ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess

Abstract Number: 5471
Poster No. = 950


A FOSSIL FLORA FROM THE UPPER JURASSIC MORRISON FORMATION NEAR COMO BLUFF, WYOMING, USA


A.L. Hansen, B. Genho, W.D. Tidwell, and M. Connelly. Department of Botany and Range Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602 and Tate Geological Museum, Casper College, Casper, WY 82601


A fossil flora consisting of species of Equisetum, Brachyphyllum, and a fern has been collected associated with fossil footprints from the basal limestone of the Lake Como Member of the Morrison Formation at the Como Bluff locality in east-central Wyoming. This locality is near the area where numerous dinosaur remains, petrified wood (Knowlton, 1900), and many cycadeoid specimens (Ward, 1900a, 1900b, Delevoryas, 1960) have been reported, but no conifer leaf or fern compression, or structurally preserved Equisetum axes have been previously collected. Since these types of fossils have not been reported from basal Morrison Formation and from this part of Wyoming before, and the number of reported fern and conifer species from this formation is still low, the analysis and description of this material is very significant.

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