| Abstract Detail
Paleobotanical Section Dunn, Michael [1], Gensel, Patricia [2], Blake, Mitch [3]. The Alta Flora of the Price Formation (Mississippian, Tournaisian/Visean) of southern West Virginia. The Alta locality of the Price Formation in southern West Virginia is a relatively recently discovered outcrop that continues to produce a diverse assemblage of Mississippian age plants. The strata are only broadly dated as Tournaisian to Visean due to nearby complex faulting, and may represent a series of overbank flood deposits that preserved the plant remains as compressions in fine-grained sandstones to mudstones. This report summarizes previously described taxa from the site and adds new data to produce a comprehensive floristic survey of the assemblage. The flora consists of at least 10 morphotaxa representing seed plants, lycopsids, and possibly progymnosperms. Foliage taxa include Charbeckia macrophylla, Genselia compacta, Chlidanophyton sp., Rhodea sp., and Protobarinophyton sp., and stem taxa include specimens previously assigned to Lepidodendropsis. Ovules and ovulate cupules include Lagenospermum, Gnetopsis, and several undescribed specimens. New data from the site include fertile axes assignable to Chlidanophyton that produce ovate sporangia borne on the terminal ends of equal to unequally dichotomizing branches of naked axes in sparse clusters. Sporangia split open apically but no evidence of a dehiscence slit or other dispersal mechanism has been observed. These data add to our rapidly increasing understanding of the distribution and diversity of Mississippian age plants from North America. Broader Impacts:
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1 - CAMERON UNIVERSITY, 2800 Gore Blvd, LAWTON, OK, 73505, USA
2 - University Of North Carolina, Department Of Biology, 403 Coker Hall, University Of North Carolina, CHAPEL HILL, NC, 27599-3280, USA
3 - West Virginia Geological Survey, 1 Mont Chateau Rd, Morgantown, WV, 26508-8079, USA
Keywords:
Mississippian
Fossil flora
Tournaisian
Visean.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 12
Location: Lindell C/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 2:45 PM
Number: 12006
Abstract ID:391 |
