This is the "Fossil Friday" post #39. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected]. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!
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For this week, we have an absolutely gorgeous specimen of Annularia inflata. Annularia is actually the leaves of a plant called Calamites. Calamites is classified as a Sphenopsid. Its closest living relative are the horsetails. In life, the plant would have looked something like this, with some of them reaching tens of meters tall.
This photo was contributed by Marie Angkuw. The beauty was found in the Mazon River during the Canal Corridor outing in August. From what I understand, it was gently nursed along in freeze/thaw, only to open a few weeks ago. This one is nice as it has all of the nice firework look that Annularia inflata is known for. Congrats, Marie!
