Ginkgo
dissecta
Division
Ginkgophyta
Metasequoia occidentalis (Dawn Redwood)
Division Pinophyta, Order Pinales, Family Cupressaceae, Genus Metasequoia
Geological
Time: Early Middle Eocene
Size: Ginko
fossil is 40 mm x 33mm, Metasequoia fossil is 47 mm, all on a 70 mm x 85
mm matrix
Fossil Site:
McAbee Fossil Beds, Tranquille Shale, Cache Creek, British
Columbia, Canada
Fossil Code:
PFP167
Price: Sold
Description:
The Ginkgophyta probably originated about the same time as the
Cycads during the late Paleozoic, with fossils found
in North America until the Miocene. The fan-shaped leaves of
most members are quite distinctive. This one is atypical, with
deeply dissected leaves with 4 lobes that are further divided,
making the derivation of the specific name obvious. Gingko biloba
is the only extant member. The flora was dominated by conifers
farther away from the lake, and elm, birch, beech, and alder
near to the lakeshore. The extant Ginkgo biloba is considered
a living fossil.
Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) are considered living
fossils and are known from many areas in the Northern Hemisphere.
The trees are
well known from late Cretaceous to Miocene strata, but no fossils
are known subsequent to the Miocene.t during the Miocene; when
it
was
discovered
extant, it was heralded as a "living fossil".
This
specimen is a fine example of a ginko leaf from the lacustrine
deposits of the McAbee Flora of the
Eocene of British Columbia,
Canada with fine preservational details. A shallow lake dominated
the region. Plant matter which fell into the water was covered
with a fine layer of silt, which built up over the years as a
result of deposition of diatoms that bloomed in the lake each
spring
and died in the summer. |
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