Paleonet: Jurassic samaras (helicopter seeds)

Mon May 24 18:19:57 UTC 2021

I would tentatively agree that the fossil form may be from _Pinus_ sp. There are very similar examples of these in the Arundel Clay of the Potomac (Group) Formation of Maryland and Virginia (Aptian-Albian) and have even been figured in Fontaine’s 
1889 monograph Potomac or Younger Mesozoic Flora, Plate CLXX, fig.4. as _Pinus_ sp? as “What appears to be the seed of a Pine” and repeated verbiage  on the companion Text p.272.

However based on the one or two examples I have collected that are now hopelessly packed away somewhere,  these are quite small, only a few mm in length and I could not discern any scale from the picture posted nor on Fontaine’s figure.

I have one or two samples in my collection that are for now, hopelessly, packed away. 

I realize this is an ancient ref (and yes, I have an actual hard copy) but feel it provides a good starting point that have been discussed in numerus contemporary paleobotanical papers involving the Potomac Group flora and coeval units elsewhere, plus it’s the only thing that I have on hand at this time! 😉

Regards,
Tom Lipka
Thomas R. Lipka
Arundel Project and Geobiological Research 
Affiliated Research Associate 
University of Oklahoma/Sam Noble Museum 
http://www.snomnh.ou.edu/collections-research/vertpaleo.htm 
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas_Lipka/?ev=hdr_xprf 
http://ou.academia.edu/ThomasRLipka
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/thomas-r-lipka/74/209/19a

DigiMorph Links to Arundel Specimens:
http://digimorph.org/specimens/Arundelemys_dardeni/
http://digimorph.org/specimens/Arundelconodon_hottoni/ 

Dinosaur Park! (Formerly Muirkirk)
http://pgparks.com/3293/History
 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602390.html> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602390.html

From: Paleonet On Behalf Of Andy Simpson
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2021 11:46 AM
To: PaleoNet <paleonet at paleonet.org>
Subject: Re: Paleonet: Jurassic samaras (helicopter seeds)

The fossil example could well be Pinaceae, although the venation in the wing isn't as clear as I would like. The modern "example" in the photo is not Pinaceae, however; it looks much more like Acer.

On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 5:33 AM Steve Mcloughlin <Steve.Mcloughlin at nrm.se <mailto:Steve.Mcloughlin at nrm.se> > wrote:
These are Pinaceae (conifer) winged seeds. They are rather common in the Daohugou (Jurassic) and Jehol (Early Cretaceous) biotas of China. You can find many illustrated examples of these, and more elaborate forms, in:
Sun Ge, Zheng Shaolin, DL Dilcher, Wang Yongdong, Mei Shengwu 2001 Early Angiosperms and their Associated Plants from Western Liaoning, China. Shanghai Scientific and Technological Education Publishing House, Shanghai.
… and some additional commentary on them in:
McLoughlin, S. & Pott, C. 2019. Plant mobility in the Mesozoic: disseminule dispersal strategies of Chinese and Australian Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous plants. Palaeogeography, Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography 515, 47–69.  <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.12.036> https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.12.036

Steve
From: Paleonet <paleonet-bounces+steve.mcloughlin=nrm.se at paleonet.org <mailto:nrm.se at paleonet.org> > On Behalf Of Yazbeck, Thomas
Sent: den 23 maj 2021 05:20
To: paleonet at paleonet.org <mailto:paleonet at paleonet.org> 
Subject: Paleonet: Jurassic samaras (helicopter seeds)

Hello Paleonet, 

I need help searching for answers on a real head-scratcher. I saw a social media post saying that the fossil in the photo was a Jurassic example of a "helicopter seed", aka a samara, from the Tiaojishan Formation. A modern example is presented for scale and comparison. I can't find anything online about this, although I found an older publication describing samara-like seeds from Siberian Jurassic gnetophytes. Can anyone point me towards an answer on what type of plant this might pertain to?

Thomas Yazbeck

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-- 
Andy Simpson, Ph.D.
Research collaborator, Smithsonian Institution
Editor, Paleobotanical Section, BSA
Macroecology - comparative phylogenetics - paleobotany
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