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Stephen T. Abedon, Microbiology, Ohio State University, Mansfield: Supplemental Lecture. Fossilization, palaeontology, biases in the fossil record etc. in brief.

! Nan Crystal Arens, C. Strömberg and A. Thompson, Department of Integrative Biology, and Paleobotany Section, Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley: Virtual Paleobotany, Laboratory III, Plant Fossils and Their Preservation.

Anna K. Behrensmeyer (1992; Google books): Terrestrial ecosystems through time. Read "Taphonomy", page 4.

Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Susan M. Kidwell and Robert A. Gastaldo (2000): Taphonomy and Paleobiology. Abstract, Paleobiology, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 103-147.

Sylvain Bernard et al. (2007): Exceptional preservation of fossil plant spores in high-pressure metamorphic rocks PDF file, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 262: 257-272.

MSc Palaeobiology Students, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, (the author´s name appears on the title page for each section): Fossil Lagerstätten. A catalogue of sites of exceptional fossil preservation. Go to: Fauna and Flora (e.g. a Cheiroledpidiaceous conifer); Mazon Creek, Fauna and Flora (Lepidodendron, Lepidostrobophyllum, Lepidophyllum, Calamites, Asterophyllites equisetiformis, Spenophyllum, Equisetites, Pecopteris, Asterotheca, Alethopteris, Diplothmema).

! Stephen P. Broker, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: The Evolution of Plants. The evolution of plants is briefly treated primarily in terms of a consideration of the concepts of time and change. Go to: IV. Paleobotanical Evidence. The Formation of Fossils.

Claudia Capos, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan: Plant decay findings inform response to climate change.

Citizendium. This is an open wiki project. Go to: Fossilization.

C.J. Cleal & B.A. Thomas, Geological Conservation Review Series (GCR), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The JNCC is the UK government's wildlife adviser, undertaking national and international conservation work on behalf of the three country nature conservation agencies English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales. Go to: Introduction to the Mesozoic and Tertiary palaeobotany of Great Britain. PDF file.

Richard Cowen, Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, CA: History of Life, Third Edition. Go to: Preservation and Bias in the Fossil Record.

Géza Császár et al. (2009): A possible Late Miocene fossil forest PaleoPark in Hungary. PDF file, Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Book 2009/03, Chapter 11. Lignified tree trunks in situ, partially covered by a fine-grained pyritic sandstone crust.

Ben Dattilo, Geosciences, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah: Dinosaurs and The Fossil Record. The fossil record from the oldest fossils found on earth to the present day. Go to:
Web Syllabus with Links to Class Notes, and Fossilization (Basic Taphonomy).

John Dawson, Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants (Part of New Zealand Texts Collection): How do plants become fossils?

Jim Dockal, Department of Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington: Sedimentary Petrology Laboratory Manual. Lecture notes. The primary objective in this course is to learn how to observe, describe, and interpret sedimentary rocks. Go to: Fossils, Fossilization and Taphonomy.

! K.A. Dunn et al. (1997): Enhancement of leaf fossilization potential by bacterial biofilms. Abstract, Geology, 25: 1119-1122.

Howard J. Falcon-Lang and John H. Calder: Sir William Dawson (1820 –1899): a very modern paleobotanist (PDF file). Early Plant Taphonomy! From the Atlantic Geology volume on the classic Carboniferous site at Joggins, Nova Scotia.

! Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine: Notes for a course in paleobotany. This website provides information about: Taphonomy: Physiological, Necrological, and Traumatic processes,
Taphonomy: Biogeochemical Processes of Plant Fossilization and Preservational Modes,
Biostratinomic Processes in Volcaniclastic Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Fluvial-Lacustrine Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Coastal-Deltaic Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Peat Accumulating Environments, and
Biostratinomic Processes in Marginal Marine Settings. See also: A Brief Introduction to PALEOBOTANY.

R.A. Gastaldo and J.R. Staub (1999): A mechanism to explain the preservation of leaf litter lenses in coals derived from raised mires. PDF file, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 149: 1-14.

