3.3" Fossil Leaf (Marmarthia?) Nodule - Hell Creek Formation

Fossil Leaf (Marmarthia?) Nodule - Hell Creek Formation #252952

This is a 3.3" fossil leaf nodule (Marmarthia 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.

Marmarthia is an extinct genus of flowering plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae). Two species have been described from the Hell Creek Formation: M. pearsonii, which had simple tapered leaves, and M. trivialis, which had more rounded leaves with wide serrations and three distinct veins branching from the leaf base. This leaf most closely resembles M. trivialis.

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.