This is the "Fossil Friday" post #196. 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!
-----------------------------------------------------
Today, we have another Mazon Creek plant fossil. Calamostachys is the cone portion of Calamites. This Langford diagram which details the parts of Calamites. The round seed like part of these cones are actually sporagia, which Calamites used to reproduce. Calamites is a horsetail. Its closest living relative is Equisetum, which is an extant species of horsetail. To learn more, have a look at Mazon Monday #99.
This particular specimen comes from the Pit 3 Mazon Creek locality.
