Ferns From the Chinle 

Formation (Upper Triassic) 

in the Fort Wingate Area, 

New Mexico

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D
Ferns From the Chinle 

Formation (Upper Triassic) 

in the Fort Wingate Area, 

New Mexico

By SIDNEY R. ASH

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D

Revision of Jive Late Triassic ferns and a review 

of previous paleobotanical investigations in the 

Triassic formations of the Southwest

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1969
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

William T. Pecora, Director

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price ?1.00 (paper cover)
CONTENTS

Abstract.__________________________________________

Introduction. ______________________________________

Acknowledgments. _____________________________

Previous investigations ______________________________

U.S. Army exploring expeditions..________________

Washington expedition._____________________

Sitgreaves expedition._______________________

Whipple expedition _________________________

Ives expedition.____________________________

Macomb expedition _________________________

Investigations between 1876 and 1917__-_-___-____

Hegewald expedition._______________________

George F. Kunz____________________________

Frank Knowlton and William Fontaine______

Lester F. Ward___________________________

Paul Platen and E. C. Jeffrey______________

Investigations since 1917________________________

H. E. Gregory and others__________________

E. W. Berry___________________________

Lyman H. Daugherty_______________________

M. V. Walker______________________________

R. W. Brown______________________________

C. A. Arnold_______________________________

R. A. Scott and others_ _____________________

Present investigation._______________________________

Summary of the pre-Cenozoic stratigraphy in the Fort 

Wingate area, New Mexico____________________

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Summary of pre-Cenozoic stratigraphy Continued !*w

Permian System_______-____----__-_-_-----____- D17

Glorieta Sandstone___________-_----____-__ 17

San Andres Limestone.____________________ 17

Unconformity between the Permian and Triassic

rocks._______-_-______-__--_--_-----_--_-_-__ 19

Triassic System_______________________________ 19

Moenkopi(?) Formation.____________________ 19

Pre-Chinle unconformity,.___________________ 20

Chinle Formation.__________________________ 20

Shinarump Member_____________________ 20

Lower red member._____ _____________ 20

Petrified Forest Member_______________ 23

Chinle flora.______________________________ 24

Stratigraphic distribution._______________________ 24

USGS paleobotany localities.____________________ 25

Composition. ________________--_-----__--_-_-__ 25

Correlation and age_____________________________ 25

Systematic descriptions.____-____-_-_-_-_____--_-_-_- 27

Pteridophyta_________-_---_----_-----------_-__ 27

Filicales_________________ ______ 27

Family Osmundaceae.______---_--____-_- 27

Family Cynepteridaceae Ash, n. fam______ 31

Family Gleicheniaceae..______-__-____-_- 38

Family Dipteridaceae_____-__--_-______- 41

Unclassified ferns.______________________ 43

Index list of fossil ferns______________________________ 46

Selected references.____-________-_-_-_-----_-__-_-_- 47

Index_____ ________--_-___-___----_-_-_-_---_-_--- 51

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Plates follow index]

PLATE 1. Todites fragilis Daugherty

2. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp.

3. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp.

4. Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, n. gen., and Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty.

5. Cladophlebis daughertyi Ash, n. sp.

FIGURE 1. Index map of part of the Southwestern United States and adjacent areas in Mexico.---------

2. Index map of northeastern Arizona.__________________________--_-------_-------------.

3. Photograph of small pueblo constructed of petrified wood______________---__------_------.

4. Sketch of a scene in Lithodendron Creek, Ariz_________________--__------_--------------

5. Photograph showing the southeast wall of Arroyo del Cobre, N. Mex________________---_.

6. Photograph showing northward view at Fort Wingate, N. Mex________-__-__-----_-------.

7. Photograph showing the east wall of Arroyo del Cobre, N. Mex______________---__-------.

8. Chart showing nomenclature and age assignments of the Chinle Formation..________________

9. Composite stratigraphic sections of the lower part of the Chinle Formation.________________

10. Photograph showing upper part of the Shinarump Member, Chinle Formation.______________

11. Photograph showing a large channel-type deposit in the lower red member, Chinle Formation.

12. Photograph showing badland topography, lower red member, Chinle Formation.____________

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IV CONTENTS

FIGURES 13-19. Drawings: Page

13. Todites fragilis Daugherty_______________________________________________________________ D28

14. Todites fragilis Daugherty, fertile leaf_____________________________________________________ 29

15. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp__-_--_-___-__-_--.__---------_-_-___--__--___--__-_ 32

16. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp_____,__-__-__--_-_---_-_---______________________- 34

17. Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, n. gen, n. comb-__--_-_--___-__-___-___-____-_____-____ 38

18. Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty__________________________________________________________ 40

19. Cladophlebis daughertyi Ash, n. sp____-_____-_--__--_----__------_--_--_-_--__-________-_- 44

TABLE

Page

TABLE 1. Comparison of the fern leaves in the lower red member of the Chinle Formation in the Fort Wingate area, 

New Mexico, with those in the lower part of the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation in 

Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz-__-_______________________--__---_--_----__-----__---__--- D23
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

FERNS FROM THE CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC) 

IN THE FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO

By SIDNEY K. ASH

ABSTRACT

Fossil plant remains apparently were first reported from the 

Upper Triassic rocks in the Southwest in 1850 by Lt. James H. 

