Eocene Keaki Leaf and Weevil Fossils

The Green River Formation deposits of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah are best known for their immaculately-preserved fish, but other examples are known as well, as this specimen attests. This is an example of association plaque of a leaf from a member of the Ulmaceae, or Elms in association with a weevil. The closest living relative is Zelkova serrata which has strongly serrated leaf margins, and is a popular cultivated tree from Japan. The genus went extinct in North America during the Tertiary. The weevils often are given the common name snout beetle for obvious reasons.