1.8" Fossil Leaf (Cercidiphyllum?) Nodule - Hell Creek

Fossil Leaf (Cercidiphyllum?) Nodule - Hell Creek #253023

This is a 1.8" fossil leaf nodule (Cercidiphyllum sp.?) from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation on our partner's private quarry in Bowman, North Dakota. It is preserved inside a sandstone concretion.

Cercidiphyllum is the genus of flowering plants containing two species known as katsura, which resemble redbud trees. Cercidiphyllum has existed since the late Cretaceous, and can be identified by thick veins branching from the leaf base in a rounded, heart-shaped leaf.

Because of its age and sedimentary composition, the Hell Creek Formation has become one of the most paleontologically studied areas in the world. 158 genera of animals and 64 genera of plants are known from the formation and new discoveries are made frequently. In addition to Tyrannosaurs, Ceratopsids, and Hadrosaurs, the formation has yielded remains of amphibians, reptiles, lizards, snakes and turtles, fish and sharks, avian and non-avian dinosaurs, and mammals. The Hell Creek Formation gives the most complete understanding of the environment just before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.