Pamela J. W. Gore, Department of Geology, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA: Historical Geology. Online laboratory manual. Go to: Fossil Preservation Laboratory.

Michael A. Gibson et al.: POSSIBLE DNA PRESERVATION FROM PLANT FOSSILS IN THE CLAIBORNE FORMATION (MIDDLE EOCENE) OF WEST TENNESSEE. Abstract, 54th Annual Meeting (March 17–18, 2005), The Geological Society of America (GSA).

! David R. Greenwood, Environmental Science Program, Brandon University: The Taphonomy of Plant Macrofossils. Ch. 7, pp. 141-169, In, Donovan, S.K. (Ed.) The Processes of Fossilization. Belhaven Press, London, 303 pp.

Robert S. Hill, Department of Botany, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia: Consequences of long-distance dispersal of plant macrofossils. PDF file, New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1981, Vol. 19: 241-242.

J. Hladil et al. (2010): Dust. A geology-orientated attempt to reappraise the natural components, amounts, inputs to sediment, and importance for correlation purposes. PDF file, Geologica Belgica, 13: 367-384.

Illinois Digital Archives: George Langford Sr., collecting Mazon Creek nodules. In the 1920s and 1930s, George Langford, and his son, George, Jr., spent many hours collecting fossiliferous nodules from strip mines near Braidwood, Illinois.

Kirk R. Johnson, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado: Palaeobotany: Forests frozen in time. A "plant Pompeii", more than 300 million years old. Nature 447, 786-787; June 2007.

! T.P. Jones and Nick P. Rowe (eds.), Google Books (some pages are ommitted): Fossil plants and spores: modern techniques. Published by Geological Society, 1999, 396 pages. Excellent! Click: "Preview the book".

J. Konecny, S. Konecny and J. Null, Fossil News, Journal of Avocational Paleontology: The Mazon Creek Nodules.

! Lenny L.R. Kouwenberg et al. (2007): A new transfer technique to extract and process thin and fragmented fossil cuticle using polyester overlays. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 145: 243-248.
See also here (PDF file).

! G.M. Rex, W.G. Chaloner (1983): The experimental formation of plant compression fossils. PDF file, Palaeontology, 26: 231-252.

E. Salmon et al. (2009): Early maturation processes in coal. Part 1: Pyrolysis mass balance and structural evolution of coalified wood from the Morwell Brown Coal seam. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 40: 500-509.

Sabine Schmidt, Gravity Research Group, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany: Die Erde. Go to: Biostratonomie: Fossildiagenese. Scroll down to: "Die Erhaltung von Pflanzen" (in German).

! A.C. Scott (1990): 3.10 Anatomical Preservation of Fossil Plants. PDF file, scroll to page 263! Article in: Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.): Paleobiology: A Synthesis. Navigate from the contents file (PDF).

! Hans Steur, Ellecom, The Netherlands: Hans´ Paleobotany Pages. Plant life from the Silurian to the Cretaceous. See also:
Exceptionally preserved plant fossils from Crock Hey.

Steve Wagner (paleontological volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science): Paleocurrents.com: Mainly nice photo galleries of fossil plants. Go to: Castle Rock Fossil Rainforest. Please take notice: THE MEANDERING RIVER. See also: DETERIORATION EXPERIMENT. When good fossils go bad.

Joan Watson and K.L. Alvin (1976): Silicone rubber casts of silicified plants from the Cretaceous of Sudan PDF file, Palaeontology, 19: 641–650.

S.L. Wing and DiMichele, W.A. (1995): Conflict between local and global changes in plant diversity through geological time. PDF file, Palaios, 10: 551-564.

Home / Preservation & Taphonomy / Cuticles

! S.G. Álvarez et al. (2009): The value of leaf cuticle characteristics in the identification and classification of Iberian Mediterranean members of the genus Pinus. PDF file, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161: 436-448.

