Excellent Populus (Cottonwood) Plant Leaf Fossil

Description: Central Nevada has a host of Miocene fossil leaf sites. The leaves from this one are preserved in paper shales and exhibit the best preservation I have encountered. Some of these shales are incredibly fragile, nearly as thin as a sheet of paper. I encourage you to not handle these specimens. On this on in particular, you will notice that that some of the edges of the thin paper shale layer on which the leaf is preserved are a bit frayed. However, the specimen is stabilized by the Riker Mount.

The state once had a much wetter and more temperate climate back in the Miocene. There were many more lakes in what is now the driest state in the USA. The Sierra uplift dramatically changed the climate and rainfall in the state.

The specimen will be shipped in an attractive 6 x 8” glass covered Riker mount. The specimen will be labeled.