan ◽

Late Paleozoic ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

Fossil Plant ◽

Living Plant ◽

Paradox Basin ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Semi Arid

Exposures of the late Paleozoic Cutler Formation, near the town of Gateway, Colorado, have traditionally been interpreted as the product of alluvial-fan deposition along the western flank of the Uncompahgre uplift and within the easternmost portion of the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin formed between the western margin of the Uncompahgre uplift, a segment of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, and the western paleoshoreline of the North American portion of Pangea. This part of Pangea is commonly thought to have experienced semi-arid to arid conditions and warm temperatures during the Pennsylvanian and Permian. We present stratigraphic and fossil plant evidence in this paper to support prior interpretations that the Cutler near Gateway, Colorado, was deposited by alluvial fans that hosted localized wetland areas. Our findings are consistent with the results of prior studies that have suggested the climate in the area was warm, semi-arid, and ice-free at the time the plants described in this paper were living. Plant fossils collected from the Cutler Formation came from two sites in The Palisade Wilderness Study Area (managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management) of western Colorado. The stratigraphic sections at the sites were composed mostly of pebble to cobble conglomerate and sandstone, but the fossil plants were mainly preserved in fine-grained intervals (fine-grained sandstone to siltstone). The preservation of plant fossils in the proximal Cutler Formation is remarkable because the surrounding sections consist mostly of conglomerate and sandstone interpreted as fluvial and debris-flow deposits. The fine-grained strata containing the plant horizons must have been deposited in a wet and protected setting, possibly a spring-fed abandoned channel on the alluvial fan. The plants and their surrounding sediment must have been rapidly buried in order to allow for long-term preservation of the fossils. It seems likely that vegetation was abundant in and adjacent to low-lying wet areas on the fan’s surface, based on the abundance of plant fossils found at the two sites. The fossil plant assemblage includes Calamites, Walchia, and Pecopteris. The flora are interpreted to have lived near the apex of the alluvial-fan system. These fossils suggest that warm and at least seasonally and locally wet conditions existed in the area during the time that the plants were growing. More arid conditions during the late Paleozoic are suggested by the characteristics of some of the time-equivalent and near time-equivalent rocks exposed to the west of the study area in the central Paradox Basin.

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Stratigraphy and fossil plants from the Cutler Formation (Late Paleozoic) and their paleoclimatic implications, eastern Paradox Basin, Colorado

Geology of the Intermountain West ◽

10.31711/giw.v2i0.4 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 9-27

Author(s):

Kendall R. Grazul ◽

Jacqueline E. Huntoon ◽

Jennifer M.K. O’Keefe

Keyword(s):

Alluvial Fan ◽

Late Paleozoic ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

Fossil Plant ◽

Paradox Basin ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

The North ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Semi Arid

Exposures of the late Paleozoic Cutler Formation, near the town of Gateway, Colorado, have traditionally been interpreted as the product of alluvial-fan deposition along the western flank of the Uncompahgre uplift and within the easternmost portion of the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin formed between the western margin of the Uncompahgre uplift, a segment of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, and the western paleoshoreline of the North American portion of Pangea. This part of Pangea is commonly thought to have experienced semi-arid to arid conditions and warm temperatures during the Pennsylvanian and Permian. We present stratigraphic and fossil plant evidence in this paper to support prior interpretations that the Cutler near Gateway, Colorado, was deposited by alluvial fans that hosted localized wetland areas. Our findings are consistent with the results of prior studies that have suggested the climate in the area was warm, semi-arid, and ice-free at the time the plants described in this paper were living. Plant fossils collected from the Cutler Formation came from two sites in The Palisade Wilderness Study Area (managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management) of western Colorado. The stratigraphic sections at the sites were composed mostly of pebble to cobble conglomerate and sandstone, but the fossil plants were mainly preserved in fine-grained intervals (fine-grained sandstone to siltstone). The preservation of plant fossils in the proximal Cutler Formation is remarkable because the surrounding sections consist mostly of conglomerate and sandstone interpreted as fluvial and debris-flow deposits. The fine-grained strata containing the plant horizons must have been deposited in a wet and protected setting, possibly a spring-fed abandoned channel on the alluvial fan. The plants and their surrounding sediment must have been rapidly buried in order to allow for long-term preservation of the fossils. It seems likely that vegetation was abundant in and adjacent to low-lying wet areas on the fan’s surface, based on the abundance of plant fossils found at the two sites. The fossil plant assemblage includes Calamites, Walchia, and Pecopteris. The flora are interpreted to have lived near the apex of the alluvial-fan system. These fossils suggest that warm and at least seasonally and locally wet conditions existed in the area during the time that the plants were growing. More arid conditions during the late Paleozoic are suggested by the characteristics of some of the time-equivalent and near time-equivalent rocks exposed to the west of the study area in the central Paradox Basin.

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Detetive paleontológico: o destino dos fósseis de plantas do Geopark Araripe como ferramenta para o ensino das Geociências

Terrae Didatica ◽

10.20396/td.v14i1.8652039 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 5-14

Author(s):

Luis Henrique Marins Nogueira Nunes ◽

Fabiana Curtopassi Pioker-Hara

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Elementary Students ◽

Natural History Museum ◽

Educational Game ◽

Fossil Plants ◽

History Museum ◽

Scientific Databases ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Taxonomic Groups ◽

Fossil Records

The goal of this work is to present a catalogue of fossil plants collected in Geopark Araripe and a educational game based on it. We indicated the macrofossils depositories of that Geopark, aiming to facilitate further Paleobotanic studies and to spread the scientific divulgation of this important paleoflora. We based the catalogue on bibliographic and scientific databases research. We found 140 specimens belonging to 34 clades (taxonomic groups). Most of the plant fossils collected in the mentioned Geopark is deposited at Natural History Museum of Berlin, followed by Institute of Geosciences of University of São Paulo. The catalogue was used to develop a “PERFIL®” style game, intended for elementary students. This game explores concepts of interpretation, logic, biology and Geosciences knowledge from a interdisciplinar perspective. This is achieved using hints to relate the fossil history with the taxon evolution and the museum where the fossil is deposited. Finally, we hope to contribute to divulgation and conservation of the botanical fossil records from that Geopark.

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