American Society of Plant Biologists, The Plant Cell Online: Leaf Development 1 and Leaf Development 2 (Cell proliferation and differentiation). Lecture notes, PDF files. For PowerPoint Slide Presentations see here.

S. Archangelsky (1968): Studies on Triassic fossil plants from Argentina. IV. The leaf genus Dicroidium and its possible relation to Rhexoxylon stems. PDF file, Palaeontology, 11: 500-512.

Anne-Marie Aucour et al. (2009): Insights into preservation of fossil plant cuticles using thermally assisted hydrolysis methylation. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 40: 784-794.

! R. Barclay, J. McElwain, D. Dilcher and B. Sageman (2007): The cuticle database: developing an interactive tool for taxonomic and paleoenvironmental study of the fossil cuticle record. PDF file, In: Jarzen, D. M., Steven, R., Retallack, G. J. and Jarzen, S. A. (eds.), Advances in Angiosperm Paleobotany and Paleoclimatic Reconstruction, Contributions Honouring David L. Dilcher and Jack A. Wolfe, Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt, pgs. 39-56.

Terese Barta, UW-Stevens Point, Mike Clayton, UW-Madison, Dave Hillier, UW-Stevens Point, Brad Mogen, UW-River Falls, Jim Perry, UW-Fox Valley, Jan Phelps, UW-Baraboo, Patricia Ploetz, UW-Stevens Point, Tom Volk, UW-La Crosse, & Bob Wise, UW-Oshkosh (page hosted by BioWeb, University of Wisconsin): UW-System Botanical Image Library. This site is devoted to making botanical images available and easily accessible for educational use. They aspire to provide a stable, maintained library of non-proprietary images that can be easily referenced by botanists designing their own educational applications. Go to: Leaf Anatomy, Modified Leaves (now via wayback).

Ernst-Georg Beck, Zentrale für Unterrichtswesen: Biokurs 2001 (in German). Go to: Pflanzenanatomie und Photosynthese, Aufbau eines typischen Laubblattes.

Ilma Brewer, Robyn Overall, Nicholas Skelton, & Mark Curran, School of Biological Sciences The University of Sydney, Australia: The Revision Modules in Plant Anatomy. A photomicrographic overview of the major plant tissues and organs, with glossary. Go to: Dermal Tissue: Cuticle, Epidermis and Stomata, Trichomes.

D.E.G. Briggs (1999): Molecular taphonomy of animal and plant cuticles: selective preservation and diagenesis. PDF file, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 354: 7-17. See also here.

Richard Cowen, Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, CA: Mini-Essays, Preservation and Bias in the Fossil Record.

Robert Roy Cowie, San Marcos, TX: Gas Exchange Characteristics of an Early Cretacerous Conifer, Pseudofrenelopsis varians, (Cheirolepidiaceae), and its inferred Paleoecology. (via webback machine). Go to: Preparation of Materials.

Richard Crang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Andrey Vassilyev, St. Petersburg State University, Russia (McGraw-Hill Higher Education): Plant Anatomy. A website that supports the Electronic Plant Anatomy CD-ROM. An instructor view provides links to dynamic cartoons viewable using the Macromedia Flash Player. Go to: "Stomata" (opening and closing stomata), and "Leaf Structure".

Judith L. Croxdale, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison (website hosted by Biology Online): Stomatal patterning in angiosperms. Stomatal pattern types, means of measuring them, advantages of each type of measurement, and then present patterning from evolutionary, physiological, ecological, and organ views are discussed.

John D. Curtis, Biology Department, University of Wisconsin; Nels R. Lersten, Department of Botany, Iowa State University, and Michael D. Nowak, Biology Department, University of Wisconsin: Photographic Atlas of Plant Anatomy. Go to: Epidermis and Stomates.

! D. Edwards, H. Kerp and H. Hass (1998): Stomata in early land plants: an anatomical and ecophysiological approach. Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 49, Special Issue, pp. 255–278. See also here.

Beth Ellis et al. (2009): Manual of Leaf Architecture. Book announcement.
! See also here.

