4.9" Pennsylvanian Fossil Fern (Mariopteris?) Plate - Kentucky

This is a 4.9" fossil seed fern (Mariopteris sp.?) plate, from the Breathitt Formation of Leslie County, Kentucky. This specimen comes from the Late Carboniferous, Pennsylvanian aged forests that formed the coal shales of Kentucky and Ohio. The lack of detail makes it difficult to provide a difinitive genus.

Mariopteris was a seed fern with relatively small compact fronds which are bifurcated twice. Although it is clear that most mariopterids are seed ferns, their natural affinity remains unclear. Mariopterids obviously had a climbing growth habit. This species, like other mariopteroids, had a vine like growth habit and climbed with specialized climber hooks.