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PALAEOBOTANICAL RESEARCH   GROUP
 
UNIVERSITY  MÜNSTER
 
HISTORY  OF  PALAEOZOIC  FORESTS
MODES  OF  PRESERVATION
 

 
Palaeozoic plant fossils can be found in various modes of preservation. The most common leaf fossils are compressions and
impressions in sediments. If organic material is still well preserved cuticles can be studied showing details of the cell pattern
of the epidermis. Sporangia and pollen sacs may still contain spores and pollen which consist of very resistant material.
Spores and pollen are also found finely dispersed in the sediment. Sometimes all the organic material has been replaced by
mineral matter; these are adpressions. Plants may also be permineralized. Cell cavities are filled with mineral substance and
cell walls may be impregnated too. Common examples are silicifications and coal balls.
 

 
 
Taxon / Subject
 
Web Source
Comments
Pics
Info
Compression /impression Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory  
Compression of Alethopteris Paläobotanik Münster Pennsylvanian of Illinois
Have a look !!!
Leaf impressions Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone
Cast of Quercus acorn Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory  
Cast of a fossil lycopod trunk Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Carboniferous of Joggins, Nova Scotia
Cast of a Permian conifer twig Paläobotanik Münster Permian of the Orobic Alps, Italy
Have a look !!!
Silicified trees Paläobotanik Münster Jurassic Cerro Cuadrado Petrified Forest, Argentina
Have a look !!!
Permineralized trunk Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Silificied Callixylon trunk, Upper Devonian
 
Silicified axes Paläobotanik Münster Rhynia from the Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert
Have a look !!!
Silicified epidermis with stoma Paläobotanik Münster Aglaophyton from the Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert
Have a look !!!
Permineralized axis Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Lepidodendron selaginelloides in  a coal ball
Permineralized axis Paläobotanik Münster Coal ball peel of Anachopteris from the Carboniferous
Have a look !!!
Coal ball Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory  
Coal ball horizons Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Pennsylvanian of Illinois
Cuticle Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory  
Cuticles Paläobotanik Münster Conifer cuticles from the Upper Permian of northern Italy
Have a look !!!
Pollen grain Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Pinus strobus, Holocene
Pollen grain Paläobotanik Münster Potonieisporites, uppermost Carboniferous
Have a look !!!
Fossil amber Virtual Palaeobotany Laboratory Miocene, Chiapas Mexico
Fossil amber with insects Collection Jens-Wilhelm Janzen Baltic (Oligocene) amber with insects, many pictures !!!
 

Disclaimer

The last check of the list of links was done on 25 November 1999. The links give the most direct connections to pictures available on the web; in many cases they are from sites that have additional palaeobotanical information.  The above ratings refer to:  
1. Pics: the quality of the specimens, particularly with regard to characteristic features, and to the quality of the pictures.  
2. Info: the additional information provided. 
Ratings are of course subjective but should be helpful for finding the fastest way to good pictures on the web. Own pictures are of course not rated. This is up to you!  
Suggestions for improvement and hints to other internet resources are most welcome
 
  =  excellent !   =  very good
   =  good
   =  fair
   =  poor / no information
© Forschungsstelle für Paläobotanik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster 
November 1999