Encyclopedia of Earth. An electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society. Go to: What are stomata? About stomatal density, size and shape, physiological function of stomata, optimal size of stomatal apertures, and stomatal conductance. More botany articles here, and there (all titles A-Z).

Ben Fletcher, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield: The role of stomata in the early evolution of land plants, and How the atmosphere affects plants. See also: Modern-day representatives of early land plants.

Jennifer Forman, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston: Land of the Glandular Trichomes. A microscopic look at plants in the Lamiaceae family.

Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine: BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND PRESERVATIONAL MODES. Navigate via: Notes for a Course in Paleobotany.

! R.A. Gastaldo and J.R. Staub (1999): A mechanism to explain the preservation of leaf litter lenses in coals derived from raised mires. PDF file, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 149: 1-14.

! Neal S. Gupta et al. (2006): Reinvestigation of the occurrence of cutan in plants: implications for the leaf fossil record. Abstract and references, Paleobiology, 32: 432-449.

! A.M. Hetherington and I. Woodward: The role of stomata in sensing and driving environmental change. Abstract and review article. Nature 424, 901 - 908 (21 August 2003). See also here, and there.

Kevin R. Hultine (Department of Forest Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID), and John D. Marshall (website hosted by Biology Online): A comparison of three methods for determining the stomatal density of pine needles. Three methods used to estimate the stomatal density of two species of three-needle pines, Pinus taeda and Pinus ponderosa is reported.

A.H. Jahren and N.C. Arens (2009): Prediction of atmospheric δ¹³CO₂ using plant cuticle isolated from fluvial sediment: tests across a gradient in salt content. PDF file, Palaios, 24, 394-401.

! T.P. Jones and Nick P. Rowe (eds.), Google Books (some pages are ommitted): Fossil plants and spores: modern techniques. Published by Geological Society, 1999, 396 pages. Excellent! Click: "Preview the book". Go to page 52:
Light microscopy of cuticles (chapter written by H. Kerp and M. Krings).

! Hans Kerp, Palaeobotanical Research Group, University of Münster: Plant cuticles and some of their applications in palaeobotany.

Hans Kerp: The study of fossil gymnosperms by means of cuticular analysis. PALAIOS; 1990; v. 5; no. 6; p. 548-569. See also here (abstract).

Gerhard Kerstiens, Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University: Links to plant surface-related sites.

John W. Kimball, Kimball´s Biology Pages: Gas Exchange in Plants.

Jim Konecny et al. Fossil News: The Mazon Creek Nodules. Concretions formed in 300 million-year-old Illinois coal swamps yield flawless plants and insects.

! Lenny L.R. Kouwenberg et al. (2007): A new transfer technique to extract and process thin and fragmented fossil cuticle using polyester overlays. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 145: 243-248.
See also here (PDF file).

M. Krings et al.(2002): Touch-sensitive glandular trichomes: a mode of defence against herbivorous arthropods in the Carboniferous. PDF file, Evolutionary Ecology Research, 4: 779-786.

U. Kutschera (2008): The growing outer epidermal wall: Design and physiological role of a composite structure. PDF file, Ann. Bot. 101: 615-621.

U. Kutschera and K.J. Niklas (2007): The epidermal-growth-control theory of stem elongation: An old and a new perspective. PDF file, J. Plant Physiol. 164: 1395-1409.

LoveToKnow: The LoveToKnow Free Online Encyclopedia is based on the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Go to: Palaeobotany. See also: Preservation.

Joyce Macpherson, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland (Canadian Association of Palynologists): Picea Stomata in Lake Sediments. A bibliography.

M.J.M Martens, R. Aalbers, W.L.P. Janssen, J. van Beurden and E.S. Pierson, General Biology, Katholieke University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands: Virtual Classroom Biology. This extensive site offers educative material about biology, including virtual lessons and lots of illustrations, particularly on cells and tissues. Go to: The microworld of leaves.

! Jennifer C. McElwain and William G. Chaloner, Department of Biology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham: The fossil cuticle as a skeletal record of environmental change. PDF file, see also here (Abstract), and there.

