New River Gourge, West Virginia (Carboniferous of the United States)

Where: West Virginia (37.0° N, 80.0° W: paleocoordinates 20.4° S, 28.7° W)

When: Mississippian (358.9 - 323.2 Ma)

• New River Gorge contains boundaries between the Mississipian and Pennsylvannian and another between the Lower and Middle Pennsylvannian. This strata is equivalent to the Pottsville Formation of Pennsylvania and characteristic of the Sewanee Conglomerate of Tennesee, the coal-bearin shale of Washington County, Arkansas.

Environment/lithology: shale

• The most persistant occurances are in the dark shales immediately above the Fire Creek and Sewell coals, but also occur in shales above the Beckley, Hughes, Ferry, Lower Douglas, Gilbert, Eagle, Powellton, and No. 2 Gas coal beds.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression

Primary reference: W. H. Gillespie and H. W. Pfefferkorn. 1984. Plant Fossils of the New River Gorge, West Virginia. Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science 56(2,3,4):124-135 [R. Gastaldo/J. Allen/A. Kidd]more details

PaleoDB collection 12694: authorized by Robert Gastaldo, entered by Jonathan Allen on 26.11.2001

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Only the common and/or important species found at New River Gorge are listed.
Show authors, comments, and common names
unclassified
  -
Shenophyllum tenerrimum, Shenophyllum cunefolium, Shenopteris elegans, Shenopteris launoitii
Pteropsida
 Filicinae -
"Alethopteris parva" = Pecopteris (Alethopteris), "Alethopteris decurrens" = Pecopteris (Alethopteris)
"Alethopteris parva" = Pecopteris (Alethopteris)
"Alethopteris decurrens" = Pecopteris (Alethopteris)
Sphenopteridium
  -
Sphenopteridium bifidum
Polypodiopsida
 Equisetales - Equisetidae
Calamostachys sp., Asterophyllites longifolius, Asterophyllites equisetiformis, Asterophyllites charaeformis, "Mesocalamites sp." = Calamites (Mesocalamites), "Mesocalamites cistii" = Calamites (Mesocalamites), "Mesocalamites suckowii" = Calamites (Mesocalamites), Calamites radiatus, Annularia radiata
Calamostachys sp. Schimper 1869
"Mesocalamites sp." = Calamites (Mesocalamites) Hirmer 1927
"Mesocalamites cistii" = Calamites (Mesocalamites)
"Mesocalamites suckowii" = Calamites (Mesocalamites)
Calamites radiatus Brongniart 1828
Trigonocarpus
  -
Trigonocarpus sp.
Trigonocarpus sp. Brongniart 1828
Neuropteridae
  - Neuropteridae
"Neuropteris pocahontas" = Neuralethopteris pocahontas
"Neuropteris pocahontas" = Neuralethopteris pocahontas White 1900
Neuropteris heterophylla
  -
"Neuropteris heterophylla" = Imparipteris heterophylla
"Neuropteris heterophylla" = Imparipteris heterophylla Brongniart 1825
 Lepidodendrales - Lepidodendraceae
"Lepidodendron dichotomum" = Lychnophorites dichotomus, Lepidodendron obovatum, Lepidodendron aculeatum, Lepidostrobophyllum spp.
"Lepidodendron dichotomum" = Lychnophorites dichotomus Sternberg 1820
Lepidodendron obovatum Sternberg 1820
Lepidodendron aculeatum Sternberg 1820
Aulacotheca
  -
Aulacotheca campbellii
Stigmaria
  -
Stigmaria stellata
Stigmaria ficoides
  -
Stigmaria ficoides
Stigmaria ficoides Sternberg 1822
Cyperites
  -
Cyperites bicarinatus
 Radiatopses - Medullosaceae
Mariopteris pottsvillea, Mariopteris muricata
Archaeopteridopsida
  -
Archaeopteridium tschermackei
Pinopsida
 Cordaitanthales -
Cordaites sp.
Cordaites sp. Unger 1850
Neuropteris gigantea
  -
"Neuropteris gigantea" = Paripteris gigantea
"Neuropteris gigantea" = Paripteris gigantea Sternberg 1825
Holcospermum
  -
Holcospermum maizerentense
Sphenopteridae
  - Sphenopteridae
Lyginopteris fragilis, Lyginopteris bermudensiformis, Lyginopteris hoeninghausii