Palmoxylon
| Palmoxylon |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Palmoxylon sp. wood round | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| (unranked): | |
| (unranked): | |
| (unranked): | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: |
†Palmoxylon
|
| Species | |
|
See text |
|
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Palmoxylon (Petrified palmwood), is an extinct genus of palm named from petrified wood found around the world.
Contents
Fossil record
This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous to the Miocene (from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Germany, United States, Egypt, Libya and Argentina. [1]
Distribution
A number of species from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic have been described from the Patagonia region of South America.[2] There have been a number of species reported from Egypt which are dated to the Late Eocene and Early Miocene.[3]
Specimens from the Oligocene epoch (34 - 23 mya) can be collected from many scattered sites in east Texas and western Louisiana. Fossils found near fossil palmwood include corals, sponges, and mollusks, indicating that the palms grew along prehistoric beaches. For millions of years, the Gulf Coast shoreline has been moving farther south.
In Texas and Louisiana, petrified palmwood is most common in the Toledo Bend area, which is shared by both states. It was left by trees that grew when the Gulf of Mexico's shoreline was much farther north from its present-day position. In Louisiana, petrified palmwood is found in the parishes of Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, and Sabine.
Description
Petrified palmwood includes a group of fossil woods that contain prominent rod-like structures within the regular grain of the silicified wood. Depending upon the angle at which they are cut by fracture, these rod-like structures show up as spots, tapering rods, or continuous lines. The rod-like structures are sclerenchyma bundles that comprise part of the woody tissues that gave the wood its vertical strength.
Petrified palmwood is a favorite of rock collectors because it is replaced by silica and exhibits well-defined rod-like structures and variety of colors. As a result, it exhibits a wide range of colors and designs when cut that can be incorporated into jewelry and other ornamental items. Because it is composed of silica, it is hard enough to polish and withstand the wear and tear of normal use.
Popular culture
In Grant Parish (and probably in other areas also), Native Americans used petrified palmwood to make projectile points and other tools such as knives, awls, and scrapers. Projectile points and other tools crafted from petrified palmwood have been discovered in central Grant Parish by H.R. Hicks and other Native American artifact collectors.[citation needed] It is the state stone of Texas and the official state fossil of Louisiana.[4]
Species
There are more than 200 species assigned to the genus Palmoxylon at this time.[5][6]
- Palmoxylon amriense
- Palmoxylon andegavense
- Palmoxylon antiguense
- Palmoxylon arcotense
- Palmoxylon arviense
- Palmoxylon bhisiensis Dutta et al., 2007 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon blandfordi Schenk, 1882 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon bororense
- Palmoxylon cellulosum
- Palmoxylon ceylanicum
- Palmoxylon chhindwarense Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon cliffwoodense
- Palmoxylon colei (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming)
- Palmoxylon commune
- Palmoxylon compactum
- Palmoxylon concordiense
- Palmoxylon contortum (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming)
- Palmoxylon dakshinense Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon deccanensis Sahni, 1964 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon densum
- Palmoxylon dilacunosum Ambwani, 1984
- Palmoxylon dutoitii
- Palmoxylon edenense (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming)
- Palmoxylon enochii
- Palmoxylon eocenum Prakash, 1962 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon fibrosum
- Palmoxylon fladungi
- Palmoxylon geometricum
- Palmoxylon ghuguensis
- Palmoxylon hebbertii
- Palmoxylon hislopi Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon hyphaeneoides
- Palmoxylon homochamaerops
- Palmoxylon indicum
- Palmoxylon integrum
- Palmoxylon intertrappeum
- Palmoxylon kamalamRode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon keriense
- Palmoxylon kikaapoa
- Palmoxylon kuntzii
- Palmoxylon lacunosum
- Palmoxylon lametaei (Maastrichtian; Lameta Formation, Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon liebigianum
- Palmoxylon livistoniforme
- Palmoxylon livistonoides Prakash & Ambwani, 1980 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon longum
- Palmoxylon macginitiei (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming)
- Palmoxylon maheskwarii
- Palmoxylon mangulanense
- Palmoxylon mathuri Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous, Gujarat, India)
- Palmoxylon microxylon
- Palmoxylon mississippiense
- Palmoxylon molle
- Palmoxylon narayanai
- Palmoxylon oligocaenum
- Palmoxylon pantii
- Palmoxylon parapaniensis Lakhanpal et al., 1979 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon parthasarathyi Rao & Menon, 1964 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon parvifasciculosum
- Palmoxylon patagonicum
- Palmoxylon phoenicoides
- Palmoxylon pichaihuensis
- Palmoxylon polymorphum
- Palmoxylon pondicherriense
- Palmoxylon porosum
- Palmoxylon pristina
- Palmoxylon pyriforme
- Palmoxylon queenslandicum
- Palmoxylon quenstedti
- Palmoxylon radiatum
- Palmoxylon rewahense
- Palmoxylon riograndense
- Palmoxylon romeroi
- Palmoxylon sagari
- Palmoxylon sahnii
- Palmoxylon santarosense
- Palmoxylon sclerodermum
- Palmoxylon scleroticum
- Palmoxylon simperi
- Palmoxylon superbum Trivedi & Verma, 1971 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
- Palmoxylon surangei
- Palmoxylon takliense
- Palmoxylon tyrrhenicum
- Palmoxylon valchetense
- Palmoxylon variabile
- Palmoxylon vastanense
- Palmoxylon vaterum
- Palmoxylon waageni
- Palmoxylon wadai Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
- Palmoxylon withami
- Palmoxylon yuqueriense
See also
References
- ↑ Fossilworks
- ↑ Ottone E. G. 2007 "A new palm trunk from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina" Ameghiniana v.44 n.4
- ↑ EL-Saadawi, W., Youssef, S. G. & Kamal-EL-Din, M. M. 2004 "Fossil palm woods of Egypt: II. Seven Tertiary Palmoxylon species new to the country" Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 129(4):199-211
- ↑ State Fossils
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- McMackin, C. E., 1984, "Petrified wood from east to west; some we've liked best." Lapidary-Journal. vol. 37, no. 11, p. 1582-1588.
