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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Arucaria mirabilis Fossil Lignotubers

Arucaria mirabilis fossil "seedlings" (lignotubers) found in the petrified forest formation of Cerro Madre Ehija, Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Fossil dates to the Middle Jurassic Period (Callovian) or about 160 million years old. Learn more about this fossil at The Virtual Fossil Museum web site and Wikipedia.

UPDATED: Thanks to Dave at Views of the Mahantango for pointing out that these fossils were once considered "seedlings" are now thought to be lignotubers. According to Wikipedia, lignotubers are "starchy swellings of the root crown".

Thanks to Mark Palatas for letting me photograph these specimens.


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2 comments:

  1. DaveFebruary 15, 2012 at 1:18 PM

    I hate to point this out but the Wikipedia article indicates that these might not be seedlings of Araucaria mirabilis but rather are lignotubers of another species.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael PoppFebruary 15, 2012 at 7:33 PM

    Thanks for pointing this information out Dave. I have updated the posting to reflect this more recent research.

    ReplyDelete