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LARGE BEAUTIFUL EXTINCT CARBONIFEROUS SEED FERN FOSSIL FROM FRANCE - Graissesac, France CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD: 320 million years ago In a superb state of preservation and on a large and heavy block of matrix, this is an excellent example of an extinct seed fern of the species Neuropteris. Impressions are highly detailed and distinct. Light brown matrix has multiple layers of fern fossils with one complete layer and another partially exposed beneath. Top has a crack that is not all the way through and has been stabilized to prevent breakage. Matrix is whole and complete. Seed ferns are known as Pteridospermales and belong to an extinct group of gymnosperms. Despite their resemblance to modern ferns, seed ferns reproduced by means of seeds. Modern ferns reproduce by means of spores. During the Carboniferous Period, a large portion of Europe and North America was on the equator. The warm and consistently humid climate was ideal for the growth of extensive swampy forests. The Paralic Basin was the largest Carboniferous basin which comprised regions of what are now Ireland, England, northern France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany (Ruhr District) and Poland. Periodic changes in the sea levels caused the rivers that traversed these forests to flood, depositing massive amounts of sand and mud thereby burying the forest along the banks. In a period of one million years, several thousand meters of sediment would be deposited, densely packing and pressing the abundant vegetation into flattened rock fossil impressions. The most common vegetation in these forests were Sigillaria and Lepidodendron. Low-lying vegetation was dominated by seed ferns such as Neuropteris. UNIQUE SITE AND WELL-DEFINED SPECIMEN OF VERY HIGH QUALITY 11" x 6" x 2" overall, plant impressions 9" in length SOLD PL-009 STAND INCLUDED Actual Item - One Only |
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