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Taphonomy of plant fossils from the Visean of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland

Brown, R. E., Scott, A. C. and Jones, Timothy Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-1260 1994. Taphonomy of plant fossils from the Visean of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 84 , pp. 267-274. 10.1017/S0263593300006088

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Abstract

The Viséan sequence at East Kirkton contains abundant plant fossils which show a wide range of preservation states. Most of the plant fragments are allochthonous, but stigmarian rootlets are found in situ at the top of the sequence and form mats near the base, where they are preserved in cherts. Axes have commonly been reworked within tuffs at the base. The majority of the plants are preserved as fragmentary compressions, although mineral replacement of the organic matter has occurred in some places. A number of woody axes which have been permineralised by phases of calcite and silica are found in the limestone and tuffs of the sequence. These axes often show complex mineralisation patterns and can occur at the centre of stromatolitic nodules. Some are well preserved and appear to have been permineralised rapidly whereas others show evidence of decay prior to calcite growth or degradation after stromatolite developed. Fusain (fossil charcoal) is abundant in the sequence, in addition to fusain transition fossils caused by partial charring, which suggests the occurrence of palaeowildfires in the area. The plant fossils have been assigned to a number of categories (some of which are new), based on their varied preservation states.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects: Q Science > QE Geology
Q Science > QK Botany
Uncontrolled Keywords: Carboniferous; palaeobotany; volcanic environments; preservation; permineralisation; compression; fusain; transition fossils; mineral replacement; East Kirkton; Scotland
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISSN: 1755-6910
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2022 09:43
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/22002

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