#fossil fern

[transparentfossil]

6.3" Fossil Seed Fern (Alethopteris) Plate - Pennsylvania

[uk-fossils]

Alethopteris Fossil Leaf Fern – Carboniferous Coal Measures – Radstock, Somerset, UK – Authentic Plant Fossil

Authentic Alethopteris Fossil Leaf Fern – Carboniferous Coal Measures – Radstock, Somerset, UK

This listing features a beautifully preserved fossilised leaf of Alethopteris, a type of seed fern (Pteridospermatophyta) common in Carboniferous coal swamps. This specimen was excavated from the historic Coal Measures strata in Radstock, Somerset, and dates to the Late Carboniferous Period (Pennsylvanian Subsystem), approximately 310 million years ago.

Geological & Palaeobotanical Details:

Fossil Genus: Alethopteris

Family: Alethopteridaceae

Order: Medullosales

Class: Pteridospermatophyta (Seed Ferns)

Geological Age: Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian)

Formation: British Upper Coal Measures

Depositional Environment: Moist, equatorial deltaic swamp with fluctuating water levels – a habitat ideal for dense vegetation and coal formation

Location: Radstock Coalfield, Somerset, United Kingdom

Morphological Features:

Distinctive bipinnate fronds with symmetrical leaflets (pinnae)

Prominent midribs and lateral venation typical of seed ferns

Leaves believed to belong to seed-bearing plants, now extinct

Biozone (if assigned): Typically associated with Lenisulcata or Gastrioceras ammonoid zones regionally

Fossil Identification: Described and classified in the 19th century; remains a key taxon in palaeobotany due to its prevalence and role in coal formation

Specimen Notes:

Discovered by: UKGE team members Alister and Alison

Discovery Date: 06 March 2025

Preparation: Cleaned, stabilised, and prepped by Alison

Condition: Well-defined fossil on natural matrix, showing clear detail of fossilised leaf structure

Photography: Scale cube = 1cm. Photos show actual specimen – what you see is what you will receive

Authenticity: Comes with Certificate of Authenticity – all fossils sold by us are genuine and responsibly sourced

Why Choose Alethopteris?

Alethopteris is not only a stunning example of Carboniferous flora but also a tangible link to the lush tropical landscapes that once dominated Europe. Its role in forming the vast coal beds of the UK makes it both a beautiful and historically significant specimen for collectors, educators, or as a natural history display.

Secure a genuine piece of Earth’s botanical past today with this expertly sourced and prepared fossil fern.

[samimarkart]

fossil fanatic design for people like me!! had fun adding the tully monster one - i love a good mazon creek fossil

[basilfriedrice]

made a linocut stamp of the mighty coelacanth

[geologyin-blog]

Amazing Neuropteris (seed fern) Fossil with Exceptional Preservation From Grundy County, Illinois. Age: Pennsylvanian (~300 m.y.a.).

Photo 📷 juarezfossil/IG

[housecow]

going to be devastatingly real. i don’t care about the paleozoic. i don’t care about the cambrian explosion. the carboniferous rainforest collapse is MAYBE intriguing at best and goddamn if i don’t get tired hearing about fucking lepidodendron “trees.” mesozoic and cenozoic always win >>>>

[nemfrog]

Neuropteris heterophylla, extinct seed fern. Art-studies from nature. 1872.

Internet Archive

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Ink of ink!

Ink cap mushroom & fossil fern

[a-doptables]

Adopt: Fossie $65

Available!

Check out our pinned for rules and inquiries! $5 from every sale goes towards Crips for ESims.

[fvedyetor]

If a frilled shark and a fern were to fight each other who do you think would win /genq

hold on i have to google

WTFF ok ok imma be serious here

its gonna have to go to fern bc no way is that shark getting onto land. if this was a tiktaalik vs fern fight that'd be a different story.

but i am giving the win to the fern because she can populate land like crazyyy and have strong defense system meanwhile silly frilled shark is stuck in the water with no good bone structure in its fins

[transparentfossil]

Natural Tree Fern Leaf Fossil Pennsylvanian

[samimarkart]

Mazonia Flora

screenprinted dye on linen, cotton batting, cotton thread and sourced handwoven wool on stretcher bars

my love letter to mazon creek fossils

[toastedstims]

A self-indulgent life and death inspired stimboard requested by @spacedustmantis !!!

🌿🍄🌿|🍄🌿🍄|🌿🍄🌿

[dropsofsciencenews]

Plants Surviving the Worst Mass Extinction

ESP Version ITA Version

When we think of mass extinctions, we often imagine the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, 65 million years ago. However, the greatest extinction event occurred between the Permian and Triassic periods, around 250 million years ago, eliminating over 96% of marine species and about 70% of terrestrial vertebrates. But how did plants fare?

According to a study conducted by University College Cork, the University of Connecticut, and the Natural History Museum of Vienna, plants did not experience a mass extinction comparable to that of animals. Nevertheless, their communities were severely impacted or even completely destroyed due to extreme climatic conditions: intense heat, drought, depletion of the ozone layer, widespread wildfires, and contamination by toxic heavy metals.

The study analyzed fossils from the Sydney Basin in eastern Australia, which at the time was located near the South Pole. Researchers gathered sedimentological data (physical, chemical, and depositional characteristics of sediments), biostratigraphic data (fossil distribution within rock layers), and stable carbon isotope ratios from organic matter, reconstructing environmental conditions of that era.

Fossils revealed that the first plants to recolonize devastated landscapes were conifers. Unfortunately, these conifers did not survive a subsequent period of extreme heat known as the Late Smithian Thermal Maximum, which lasted around 700,000 years. In this hostile environment, stress-tolerant, cosmopolitan lycophytes, similar to modern clubmosses, became dominant. Later, during a cooling event (Smithian-Spathian event), large and unusual seed ferns (such as "umkomasialea") emerged, gradually forming more stable and lush forests. These plants laid the foundation for the Mesozoic dinosaur era and the immense fern-dominated forests that persist in our collective imagination.

This research underscores the importance of protecting modern forests because, as the authors emphasize, "forests eventually recover, but the extinction of individual species is forever." Complete ecosystem recovery takes millions of years, and preserving today's plants ensures stability for future food webs and climate systems.

Pic by Fabien Monteil from Pixabay

Source

[solidagold]

Happy National Fossil day!! All of these beauties found in Pennsylvania :)

[doctor-lewin]

Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus 🦖☄️

Was thinking of getting another tattoo and sketched something ideal of what I’d like, the Spinosaurus is one of my favorites, I might draw a Utahraptor design too eventually :)

I’ve been posting a lot of Regretevator lately so this is something different

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