Inocaulis Silurian Plant Fossil

Description: During the Silurian, plants had established themselves along coastal waterways and near shore regions, as well as places moist enough to sustain plant growth. The first were algaes, but some simple plants like Cooksonia (see my other listings) were invaders of the land. This one was an aquatic plant colloquially termed “finger plant”. While believed to be a graptolite by some, evidence of thin water-conducting strands belie that conception. While it is as yet unknown whether this one was attached to the bottom or floated in the water column, it still is an early member of the group of colonizers that paved the way for animal life on the land of the Earth. There is one repaired crack which does little to detract from the looks of this “invader”.