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Abstract Detail


Paleobotanical Section

Chen, Tina [1], Taing, Thang [1], Manchester, Steven R. [2].

Fossil Pollen from the Wilbanks II Clay Pit of Weakley County, Tennessee.

Fossil fruits with affinities to old world genera of Icacinaceae were recently identified from the Eocene Wilbanks II clay pit in Weakley County, Tennessee. We initiated a study of pollen preserved in the same sediments as the fossil fruits in order to narrow the stratigraphic age of the deposit and to investigate the regional vegetation to which these plants belonged. The pollen was obtained by treating a clay sample in which the icacinaceous fruit was preserved with 47% hydrofluoric acid, followed by by centrifugation using 4% Darvan detergent to concentrate the grains in a density gradient. Slides of pollen grains were made and viewed by light microscopy. Commercial clay pits in western Tennessee are well-known for abundance of Eocene fossil leaves and reproductive organs and there is an even higher abundance in the pollen found. Based on preliminary data collection, 10 to 15 types of megafossils were counted in the collection while at least 20 different types of pollen were found in the slides observed thus far. Pollen grain types include those of Fagaceae, Carya sp. and Ericaceae. No pollen of Icacinaceae has yet been recovered from the sample. Pollen reviewed so far are consistent to that of Middle or Late Eocene age.

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1 - University of Florida, Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
2 -

Keywords:
Eocene
pollen
Tennessee.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PPB006
Abstract ID:624


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