Name/Title
Fern Fossil PlateEntry/Object ID
07.57.24Description
Item# 07.57.24
Fern Fossils Plate
Pennsylvanian
Frances Ck. Shale Formation
Saint Clair, Pennsylvania
Alethopteris serlii (Fern)
A large piece of shale with fern leaf fossils imprints. White color comes from being treated with aluminum silicate.
Leaf fossils in this case are carbon films that remain on the bedding surfaces of fine-grained sediments. Fossilization happened after the leaves sank to the bottom of a pond or lake and were later buried by additional fine-grained sediments. With burial, the leaves were compressed and the sediment surrounding them solidified. Eventually these fine-grained sediments became shale or mudstone. When all the volatile organic material in the living leaf was pressed out, only a thin carbon residue was left in the sediment, marking the outline and veins of the leaf.
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: †Pteridospermatophyta
Order: †Medullosales
Family: †Alethopteridaceae
Genus: †Alethopteris
Species: †A. serlii
Rock and Mineral Data (Silica):
Assemblage Zone: shale
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Subhedral
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Fracture: conchoidal
Grain Size: Medium
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Lithofacies: Tropical to subtropical
Luster: Vitreous
Pressure: Moderate
Rock Color: Dark
Rock Origin: Marine/Freshwater
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.6
Surface Process: Not apparent
Temperature: Low
Texture: microcrystalineCollection
Fossil CollectionAcquisition
Accession
07.57Source or Donor
Fossil CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
Other Number: 2007.57.24Dimensions
Width
13 inDepth
1/2 inLength
21 inDimension Notes
Dimensions taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Container
LeftDrawer
BottomShelf
RightCabinet
Case #102Wall
East WallBuilding
Mentzer Hall - Petrified Wood RoomCategory
PermanentNotes
Mislabeled as 07.58.24 on the exhibit tag.
