| Silurian Plants 3 |
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| FROM THE COLLECTION OF SAMUEL J. CIURCA, JR. ROCHESTER, NEW YORK |
| AT LEFT: Another branching plant, probably violently thrown into the interreef muds, Gasport Channel at Gasport, New York. This specimen would probably be referred to as an example of Hostinella sp. The inter- reef deposits preserve an extensive biota not often preserved in the usual coarse-grained dolostones of the Lockport Group. Often observed are complete crinoids, Lingula and other inarticulates, at least three trilobite species, cephalopods and brachiopods. Dendroid graptolites are an important element of these deposits. Associated, also, are sili- cified corals and stromatoporoids. |
| Hostinella sp.? associated with the Medusaegraptus Biofacies. CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTO |
| CIURCA 052296-4 |
| Silurian Plant Research |
| May 1, 2003 Specimen CIURCA 052296-4 is being sent to Great Britain as part of a research project devoted to early land plants. Besides the above visual, the following data is recorded: The block of rock is about 10 inches long and about 4 inches thick. The matrix is a very fine-grained dolostone (almost like the Bertie Waterlimes) and bears a mineraliferous vug about 1 3/4 inches long by about 1 inch long lined with small crystals. On the same bedding plane are fragments (probably algal) and a circular structure that may be the base of a dendroid graptolite. At the extreme right of the slab is a small specimen (about 3/4 inch) of Medusaegraptus with fine filaments extending out from the axis. The many small fragments distributed on the bedding plane indicate a high-energy source for the deposition of the remains, even though the matrix is a fine-grained dolostone that might be interpreted to be the result of slow and 'quiet' sediment deposition. This is one unusual and most interesting sedimentary unit - interreef sediments formed during a time of active reef development in lower Lockport time in western New York. |
| More Silurian Plant Specimens - added April 1, 2007 |
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| The search continues for additional Silurian plant forms. Additional specimens are shown below. |
| ABOVE: A wonderful example of Cooksonia-like plant that was found on the same slab of Williamsville Waterlime bearing a small Eurypterus lacustris. CIURCA 071106-1. LEFT: What appears to be a different type of plant that I have not encountered before - note what appears to be a vascular strand running through the center. CIURCA 033007-7. The Bertie Group contains two fossil floras, an eastern (Phelps Waterlime) and a western (Williamsville Waterlime). This may be the result of proximity to land, i.e. the shoreline. Cyanobacteria grew in shallow waters offshore and some of the plants that are found are probably algal in nature and were rafted into the site of deposition. Simple land plants like Cooksonia, growing in low coastal areas, were probably washed down into the areas of lime mud deposition. Currents redistributed remains, often, into windrows where various plant and animal materials were being collected and sorted. |