IMMENSE Permian Squamella Fruiting Body and Glossopteris Leaves

Description: Glossopteris leaves are a widespread fossil, but are difficult to assign by species because of the wide variety of venation patterns and morphology. They are found throughout what was once Gondwana, another support for continental drift. The genus derives its name from the Greek words for tongue and fern. They favored a swampy habitat, and some had leaves up to a meter in length. The leaves have only rarely ever been found attached to braches, but the restoration here is of one that had a tree-like habit. The specimens here are G. ampla, albeit small examples of the type. This species is the record holder for Glossopteris with leaves as much as a METER in length. Few Glossopteris leaves have been found in strata younger than the Permian, a time that closed with the greatest of all mass extinctions on the planet. The scalelike structure that dominates one side of the plaque is known as Squamella australis, and represents the largest such fruiting body I have come across. Glossopteris scales (squamae) are often found in profusion with leaves, and were originally thought to have been bud scales. They are now known to be the fruiting bodies of male Glossopteris.