! Palaeobotany Research Group Münster, Germany: Plant cuticles and some of their applications in palaeobotany. An introduction including breathtaking cuticle photomicrographs.

Palaeobotanical Research Group, Münster, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany. History of Palaeozoic Forests, MODES OF PRESERVATION. Link list page with picture rankings. The links give the most direct connections to pictures available on the web.

Pyrolysis and macromolecular geochemistry group, Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Newcastle Research Group (NRG), University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne: The molecular characterization of the very first land plants to appear on the surface of this planet (via wayback link). Abstract.

Karl J. Niklas (1981): The Chemistry of Fossil Plants. Abstract, BioScience, 31: 820-825.

Mike Pole, Queensland Herbarium, Toowong, Australia: Early Eocene Dispersed Cuticles and Mangrove to Rainforest Vegetation at Strahan-Regatta Point, Tasmania. Paleontologia Electronica 2007, 10 (3).

Markus Riederer, Julius von Sachs Institut, Würzburg: Stoffaustausch über pflanzliche Grenzflächen (in German). Research about plant cuticles.

A.C. Scott and G. Rex (1985): The formation and significance of Carboniferous coal balls. PDF file, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London, B, 311: 123-137.

Z. Simunek et al. (2009): Cordaites borassifolius (Sternberg) Unger (Cordaitales) from the Radnice Basin (Bolsovian, Czech Republic). PDF file, Bulletin of Geosciences, 84: 301-336.

! Robert A. Spicer (1977): The pre-depositional formation of some leaf impressions. PDF file, Palaeontology, 20: 907–912.

B. Artur Stankiewicz et al. (1998): Chemical preservation of plants and insects in natural resins. PDF file, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, 265: 641-647. See also here.

B.A. Stankiewicz et al.: Molecular taphonomy of arthropod and plant cuticles from the Carboniferous of North America: implications for the origin of kerogen. Journal of the Geological Society, June 1, 1998; 155(3): 453 - 462. See also here (Abstract).

E.J. Stevens, S.J. Stevens, R.N. Gates, KM. Eskridce, and S.S. Waller: Procedure for Fecal Cuticle Analysis of Herbivore Diets. PDF file.

Taylor S. Feild, Maciej A. Zwieniecki, Michael J. Donoghue, and N. Michele Holbrook: Stomatal plugs of Drimys winteri (Winteraceae) protect leaves from mist but not drought. PNAS, 1998 95: 14256-14259.

G.R. Upchurch Jr. (1984): Cuticle evolution in Early Cretaceous angiosperms from the Potomac Group of Virginia and Maryland. PDF file, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

G.R: Upchurch Jr. (1984): The cuticular anatomy of early angiosperm leaves from the Lower Cretaceous Potomac Group of Virginia and Maryland, Part 1, Zone 1 leaves. PDF file, American Journal of Botany 71: 192-202.

G.R. Upchurch Jr. (1984): Cuticle evolution in Early Cretaceous angiosperms from the Potomac Group of Virginia and Maryland. PDF file, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Plant cuticle.

M.J. Wooller (2002): Fossil grass cuticles from lacustrine sediments: a review of methods applicable to the analysis of tropical African lake cores. PDF file, The Holocene.

Carl Zimmer (Carl Zimmer writes the monthly essay in the US magazine Natural History, having inherited this position from Stephen Jay Gould): High and dry. Stomatal apparatus permitting plants to become trees.

Erwin L. Zodrow et al. (2009): Compression-cuticle relationship of seed ferns: Insights from liquid-solid states FTIR (Late Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic, Canada-Spain-Argentina). Abstract, International Journal of Coal Geology, 79: 61-73.

E. Zodrow and M. Mastalerz (2009): A proposed origin for fossilized Pennsylvanian plant cuticles by pyrite oxidation (Sydney Coalfield, Nova Scotia, Canada). PDF file, Bulletin of Geosciences, 84: 227-240.

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