Simpson, who had discovered petrified wood in them in eastern 

Arizona on September 5, 1849. Subsequently, similar petrified 

wood was found in the same stratigraphic unit at many places 

in the Southwest, particularly in northeastern Arizona. The 

unit containing the wood was named the Chinle Formation by 

Gregory in 1917 and was reported to contain Late Triassic 

vertebrates.

Although fossil wood is abundant in the Chinle, leaf remains 

are comparatively rare. A small, poorly preserved collection of 

leaves was described by John S. Newberry in 1876 from the 

lower part of what is now considered to be the Chinle Formation 

in Arroyo del Cobre, northern New Mexico. Only a few other 

leaves had been described before Lyman Daugherty published 

his report (1941) on some collections obtained mostly from the 

lower part of the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation in Petrified Forest National Park. His collections were 

larger and better preserved than any studied previously, and 

his comprehensive report is the principal reference on the 

Chinle flora.

Recently, some new collections were made from the lower 

part of the Chinle in the lower red member near Fort Wingate, 

N. Mex. and from some of Daugherty's old localities in the 

Petrified Forest. Detailed redescriptions, based on some of this 

new material and on the types described by Daugherty, are 

given of the fertile and sterile leaves of Todites fragilis Daugherty, Cynepteris lasiopJwra Ash, n. gen. and sp., Winffatea 

plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, and Clatliropteris walkeri Daugherty. The sterile leaf of Cladophlebis dauyliertyi Ash, n. sp., is 

also redescribed in detail.

Reinvestigation shows that the known Chinle niegaflora consists of 40 species referrable to 37 genera. It includes species 

based on leaves, fructifications, and petrified stem material. One 

species has been referred to the Fungi, two to the Equisetales, 

two to the Lyeopodiales, 12 to the Filicales, and 18 to the Gymnosperniae. Five new species of uncertain classification are also 

known. It had been thought that the Chinle flora correlated closely with the large flora from the Upper Triassic Newark Group 

of the Eastern United States and less closely with the rather 

poorly known Late Triassic niegaflora of Sonora, Mexico. These 

conclusions seem to be erroneous, as they were based mostly

on misidentifications, as detailed study of the specimens in 

question has shown. The only unit that unquestionably centring 

some of the same species is the Dockum Group in west Texas.

INTRODUCTION

The Chinle Formation of Late Triassic age, which is 

widely exposed in parts of the Southwestern United 

States, contains fossil leaves and fertile structures at 

several localities. Some of these fossils have been described previously, but recent work has shown that much 

remains to be learned about the flora. Not only have 

some undescribed species been found, but well-preserved 

specimens of certain previously described forms have 

been collected, making it possible through the application of specialized techniques to enlarge our knowledge 

of them greatly.

During the last few years some large collection? of 

leaf fossils have been made from the Chinle Formation 

near Fort Wingate in the Zuni Mountains of western 

New Mexico (figs. 1,2). Before this, the most significant 

collection had been made in Petrified Forest National 

Park in eastern Arizona (fig. 2) during the 1930's. That 

flora was studied by Lyman Daugherty, and his report 

(1941) is the most significant publication about the 

Chinle flora.

This is the second in a series of reports which describe 

in detail members of the Chinle flora. A new female 

bennettitalean fructification was described in the first 

report (Ash, 1968). The present study is divided into 

two parts. The first part is a historical account of the 

paleobotanical investigations in the Triassic formations 

of the Southwest. The second part contains stratigraphic 

data on the new localities at Fort Wingate, a discussion 

of the Chinle flora and its correlations, and detailed 

redescriptions of the leaves of five ferns based primarily 

on new material collected in the Fort Wingate area. 

These species previously were known only f~om 

Arizona.

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

11 I" 109°

37 C

Grand Canyon

Flagstaff 

Prescott

100

I

300 MILES

FIGURE 1. Part of the Southwestern United States and adjacent areas in Mexico.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D3

109'

OLORADO 

NEW MEXICO

FIGUEE 2. Northeastern Arizona and adjacent areas.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

My appreciation is extended to Charles B. Head of 

the U.S. Geological Survey, Albuquerque, N. Mex., who 

originally pointed out the possibilities of an investigation of the Chinle flora. He also directed me to several 

areas where well-preserved fossil leaf remains were 

present and wT as helpful in various w^ays during the early 

stages of the project. His continuing interest and encouragement are acknowledged with pleasure.

I am also grateful to Prof. Thomas M. Harris, FRS, 

Department of Botany, The University, Heading, England, for his advice and friendly counsel during the 

preparation of this report. The constructive criticism 

of K. H. Alvin, Botany Department, Imperial College 

of Science and Technology, London, Peter D. W. Barnard, Department of Botany, The University, Reading, 

England, and Donald Eggert, Department of Botany, 

University of IowTa, are appreciated. I am indebted to 

the authorities of The University, Heading, England, 

and of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebr., for 

furnishing me with laboratory facilities in wirich I 

could w^ork on my material. The specimens described 

by Lyman Daugherty that w^ere examined in connection with this report w^ere borrowed from the University 

of California Museum of Paleontology through the

courtesy of Dr. Wayne L. Fry. A research grant from 

the Geological Society of America helped finance some 

of the field w^ork.

PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS

Triassic petrified wood was used by American Indians in what is now the Southwestern United States. 

The Indians made arrowheads and other implements 

out of the petrified w^ood, and some used large blocks as 

building stones in their houses in the Petrified Forest 

National Park in northeastern Arizona (fig. 3). The 

Piutes of Utah, who believed the petrified logs to be the 

shafts of their thunder god, Shinauav (Powell, 1876, 

p. 69), may have recognized that the material they 

w^ere using resembled wx>od. Apparently, the Navajo 

did not, for they have a tradition that the petrified 

logs in the area are the bones of Yietso, the Great Giant 

or Monster, wiiom their forefathers killed when they 

occupied the country (Swaine and Hegewald, 1882, 

p. 1-2). They call the logs "yietsobitsin" (bones of 

Yietso), according to Eeagan (1925, p. 239).

Although the Spanish lived in parts of the Southwest for several hundred years before it was acquired 

by the United States, there is no record that they particularly noticed Triassic petrified wood.

FIGURE 3.- Small pueblo made of sections of petrified logs in Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. The pueblo, now called "Agate 

House," was built and occupied by American Indians about 600 years ago. Recently, it was partially restored.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D5

U.S. AKMY EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS

The occurrence of Triassic plant remains in the 

Southwestern United States was announced first by 

members of some of the U.S. Army expeditions sent out 

by the American Government to explore that region 

after it was acquired from Mexico. One or more scientifically trained men often accompanied the expeditions, 

and collections generally were made of fossils, minerals, 

rocks, plants, animals, and Indian artifacts discovered 

en route. Nearly all the early scientific work accomplished in the Southwest was done in conjunction with 

these expeditions. The resulting reports not only make 

fascinating reading but also contain significant contributions to the geology, zoology, botany, archeology, 

and geography of the areas explored. Undoubtedly, 

they also contributed to the successful occupation and 

early development of the Southwest. The work of many 

of these expeditions has been discussed in detail by 

Goetzmann (1957,1966).

WASHINGTON EXPEDITION

Fossil plant remains apparently were first reported 

from the Upper Triassic rocks in the Southwest by Lt. 

James H. Simpson in 1850. He had discovered a petrified log on September 5, 1849, while accompanying the 

Army expedition led by Lt. Col. John M. Washington 

from Santa Fe, 1ST. Mex., into east-central Arizona. The 

log that Simpson found protruded from a bed of conglomerate exposed in the walls of one of the deep canyons east of the present settlement of Chinle, Ariz. 

Probably the fossil was in the Shinarump Member of 

';he Chinle, as this unit is the only thick bed of conglomerate known to be exposed in that area and to 

contain petrified wood.

SITGREAVES EXPEDITION

The second description of the occurrence of fossil 

plants in the Triassic rocks of the Southwest was given 

in the report of the U.S. Army expedition that explored parts of New Mexico and Arizona in 1851 under 

the command of Capt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves. Members 

of the expedition observed petrified wood a few miles 

south of the area now called the Petrified Forest National Park of Arizona on September 28, 1851. Sitgreaves (1854, p. 7) described the scene as follows: 

"The ground was strewed with pebbles of agate, jasper, and chalcedony, and masses of what appeared to 

have been stumps of trees petrified into jasper, beautifully striped with bright shades of red (the predominating color), blue, white and yellow."

Dr. S. W. Woodhouse, M.D., the physician and 

naturalist on the Sitgreaves expedition, was the first 

scientifically trained person to see Triassic plant fossils 

in the Southwest and to publish a description of the 

occurrence. He said (Woodhouse, 1854, p. 36) that, 

"After leaving Camp No. 5 some distance, we passed the 

remains of a large petrified tree, the wood of which 

was agatized. It was broken in pieces, as if by a fall, and 

its root was uphill. It must have been upwards of three 

feet in diameter."

WHIPPLE EXPEDITION

During 1853 and 1854 the U.S. Army expedition 

commanded by Lt. Amiel W. Whipple explored a proposed railway route along the 35th parallel of north 

latitude through the Southwestern United States. On 

December 2,1853, members of the expedition discovered 

large quantities of petrified wood in the same general 

area in northeastern Arizona where the Sitgreaves 

expedition had found it. Lieutenant Whipple (1855, 

p. 74) described the occurrence in the following words:

Quite a forest of petrified trees was discovered to-day, prostrate 

and partly buried in deposits of red marl. They are converted 

into beautiful specimens of variegated jasper. One trunk was 

measured ten feet in diameter, and more than one hundred feet 

in length. Some of tlie stumps appear as if they had been 

charred by fire before being converted to stone. The main portions of the trees have a dark brown color; the smaller branches 

are of a reddish hue. Fragments are strewn over the surface 

for miles.

A dry wash draining that particular area was named, 

rather appropriately, Lithodendron Creek,1 by Lt. 

Whipple. The sketch of a scene in Lithodendron Creek 

in his report is reproduced here (fig. 4) because it is 

the first published illustration of Triassic plant fossils 

from what is now the Southwestern United States.

