Quantitative analysis and paleoecology of the Secor Coal and roof-shale floras (middle Pennsylvania, Oklahoma)
- Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (United States)
- Univ. of Illinois, Urbana (United States)
The Secor Coal of Oklahoma (Boggy Formation, lower Desmoinesian/Westphalian D equivalent) is one of the few coals discovered, to date, in which Anabathra pulcherrima (=Paralycopodites brevifolius) was a dominant element. Anabathra and Lepidophloios define the major assemblages in the coal, which also contains elements of medullosan pteridosperms and Cardiocarpus spinatus producing cordaites. The Lepidophloios to Medullosa gradient is not obscured by the numerous Anabathra-dominated zones, and a disturbance element is suggested in association with Anabathra abundance. Comparison of the coal-ball flora with a clastic-compression flora from the roof of the coal reveals widely divergent patterns of dominance and diversity. The compression flora is strongly dominated by medullosan pteridosperms with subdominant marattialean tree ferns. As in most instances, the compression flora from the immediate roof of the coal is not an accurate representation of the peat-forming vegetation, at either the level of species composition or the relative abundance of major groups of plants. The swamp and surrounding clastic deltaic environments were edaphically distinct and supported separate floras between which there was limited species exchange.
- OSTI ID:
- 6039673
- Journal Information:
- Palaois; (United States), Vol. 6:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COAL DEPOSITS
PALEONTOLOGY
OKLAHOMA
ABUNDANCE
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
COAL SEAMS
DISTRIBUTION
FOSSILS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
PEAT
PLANTS
SHALES
SWAMPS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MATTER
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC MATTER
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA
WETLANDS
011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration