This is Mazon Monday post #262. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
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Kankakeea grundyi was a bud used for vegetative reproduction, that, once shed, would grow a new fern. It has been associated with Crenulopteris acadica, as they have been found in association. It is rare and a usually found in small round concretions.
Kankakeea grundyi was initially described as Hymenophyllites thallyformis in 1870 by Leo Lesquereux. It was reclassified as Kankakeea grundyi by Herman W. Pfefferkorn in 1973 in the papser "Kankakeea gen. nov., buds for vegetative reproduction in Carboniferous ferns", which was published in the journal Palaeontologische Zeitschrift. Pfefferkorn is a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania paleontologist and geologist known for his work in paleoclimate, landscape reconstruction, paleoecology, plant taphonomy, and whole plant reconstruction for the Carboniferous and Permian Periods. His is still an active researcher.
Jack Wittry wrote of Kankakeea grundyi on page 239 of his book "Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek".
Kankakeea grundyi Pfefferkorn, 1973
1870. Hymenophyllites thallyformis Lesquereux: p. 417, pl. 16, fig. 5 (non fig. 3)
1963. Hymenotheca sp.; Langford: p. 273, fig. 919a
1973. Kankakeea grundyi Pfefferkorn: pl. 25, figs. 1-6; pl. 26, figs. 1-6DESCRIPTION: These are Y-shaped stalks that widen from the base toward the tip. At the tip are two, up to four, rounded and blunt lobes. On the surface of the axis are elongated bumps that run parallel to its length. Hairs are also seen in some specimens. This form is highly variable in size, shape, and surface pattern.
REMARKS: Kankakeea grundyi is rare and known only from the Mazon Creek area and the upper Carboniferous of France. It is thought to represent a bud used for vegetative reproduction, that, once shed, would grow a new fern. Fig. 1 is an example of K. grundyi attached to the rachis of a fertile specimen of Crenulopteris acadica. This is evidence that both forms of reproduction occurred in this species, and on occasion, at the same time. Also see Rhacophyllum cornutum.
Specimens
Field Museum PP27718 - in association with Crenulopteris acadica
Field Museum UP50
Field Museum PP9613
Field Museum PP55091
ESCONI Member Chris Berg - Fossil Friday #53
