Moab Potash Flora (Carboniferous of the United States)

Where: Utah (38.6° N, 109.6° W: paleocoordinates 3.5° N, 37.1° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: unit 3 Member (Honaker Trail Formation), Late/Upper Pennsylvanian (306.9 - 298.9 Ma)

• Section is shown (Figure 2.) modifed from Terrell 1972.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: mire or swamp; micaceous, brown, gray, green sandstone and coal

• See above.
• The repetitive, almost cyclic, transitional marine to nonmarine carbonate and clastic strata of these formations record details of the filling of the Paradox Basin with clastic sediments from the adjacent Uncompahgre Highland and the subsequent retreat of the sea (Terrell 1972). The fossil plant locality occurs in the nonmarine clastic part of the cycle. It is located in the light gray-green to brown micaceous sandstones of Terrell's (1972) unit 3 (fig. 2). One collecting site in the unit consists of a carbonaceous (coaly) layer that represents the remains of a small swamp or pond. Some of the plants in this locality appear to be in growth postion and, as suggested by the thin coal seam, were probably growing in or near swamps on deltaic systems along the southwest flank of the Uncompaghre Highland. Many petrified logs, which were probably derived from a nearby upland area, are found near this compression flora. Fossil plants also occur less abundantly in the lower part of this unit. They are assocciated with zones of rip-up clasts of sandstone (Terrell 1972). Because the plants occur in a coarse siltstone, their preservation is poor. No palynomorphs were found.

Preservation: adpression, permineralized

Collection methods: surface (in situ),

Primary reference: W. D. Tidwell. 1988. A new Upper Pennsylvanian or Lower Permian flora from southeastern Utah. Brigham Young University Geological Studies 35:33-56 [H. Sims/S. Ostrowski/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 11169: authorized by Hallie Sims, entered by Summer Ostrowski on 23.07.2001, edited by Alistair McGowan

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Cyperites
  -
Cordaitopsida
  - Cordaitaceae
Artisia sp. Sternberg 1838
Pinopsida
 Cordaitanthales -
Peltaspermopsida
 Peltaspermales - Peltaspermaceae
Equisetopsida
 Sphenophyllales -
Pteropsida
 Filicinae -
Polypodiopsida
 Equisetales - Equisetidae
Stigmariopsis
  -
Sigillariaceae
  - Sigillariaceae
Polychaeta
 Sabellida - Serpulidae
Spirorbis sp. Daudin 1800