Jules Marcou, a French-Swiss geologist, was the expedition's geologist and mining engineer. He described 

the occurrence of petrified wood in Lithodendron Wash 

in a resume (Marcou, 1855a, p. 43; 1855b, p. 871; 1858, 

p. 13). As he was the first professional geologist to 

observe this unusual sight, it is pertinent to repeat his 

description here:

On the western declivity of the Sierra Madre [Zuni Mountains], between Zuni and the Rio Colorado Chiquito, there is 

really a petrified forest of trees thirty and forty feet long, 

divided into fragments from six to ten feet in length, with a 

diameter of three or four feet, some being still upright enclosed 

in the sandstone. These trees and remains of petrified wood 

belong nearly all to the family of the conifers, and some to that 

of the ferns with arborescent stems, and to the calamoctendron.

L Now generally called Lithodendron Wash.

339-930 O 6£
D6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

rctriiied trc-c near Litlioiluiuiron creek.

FIGURE 4. Sketch of a scene near Lithodendron Creek, or 

Lithodendron Wash, Ariz., in 1853. This is the first illustration of Triassic plant remains from what is now the Southwestern United States to be published. It was probably 

sketched by the Whipple Expedition's topographer and 

artist, Balduin Mollhausen. (From Whipple, 1855, p. 74.)

Elsewhere in the resume Marcou correlated the entire 

sequence of rocks between the Cretaceous and Carboniferous formations in the Southwestern United States, 

including the petrified wood-bearing unit, with the 

Trias of Europe. He said the rocks containing petrified 

wood in the Lithodendron Wash area were equivalent 

to the Keuper of Germany. These correlations apparently were based on similar lithology and stratigraphic 

position, as Marcou had not found any diagnostic fossils in the sequence.

Marcou returned to Europe because of poor health 

and was unable to prepare a final report for Lieutenant 

Whipple. His notes and collections were turned over to 

William P. Blake, the geologist in the office of the U.S. 

Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys, who used 

them to compile a lengthy report on the geology of the 

area explored by the Whipple expedition. Marcou's field 

notes were included in the report in the original French 

together with a translation by Blake (Marcou, 1856). 

In his own part of the report, Blake gave a more 

detailed discussion of the petrified wood than Marcou 

had done in his resume. He also studied several specimens of petrified wood in the collection from Lithodendron Wash in polished section and noted (Blake, 1856, 

p. 34) that "the rings of annual growth, the medullary 

rays, and the cells, are distinctly and beautifully preserved, and can be clearly seen by the naked eye." Some 

thin sections were made of the wood and given to Prof. 

George C. Schaffer, an American paleontologist, to 

study and describe. Unfortunately, however, Professor 

Schaffer never published his findings, and nothing is 

known of the whereabouts of the sections.

Blake believed that the age of the rocks containing 

petrified wood in Lithodendron Wash had not been 

established conclusively by Marcou. Furthermore, 

because of the lack of diagnostic fossils, he questioned 

Marcou's correlation of all the formations between the 

Cretaceous and Carboniferous rocks in the Southwest 

with the Triassic of Europe. He stated (Blake, 1856, 

p. 78), "They may be in part Cretaceous, as they most 

probably are in part Carboniferous, or may possibly 

contain representatives of all the Secondary group 

below the Cretaceous."

Balduin Mollhausen, the expedition's topographer 

and artist, described his experiences in a book (1858a, b). 

In it he gave a description and a sketch of the scene in 

Lithodendron Wash. The book also contained a report 

by H. R. Geoppert, the German paleobotanist, on several specimens of petrified wood obtained by Mollhausen 

from Lithodendron Wash. In a note at the back of the 

book, Goeppert (in Mollhausen 1858a, p. 492; 1858b, p. 

831) discussed the specimens in the following words:

* * * the six specimens forwarded to me by Mr. Mollhausen all 

belong to the coniferous species, and indeed to the Abietinae; 

and, like those of the coal formations, show no concentric circles 

in the wood, or at most only very faint and indistinct traces of 

them. A specimen which I examined with particular attention 

seemed to belong to the Araucaria type, and after having been 

considered with reference to the already described species, was 

named in honor of its discoverer Araucarites Motthausianus.

Although Goeppert was the first paleontologist to make 

a microscopic study of Triassic petrified wood from the 

Southwestern United States and to publish his findings, 

he neglected to describe the species, so A. moUhausianus 

is a nomen nudum.

IVES EXPEDITION

On May 7, 1858, members of a U.S. Army expedition, 

under the command of Lt. Joseph C. Ives, while exploring in Arizona, discovered a large deposit of petrified 

wood about 60 miles northwest of Lithodendron Wash 

and several miles south of the Hopi Indian villages.3 

The fossil wood was in the unit Marcou had correlated 

with the Keuper of Europe. Dr. J. S. Newberry, the 

expedition's physician, reported (1861, p. 79) that it 

apparently was coniferous.

