Zapsalis Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Hello, all! Sorry I haven’t losted in a while. I’ve been busy with college this semester. Anyways, I recently purchased a fossil poplar leaf from my local rock shop! I’m pretty excited to have it on my collection! They say that it is Cretaceous in age, but I’m not sure. Part of me thinks it’s from the Green River Formation and is Eocene in age, but part of me thinks that the leaf is indeed Cretaceous in age. My reasoning for it being Cretaceous in age is because I’ve heard of fantastic leaf fossils come out of Ellsworth County in Kansas. The Ellsworth County area is part of the Dakota Formation, I believe. My question is: What age you think this fossil is add what formation do you think it came from? I tried to take a photo of it with my phone, but the photo came out crappy and I feel that the lighting was bad. I probably take better photos later on if you guys want. I feel like I should’ve also provided a ruler or something for scale, but I’m pretty exhausted. Let me know if you need a scale for figuring out the size of the leaf fossil. Thank you all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 Oops, I left in the price tag. Sorry! Just ignore that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 This example that I’m posting isn’t a poplar leaf, but it’s a leaf fossil from the Dakota Formation by Ellsworth County, KS. https://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2011/02/06/wooster’s-fossil-of-the-week-a-chewed-up-leaf-upper-cretaceous-of-kansas/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Yours looks a lot like Florissant ( Colorado) fossil matrix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 7 minutes ago, caldigger said: Yours looks a lot like Florissant ( Colorado) fossil matrix. I see. Thanks! Is that Eocene to Miocene in age? Also, do you have any good fossils to compare to mine? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Google" Florissant leaf fossil", that should give you an indication of where I am going with this. It might not be, but it sure looks like it to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 Just now, caldigger said: Google" Florissant leaf fossil", that should give you an indication of where I am going with this. Okay, I will. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 I attempted to take a couple of more photos. Hopefully they aren’t too bad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 And some more photos. I manipulated the first photo on my iPhone in a (rather poor) attempt to bring out a good color. My iPhone 6 doesn’t capture pictures all that well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagebrush Steve Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 It doesn’t quite look like the Green River matrix I am familiar with for either the 18” layer or the Split Fish layer. Does the slab have any kind of oily smell if you hold it close? It could be Florissant, although my experience with that material is it is pretty soft and crumbly. Don’t know about Kansas fossils, I don’t have experience with them. It is a very nice specimen! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 21 hours ago, Sagebrush Steve said: It doesn’t quite look like the Green River matrix I am familiar with for either the 18” layer or the Split Fish layer. Does the slab have any kind of oily smell if you hold it close? It could be Florissant, although my experience with that material is it is pretty soft and crumbly. Don’t know about Kansas fossils, I don’t have experience with them. It is a very nice specimen! Thanks for info, @Sagebrush Steve! I’ll smell it when I get home to see if it has an oily smell. It’s a fairly hard rock matrix and I have yet to see any crumbling. I know that the stone has shiny sparkles to it, so it has to be a sedimentary rock. Maybe shale or sandstone? I’m not sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf89 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I do not think it is green river either 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 The leaf is from the Eocene Parachute Creek Flora, Green River Formation, Colorado-Utah: Populus wilmattae figure from: Manchester, S.R., Judd, W.S., & Handley, B. 2006 Foliage and fruits of early poplars (Salicaceae: Populus) from the eocene of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 167(4):897-908 PDF LINK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 On 10/31/2018 at 8:18 PM, Sagebrush Steve said: It doesn’t quite look like the Green River matrix I am familiar with for either the 18” layer or the Split Fish layer. Does the slab have any kind of oily smell if you hold it close? It could be Florissant, although my experience with that material is it is pretty soft and crumbly. Don’t know about Kansas fossils, I don’t have experience with them. It is a very nice specimen! Utah and Colorado’s GRF is slightly harder and more compact. There are a few locations where abundant bugs and plants exist in the harder matrix so this may still be GRF. 4 Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 If this is Florissant material, I photographed and posted the typical finds in this post: Florissant Finds minnbuckeye replied to Uncle Siphuncle's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 15 hours ago, UtahFossilHunter said: Utah and Colorado’s GRF is slightly harder and more compact. There are a few locations where abundant bugs and plants exist in the harder matrix so this may still be GRF. Agreed, there are key differences between UT/CO GRF and the Wyoming material of the same formation. It doesn't split the same way, (which was a pain in the derriere when I was hunting at Douglas Pass this past summer) and the fossils are different. Bugs and plants are the most common fossils to find in the parachute creek member. However if it is from Florissant that would make it a bit younger in age and not a part of the Green River formation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 2 hours ago, PaleoNoel said: Agreed, there are key differences between UT/CO GRF and the Wyoming material of the same formation. It doesn't split the same way, (which was a pain in the derriere when I was hunting at Douglas Pass this past summer) and the fossils are different. Bugs and plants are the most common fossils to find in the parachute creek member. However if it is from Florissant that would make it a bit younger in age and not a part of the Green River formation. Yes, that is true if it is from Florissant. I just wanted to highlight that the fish quarries in Wyoming don’t represent all the Green River Formation and that the same formation can change over distance. For those wondering, even though both formations are Eocene age, there’s a difference of 10Ma between the formations. 6 Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted December 26, 2018 Author Share Posted December 26, 2018 Thanks for the helpful comments, everyone! So, I’m a nutshell, is this more likely a Florissant fossil or a Green River fossil? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted December 26, 2018 Author Share Posted December 26, 2018 And by the way, where can I purchase a good Cretaceous leaf fossil? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kato Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 On 10/26/2018 at 5:14 PM, Zapsalis said: This example that I’m posting isn’t a poplar leaf, but it’s a leaf fossil from the Dakota Formation by Ellsworth County, KS. https://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2011/02/06/wooster’s-fossil-of-the-week-a-chewed-up-leaf-upper-cretaceous-of-kansas/ Found this in Ellsworth County, near Black Wolf, KS. Specimen is in red sandstone. Formation unknown but above the water line in a side creek (Cow Creek?) just northwest of Black Wolf. Required wading under railroad track bridge crossing... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 10 hours ago, Kato said: Found this in Ellsworth County, near Black Wolf, KS. Specimen is in red sandstone. Formation unknown but above the water line in a side creek (Cow Creek?) just northwest of Black Wolf. Required wading under railroad track bridge crossing... What an amazing specimen! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kato Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 On 12/26/2018 at 7:17 PM, Zapsalis said: What an amazing specimen! I found this back in the late 1970's but happen to know the formation is exposed in low water times on the east bank. Look for red sandstone. I found mine in the red circled area, but the whole area in yellow may show the formation. Allegedly, the leaves that would be found here are sassafras leaves. Mine seems to be an overlay of several leaves so it is difficult to tell if it is sassafras or not. seems I attached the wrong pic so will need to re-post 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kato Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapsalis Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 6 hours ago, Kato said: I live in Wisconsin, but I’ll definitely have to give then Dakota Formation a look of I ever go to Kansas! I wish you and your family a happy New Year! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kato Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 8 hours ago, Zapsalis said: I live in Wisconsin, but I’ll definitely have to give then Dakota Formation a look of I ever go to Kansas! I wish you and your family a happy New Year! If you do make it there, research Kanopolis Lake. There are some very nice fossils, flora and fauna, and well worth the drive. Approximately where in Wisconsin? We try to get up to Eagle River for 2-4 weeks during the dog days of summer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts