Unknown Fossil Fern Plant Stem & Leafs from St Clair Pennsylvania

Description: This coal-age fern fossil sample was found near St Clair, Pennsylvania which is world-famous for producing such fossils with striking “white-on-black” color contrast. The site is has since been closed to further collecting. These extinct prehistoric fossil “seed ferns” developed in the Carboniferous period (around 300-360 million years ago). Although they resembled modern ferns, they instead reproduced by means of seeds. Seed ferns eventually went extinct around 73 million years ago, while dinosaurs were still around. Fossils from St Clair, PA specifically date to the Llewellyn Formation (300-308 million). These fossil ferns are about the same age as those also found in the famous Mazon Creek formation in Illinois. One century can seem so hard to comprehend, yet these ferns thrived 3 million times that long ago. Believe it or not, these colors are fully natural! These ancient plants fell into a swampy bog where a low temperature, low pressure, and oxygen-depleted environment evolved the plant tissue into pyrite, which was later replaced with pyrophyllite (aluminum silicate) creating the bold white color contrasting with the black shale. Completely natural ! No repair or restoration. No paint or touch up. Nature and time are the artists. Quite striking ! You get this unusual fossil showing unidentified white plant stem material and leafs from an unidentified extinct fossil seed fern. If you look closely there are several different types of leafs present, which might give a clue to help researching what plant this stem is from. Also a fossil stem on the reverse side ! Uncommon find at St Clair

Price: 9.99 USD

Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-04-13T03:35:17.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.99 USD