Newberry (1861, p. 96-97) later observed petrified 

wood in the same stratigraphic unit elsewhere in Arizona and in western New Mexico. Those specimens 

examined by him appeared to be waterworn, and he

2 Fossil leaves were discovered a few days later, on May 10, 1858, in 

a 12-foot bed of lignite just below the Cretaceous sandstone that caps 

the mesas near the Hopi villages. Newberry indicated (1861, p. 83) that 

he thought they were possibly of Jurassic age. Knowlton (1919, p. 699) 

classified this collection as Triassic? in his "Catalogue of the Mesozoic 

and Cenozoic plants of North America." However, the plant-bearing bed 

was included in the Dakota Sandstone of Late Cretaceous age by 

H. E. Gregory (1917, p. 51). Thus, Newberry's collection is beyond the 

scope of this report, and it is not further considered here.
D7

concluded, that "all had been transported^ but not far 

from their place of growth" (Newberry, 1861, p. 80). 

He also considered Marcou's correlation of the petrifiedwood-bearing unit with the Keuper to be questionable. 

Newberry did not hazard an age determination and 

simply indicated that the petrined-wood-bearing rocks 

lay between limestone of Carboniferous age and sandstone of Cretaceous age. He did suggest, however, (Newberry, 1861, p. 75) that the lower part of the rocks in 

this interval could be of Permian just as well as of 

Triassic age.

MACOMB EXPEDITION

Fossil leaves of Triassic age were first discovered in 

the Southwestern United States in 1859. This significant 

discovery was made by Dr. J. S. Newberry while he was 

serving as a geologist with the U.S. Army expedition 

commanded by Capt. J. N. Macomb which was exploring 

northwestern New Mexico and adjacent areas in the 

Southwest. Unfortunately the publication of Newberry's report on the geology of the area explored by the 

Macomb expedition and his description of the fossil 

leaves was delayed by the American Civil War and was 

not printed until 1876.

The leaves were found associated with a sandstone 

copper deposit which had been mined in the small canyon called Arroyo del Cobre, a few miles northwest of

Abiquiu, N. Mex. (fig. 1). Newberry described the 

abandoned copper mine to be high on the south wall of 

Arroyo del Cobre in the lower part of a bed of coarsegrained yellow sandstone about 150 feet thick. He said 

that the mine workings were extensive and consisted of 

galleries, some of which were timbered and others 

walled off with neatly laid masonry. The ore occurred 

as isolated concretions and masses in the sandstone and 

also replaced or was concentrated around twigs, wood, 

and carbonaceous trash in the unit. Recognizable fossil 

leaves were found only in the roof shale, and, according 

to Newberry (1876, p. 69), it contained "thousands of 

impressions of plants * * * [and] abundant specimens 

were procured." However, he described only two species, 

Otozamites macombii n. sp. and Zandtes occidentalis 

n. sp., and illustrated two others, Brachyphyllum, sp. 

and Pachyphylluml sp., from this locality. Newberry 

concluded that the flora was of Triassic age because O. 

macombii occurred also at a locality near Tonichi, 

Sonora, Mexico (fig. 1), in association with several 

other species of plant fossils that were found in rocks of 

Triassic age in North Carolina, Virgina, and Europe. 

The only mines in Arroyo del Cobre that fit his description are those called Minas de Pedro on the recent U.S. 

Geological Survey topographic map of the area. (See 

fig. 5.)

FIGURE 5. Southeast wall of Arroyo del Cobre, N. Mex. Minas de Pedro copper mines are near the top of the picture in the ledge 

of light-colored sandstone which is about 400 feet above the floor of the canyon. Numerous fossilized leaves occur in the 

roof-shales of these mines, and John S. Newberry probably collected fossils from them in 1859.
D8 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

In the Macomb report, Newberry (1876) also included descriptions and illustrations of several leaves obtained from Triassic rocks near Toiiichi, Sonora, Mexico. Two species from the Chinle have been compared 

with specimens described by Newberry from the Mexican locality. The comparisons are in error, but when 

both floras are better known, common species may be 

recognized. This large and potentially important flora 

has not been adequately or completely studied. Recently 

Silva Pineda (1961) described a few species from the 

Tonichi area, and a complete bibliography of the flora 

is included in her report.

INVESTIGATIONS BETWEEN 1876 AND 1917 

HEGEWALD EXPEDITION

In 1878, the General of the Army, Gen. William T. 

Sherman, instructed Lt. Col. P. T. Swaine, the Commanding Officer of Fort Wingate, N". Mex., to procure 

two moderate-sized petrified logs from that region for 

display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, 

D.C. Accordingly, 2d Lt. J. F. C. Hegewald,3 who was

stationed at Fort Wingate, was detailed to carry out 

General Sherman's request, and during May 1879 a 

small detachment of men under his command journeyed to Lithodendron Wash. There, two long segments 

of the same large dark-colored log were collected and 

then transported to Fort Wingate. A light-colored log, 

obtained about 2 miles north of the fort (fig. 6), was 

substituted for one of the dark-colored specimens, 

according to Swaine and Hegewald (1882, p. 3), and 

only this log and one of the two long segments obtained 

in Lithodendron Wash were shipped to Washington 

in September 1879 (Ward, 1889, p. 917). Nevertheless, 

Knowlton (1889, p. 2) reported that there was one 

long light-colored log and two shorter dark-colored logs 

in the collections of the Smithsonian. According to Dr. 

