MIDDLE DEVONIAN PLANT SPECIMENS FROM THE PLATTEKILL FM., SHOKAN, NY

The Devonian Period (417-365 Mya) was an exuberant moment in the evolution of life outside of the water, particularly for the expanding world of plant life. At the beginning of the Devonian, life on land consisted primarily of algae, non-vascular plants, and a very limited number of simple vascular plants restricted to wet areas close to streams and ponds. By the end of the period we have the development of complex terrestrial ecosystems with upland forests, and tall (>10m) trees of various types. The rocks that comprise the Catskill Mountains of New York State contain an incomparable record of time through this multifaceted interval of Earth history and contain many ‘firsts’ in the plant fossil record, including the oldest known liverworts, and the many elements of the Gilboa Forest deposit (Middle Devonian) of southern Schoharie County that preserves portions hundreds of large trees in growth position. The Geology Department at SUNY New Paltz was donated a sizable collection of fossil plant specimens that were collected from the area around West Shokan, NY. The rocks from which these samples were collected are slightly, yet importantly, older than those from which the bulk of the known large plant fossils (i.e. the Gilboa deposit) had previously been described from NYS. Examination of specimens in research conducted in 2016 revealed numerous examples of external molds and abundant carbonized primary and secondary branch and trunk sections. Noted among many specimens was the presence of Eospermatopteris, a cladoxylopsid, and the first tree in evolutionary history. Eospermatopteris is a very common tree species in the aforementioned Gilboa Forest of New York State, which was assumed slightly later in geological time than other specimens in the collection. Also identified by external examination were specimens of tree-form lycopsids. Continued research on specimens attempts internal observations and includes pyrite mineralizations (Stein et al. 1981), acetate peels, and thin sections and wafering. By conducting these procedures we hope to discover new anatomical observations, possible signs of herbivory, and other biological details of these geologically significant plant specimens.