''Eathiestrobus mackenziei'' is a fossil pine cone found in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation ( Upper Jurassic) near Eathie, on the Black Isle in Scotland. It is the oldest fossil pine currently known.

Etymology

The genus name ''Eathiestrobus'' refers to the place it was found, Eathie, in Scotland, and ''strobus'', which means cone. The species name ''mackenziei'' honors Mr. W. Mackenzie, who collected the specimen and donated it to the Hunterian Museum in 1896.

Description

The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of ''Eathiestrobus mackenziei'' consists of an incomplete, 8 cm long seed cone. It is held in the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, and was originally identified as '' Pityostrobus'', but later re-examined and reclassified as a new genus and species.

Significance

''Eathiestrobus'' extends the fossil record for the family Pinaceae by around 20 million years. The oldest fossil pines were known from the Early Cretaceous ('' Pinus yorkshirensis'' and '' Pityostrobus californensis''). ''Eathiestrobus'' was also important because it clarified the characteristics of the seed cones of Pinaceae, making it easier to identify members of the family in the fossil record.

References

Pinaceae Prehistoric plant genera {{paleobotany-stub