Francis M. Hueber, Curator of Paleobotany, Smithsonian Institution (written commun., 1966), one long 

specimen of light-colored wood from Fort Wingate is 

in storage at the museum, and two shorter dark-colored

3 The first published report (Swaine and Hegewald, 1882) concerning 

this incident indicated that Lieutenant Hegewald's initials were J. T. C., 

and all subsequent publications have continued the practice. Hegewald's 

initials actually were J. F. C. (U.S. Military Academy, 1920).

FIGURE 6. Northward view at Fort Wingate, western New Mexico. Old Fort Wingate is in right foreground. One of the large 

petrified logs now in the Smithsonian Institution was collected in 1879 from the low mesa shown near the right of the 

picture. Petrified wood is still abundant on the mesa top. The mesa is underlain by the Sonsela Sandstone Bed, which 

divides the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation into two parts in this area.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D9

logs from "Lithodeiidroii Valley" are 011 exhibit in 

the National Museum's Hall of Fossil Plants and Animals. Apparently the single segment from Lithodendron Wash was broken after it was shipped from Fort 

Wingate.

GEORGE F. KTJNZ

George F. Kunz apparently was the first person to report the occurrence of large deposits of highly colored 

petrified wood about 20 miles south of Lithodendron 

Wash in northeastern Arizona. The area containing 

these deposits has often been called Chalcedony Park 

and was first described in a paper that Kunz presented 

to the New York Academy of Sciences on October 5, 

1885. Kunz illustrated his presentation with specimens 

and thin sections of wood from the new locality. The 

paper was subsequently published (Kunz, 1885, 1886).

Kunz noted that none of the silicified wood found 

elsewhere in the world is as beautifully colored as that 

in Chalcedony Park. He described (Kunz, 1885, p. 11) 

the wood as follows:

Here we have every imaginable shade of red, yellow, brown, 

and green. Sometimes the colors appear in distinct spots, forming 

a mottled appearance, then again all blend so imperceptibly as 

to make a much more pleasing and harmonious effect than 

the decided banding of the agate, where the lines of demarcation between the colors are so distinct as to become obstrusive. 

The colors above mentioned are often relieved by white, black 

and gray and by transparent spaces of brilliant quartz crystals, 

or as sometimes occurs of amethyst.

Broken sections of the hollow trunks are often lined with 

amethyst, quartz, and calcite, which add to their brilliancy to 

the endless variety of color.

Kunz stated that the red color in the wood was caused 

by hematite, the yellows and brown by limonite, and the 

black by manganese. He also stated that a contributing 

factor to the unusual appearance of the wood was fungi 

which had attacked the trees before they were fossilized. 

Kunz reported that Chalcedony Park covered 1,000 

acres and contained about 1 million tons of silicified 

wood. According to him, all the trees were prostrate and 

indiscriminately scattered throughout the area. Some 

projected from the hillsides, whereas others were completely exposed as a result of erosion of the overlying 

rocks. The trees were broken in fragments and sections 

of various sizes. He mentioned that one tree was more 

than 200 feet long and 8 feet in diameter. Another was 

described as being more than 100 feet long and 3-4 feet 

in diameter; both ends of the log were still imbedded 

in rock, so its entire length was unknown. This particular log was especially unusual, for it bridged a 

canyon about 55 feet wide. He referred to the log as

"Agate" or "Natural Bridge," and illustrated it with 

a woodcut in his 1886 article. Agate Bridge is still in 

place, although it has been reinforced to prevent it from 

falling apart.

According to Kunz, volcanic action overthrew the 

trees in what is now eastern Arizona, and they were 

covered with volcanic ashes and tufa. Then hot water associated with the volcanic action and, charged with silica 

and other minerals, percolated through the deposit. 

The water infiltrated the trees, and the minerals in solution in the water slowly replaced the organic material 

in the wood. Apparently, some of the wood was partially decayed before it was mineralized, for Kunz reported finding traces of fungal mycelium in some 

specimens and that other specimens had the general 

features of wood that had rotted before fossilization. 

He thought that frost action was responsible for the 

fracturing of the petrified wood.

Kunz noted that Dr. P. H. Dudley of New York City 

had examined specimens of the wood with a microscope 

and reported that some belonged to the genus Araucaria. Others resembled the extant conifer Juniperus 

virginianus.

The commercial aspects of the deposit of petrified 

wood were also discussed by Kunz. He thought that 

there would be great demand for the petrified wood 

for use in inlay work, interior paneling, floor tiles, table 

tops, mosaics, jewelry, and other types of decoration 

because of its unusual color and hardness. He estimated, 

however, that only about 1,000 tons of the petrified 

wood in Chalcedony Park was suitable for this type of 

work. Foreigners were quite interested in the wood, and 

Kunz told of a Russian who paid $500 for a section of 

a log 28 inches in diameter and 30 inches long. The 

section apparently was to be cut into table tops. He 

also reported that a large quantity of wood had been 

shipped abroad for cutting.

