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''Palmoxylon'' (petrified palmwood) is an extinct genus of
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...
named from
petrified wood Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of '' fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ' ...
found around the world.


Fossil record

This genus is known in the fossil record from the
Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
to the
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
(from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Germany, Italy (Sardinia), United States, Egypt, Libya and Argentina ( Bororó and
Salamanca Formation The Salamanca Formation is a geologic formation in the Golfo San Jorge Basin of central Patagonia that yields well-preserved, well-dated fossils from the early Paleocene. Studies of these fossils are providing new data on plant and animal diversit ...
s).''Palmoxylon''
at
Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was crea ...
.org
Many species were described from the
Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps is a large igneous province of west-central India (17–24°N, 73–74°E). It is one of the largest volcanic features on Earth, taking the form of a large shield volcano. It consists of numerous layers of solidified flo ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.


Distribution

A number of species from the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
and
Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...
have been described from the
Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
region of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
.Ottone E. G. 2007 "A new palm trunk from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina" ''
Ameghiniana ''Ameghiniana'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering palaeontology published by the Asociación Paleontológica Argentina. It is named after the 19th century Italian Argentine palaeontologist Florentino Ameghino. The discovery of ma ...
'' v.44 n.4
There have been a number of species reported from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
which are dated to the
Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
and
Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...
.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 Specimens from the
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
epoch (34 - 23 mya) can be collected from many scattered sites in east
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and western
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
.
Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s found near fossil palmwood include
coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...
s,
sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throu ...
s, and
mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
s, indicating that the palms grew along prehistoric
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...
es. For millions of years, the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
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 The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
'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 Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
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 Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...
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.


Archaeology

In Grant Parish, Louisiana (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. It is the state stone of Texas and the official
state fossil Most American states have made a state fossil designation, in many cases during the 1980s. It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has occurred, rather than a single specimen, or a category of fossils not limited to a single ...
of Louisiana.State Fossils
/ref>


Species

There are more than 200 species assigned to the genus ''Palmoxylon'' at this time. *''Palmoxylon araneus'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene;
Jebel Qatrani Formation The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani) is a palaeontological and geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. Conformably overlying the Qasr el Sagha Formation. It is exposed namely between the Jebel Qatran ...
, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon arcotense'' *''Palmoxylon bhisiensis'' Dutta et al., 2007 (Cretaceous;
Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps is a large igneous province of west-central India (17–24°N, 73–74°E). It is one of the largest volcanic features on Earth, taking the form of a large shield volcano. It consists of numerous layers of solidified flo ...
, India) *''Palmoxylon blandfordi''Schenk, 1882 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon bororense'' *''Palmoxylon chhindwarense'' Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon colei'' (Eocene;
Green River Formation The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sediments are deposited in very f ...
, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon compactum'' *''Palmoxylon concordiense'' palmoxylon millie-- very rare to find but was very common in the united kingdom during winter *''Palmoxylon contortum'' (Eocene;
Green River Formation The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sediments are deposited in very f ...
, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon dakshinense'' Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon deccanensis Sahni, 1964 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon dilacunosum'' Ambwani, 1984 *''Palmoxylon edenense'' (Eocene;
Green River Formation The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sediments are deposited in very f ...
, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon elsaadawii'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon eocenum'' Prakash, 1962 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon geometricum'' *''Palmoxylon hislopi'' Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon indicum'' *''Palmoxylon kamalam''Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon lametaei'' (
Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the inte ...
; Lameta Formation, Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon livistoniforme'' *''Palmoxylon livistonoides'' Prakash & Ambwani, 1980 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon macginitiei'' (Eocene;
Green River Formation The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sediments are deposited in very f ...
, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon mathuri'' Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous, Gujarat, India) *''Palmoxylon parapaniensis'' Lakhanpal et al., 1979 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon parthasarathyi'' Rao & Menon, 1964 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) * ''Palmoxylon patagonicum'' (Paleocene, Patagonia, Argentina) *''Palmoxylon pichaihuensis'' *''Palmoxylon pondicherriense'' *''Palmoxylon pyriforme'' *''Palmoxylon qatraniense'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon queenslandicum'' *''Palmoxylon rewahense'' *''Palmoxylon riograndense'' *''Palmoxylon sagari'' *''Palmoxylon santarosense'' *''Palmoxylon superbum'' Trivedi & Verma, 1971 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon valchetense'' *''Palmoxylon vaterum'' *''Palmoxylon wadai'' Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon yuqueriense''


References


Further reading

* McMackin, C. E., 1984, "Petrified wood from east to west; some we've liked best." ''Lapidary-Journal''. vol. 37, no. 11, p. 1582-1588.


External links


Petrified Palm Wood (State Fossil) (Tertiary)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7128439 Coryphoideae Prehistoric angiosperm genera Santonian genus first appearances Late Cretaceous plants Paleocene plants Oligocene plants Eocene plants Miocene genus extinctions Prehistoric life of Africa Fossils of Egypt Prehistoric life of Asia Fossils of India Prehistoric life of Europe Fossils of Germany Prehistoric plants of North America Fossils of the United States Prehistoric plants of South America Riochican Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1882 Arecaceae genera