Name: Araucarioxylon arizonicum
Age: Late Triassic, Norian-Carnian Stage
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): 90 mm long by 60 mm wide by 20 mm thick; weight 144 grams
Location: Winslow, Arizona
Code: PW006
Price: $120.00 - sold
 Description:
This specimen of highly-colored petrified wood from the Chinle Formation
(Norian-Carnian Stage, ~225 million year old) deposits of Winslow,
Arizona comes with a story. About 10 years ago, I came across a few
examples of this rare material at a rock shop in southern Utah. I
purchased a sample, and thought little of it. After my return home,
I decided to try to obtain some larger specimens. I had been unsuccessful
until a few months ago. The rich green color is the result of ~2%
Chromium content. While the many types of petrified wood come in a
panoply of colors, only a very few types are green; the only other
known to me is found in Africa. This material comes from a small deposit
near Winslow, and is not known from any other location. Araucarioxylon
arizonicum is the state fossil of Arizona, and is the taxon comprising
some 90% of all specimens found in the Petrified Forest National Monument.
It was a coniferous tree standing some 150-200 feet tall, and some
6-8 feet in diameter. Its closest relatives today are the Monkey Puzzle
Tree of South America and the Norfolk Island Pine. The rich green
color is quite evident in this piece with a distinctive checkered
barklike pattern. |