Kunz (1890, p. 135-142) later described some of the 

occurrences of petrified wood in Arizona and elsewhere 

in the West. He discussed the deposit of petrified wood 

in Chalcedony Park in some detail and included several 

pictures of the area. Obviously, he had rejected his 

earlier theory on the petrification of the wood in Chalcedony Park, for he stated (Kunz, 1890, p. 137) that 

"there is every evidence to show that the trees grew 

beside some inland sea. After falling they became waterlogged, and during decomposition the cell structure of 

the wood was entirely replaced by silica from sandstone in the walls surrounding this great inland sea." 

He concluded the article with a discussion of the commercial uses of the petrified wood in Chalcedony Park.
DIG CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

FRANK KNOWLTON AND WILLIAM FONTAINE

Frank Knowlton of the U.S. National Museum 

studied the specimens of petrified wood obtained in the 

Southwest at the request of General Sherman. Knowlton (1889, p. 1-2) described them as Araucarioxylon 

arizonicum n. sp. He acknowledged (p. 3), however, 

that the name might be a synonym of Amucarites mollhausianus Goeppert, the name proposed for one of the 

specimens Mollhausen had collected from Lithodendron 

Wash in 1854. Knowlton could not verify his suspicion 

because A. mollhausianus is a nomen nudum so he proposed the new name.4

Knowlton described Araucarioxylon cvrizonicy/m as 

having obscure growth rings that are typically narrow. 

The bordered pits on the radial cell walls are generally 

uniseriate. Bordered pits also occur on the tangential 

cell walls, which is unusual in the genus Araucarioxylon 

(Knowlton, 1889, p. 4). The medullary rays are uniseriate and are high.

In the fall of 1887, Maj. John W. Powell, Director 

of the U.S. Geological Survey, collected fossil plant re-

*In Knowlton's revision (1890, p. 617) of the genus Araucarioxylon 

Kraus, Araucarites mollhausianus was changed to Araucarioxylon 

molltiausianum.

mains from a copper mine in Arroyo del Cobre, N. Mex. 

In 1889 Professor Knowlton visited the same area and 

Obtained additional specimens. Most of those he collected came from the so-called old copper mines on the 

east side of Arroyo del Cobre. Knowlton (Fontaine and 

Knowlton, 1891) considered the mines to be those from 

which Newberry collected fossil material in 1859, but 

he admitted that they were possibly not the same. 

Knowlton's description of the old copper mines suggests 

to me that they are different and are those called Las 

Minas Jimmie on the U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of the area. (See fig. 7.)

Some fossils collected by Knowlton came from mines 

which he called the new copper mines, opened earlier 

in that year (1889) in the northwestern part of Arroyo 

del Cobre. According to Knowlton (Fontaine and 

Knowlton, 1891, p. 282), these mines were several 

hundred feet lower stratigraphically than the old copper mines. Paleontological studies (Vaughn, 1963) indicated that rocks of Early Permian age underlie the 

strata containing the old copper mines. This would suggest that the new copper mines are in rocks of Early 

Permian age. No copper mine is known to me in the 

northwestern part of the basin, so it was not possible

FIGUEE 7. East wall of Arroyo del Gobre, N. Mex. The adits of the Las Minas Jimmie copper mines are in the ledge of lightcolored sandstone near the center of the picture. They are about 100 feet above the floor of the canyon and are probably 

the old copper mines described by Prof. Frank Knowlton, from which he collected fossil leaves in 1889. He also collected 

fossilized wood from a bed of shale overlying the bed of sandstone.
FERNS, CJTINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO Dll

for me to find Knowlton's locality in that area and determine for myself its stratigraphic location. The fossils 

collected by Knowlton from the new copper mines are 

not diagnostic, and I believe that the so-called new copper mines are in rocks of Early Permian, not Late Triassic, age. Additional work in Arroyo del Cobre may solve 

this problem.

The collections made in Arroyo del Cobre by Powell 

and Knowlton were the subject of a report by Fontaine 

and Knowlton (1891) in which Fontaine described 

and illustrated the specimens obtained from the 

new copper mines. The specimens proved to be 

the pith casts of the two species, Equisetmn 

abiquiense and E. knowUoni. Fontaine also discussed 

briefly the leaf remains collected from the old copper 

mines and reported that they represented seven species, 

including Zamites powelli n. sp. This species was described in three short sentences and illustrated. Fontaine 

concluded (Fontaine and Knowlton, 1891, p. 283) that 

the fossils from these copper mines "indicate that the 

beds are not older than the Ehetic [sic].' 1 Several fragments of wood collected from a shale bed a few feet 

above the bed bearing the fossil leaves at the old copper 

mines were studied by Knowlton and were referred to 

Arcmcarioxylon arizonicum-. The specimens of wood obtained from the strata containing leaves were to poorly 

preserved to be identified, although Knowlton thought 

they were coniferous.

A short popular account of the Petrified Forest of 

Arizona by Knowlton (1913) included a generalized 

diagnosis of the megascopic characteristic of Araucarioxylon arizonicum and Woodworthla arizonica.

LESTER F. WARD

The petrified forests which had been reported by 

Sitgreaves, Woodhouse. Marcou, Kunz, and others in 

northern Arizona remained relatively unknown until 

the northern part of the territory was settled in the late 

187CTs. From that time on they were threatened increasingly by jewelers, casual souvenir hunters, professional 

and amateur gem collectors, and various commercial 

interests. On occasion entire logs were blasted apart for 

the amethyst crystals they sometimes contained. During 

the early I8901 s, a mill was installed in the town of 

Adamana to crush petrified logs from Chalcedony Park 

into abrasives. Alarmed at the prospect of the total destruction of that petrified forest, the legislature of the 

Territory of Arizona petitioned the United States Congress in 1895 to have the area set aside as a national park. 

