This is the "Fossil Friday" post #48. 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 a rare species of seed fern called Neuropteris jacksonii. This magnificent specimen was found in a concretion collected from the Mazon River by ESCONI member Phil Anderson. It's just another instance in his streak of fine discoveries this past winter as he freeze/thaws his way through the concretions he salted away last fall. Congratulations, Phil!
Neuropteris jacksonii is a seed fern. It's described on page 206 of Jack Wittry's new book "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek". N. jacksonii is a Pteridosperm and belongs to the order called Medullosales, which went extinct during the Permian. Some of the other familiar names in this order include Alethopteris, Neuropteris, Odontopteris, Macroneuropteris, Linopteris, and Laveineopteris.