As a result of the petition, paleobotanist Lester F. 

Ward of the U.S. Geological Survey was instructed to 

make an examination of the area (Ward, 1900b, p. 3;

1901a, p. 292) and to report on "the advisability of 

setting that locality apart as a national park." During 

the fall of 1899, Ward spent several weeks in northeastern Arizona working on his assignment and studying the geology of the Little Colorado River area. He 

submitted the requested report to the Director of the 

U.S. Geological Survey in 1900 and recommended that 

the area containing Chalcedony Park be withdrawn 

immediately from entry and established as a national 

park. Shortly thereafter, the area was withdrawn, and 

on December 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt 

established Petrified Forest National Monument.5 Tl us,, 

this unusual natural wonder was preserved for the 

enjoyment and study of succeeding generations of casual 

visitors and scientists.

The report containing Ward's (1901a) recommendation about Chalcedony Park also included a summary 

of the geology, paleontology, and history of the area. 

A more technical report on the geology and paleontology 

of the Petrified Forest-Little Colorado River region 

(Ward, 1900a) was also based upon his work in Arizona 

in 1899. During the spring of 1901, Ward returned to 

Arizona and continued his geological investigations in 

the same general area. His findings were published first 

in the American Journal of Science (Ward, 1901b) ; 

later he included a revision of the article in his monograph (Ward, 1905) on the Mesozoic flora of the United 

States.

Ward (1905) divided the rocks between the Carboniferous and Cretaceous strata into three formations 

the Moencopie Formation (at the base), the Shinarump 

Formation (in the middle), and the Painted Desert 

Formation (at the top), as shown in figure 8. The 

Moencopie Formation, named for Moencopie Wash, was 

said to be 600-700 feet thick and to rest imconformably 

on the Carboniferous rocks. Ward suggested (1905, p. 

19) that the lower part of the Moeiicopie probably was 

of Permian age, although he considered the upper to be 

of Triassic age. The Shinarump, as defined by Ward 

(1905, p. 44), was about 1,600 feet thick and included a 

persistent bed of conglomerate at the base contairing 

large quantities of petrified wood. This unit alone had 

been called the Shinarump Conglomerate by Powell 

(1876), but Ward extended the name to include all the 

fossil-wood-bearing Triassic rocks in the region and 

also raised it in rank. He indicated that the Shinarump 

Formation was of Triassic age and divided it into two 

members. The lowest was named the Lithodeiidron 

Member after Lithodendron Wash, where it was prom5 Subsequently, the monument was enlarged to include the petrified 

forests in Lithodendron Wash, and Petrified Forest National Monument 

was designated a national park on December 8, 1962.
D12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Ward (1905)

TRIASSIC

PERMIAN

Painted 

Desert 

Formation

Shinarump 

Formation

Leroux 

Member

0

Lithodendron 

Member

Moencopie 

Formation

Gregory (1917)

JURASSIC

TRIASSIC

PERMIAN(?)

Wingate Sandstone

Chinle 

Formation

Division 

A

Division 

B

Division 

C

Division 

D

Shinarump 

Conglomerate

DeChelly 

Sandstone

Moenkopi 

Sandstone

Reeside and others (1957)

UPPER 

TRIASSIC

LOWER 

AND 

MIDDLEC?) 

TRIASSIC

Wingate 

Sandstone

Chinle 

Formation

Owl Rock 

Member

Petrified 

Forest 

Member

Unnamed 

member

Shinarump 

Member

Moenkopi 

Formation

FIGURE 8. Nomenclature and age assignments of the Ohinle Formation and overlying and underlying rocks in parts of northeastern Arizona. The exact position of the boundary between members of Ward's Shinarump Formation is not known.

inently exposed. The member contained abundant petrified wood, especially in the Petrified Forest, and the socalled lower and upper forests of the Petrified Forest 

occur in this unit. Ward reported that the Lithodendron 

Member was 300-800 feet thick. The upper member of 

the Shinarump Formation was named after Leroux 

Wash which enters the Little Colorado about 25 miles 

west of Chalcedony Park. According to Ward, the 

Leroux Member, which was as much as 800 feet thick, 

contained abundant petrified wood and included the 

so-called middle forest of the Petrified Forest. He reported (Ward, 1905, p. 37) that the overlying Painted 

Desert Formation was as much as 1,200 feet thick and 

that it contained a small amount of petrified wood 

locally. The formation was also considered to be of 

Triassic age.

Ward searched for leaf remains while he was in 

Arizona, but the only specimens found were some poorly preserved imprints in the Shinarump Formation near 

Tanners Crossing. He thought that they represented 

coniferous twigs and branches and he illustrated

(Ward, 1905, pis. 1, 2) some as Araucarites sMnarumpensis n. sp. A petrified cone was collected by Ward 

from the Shinarump Formation in the Valley of the 

Little Colorado Eiver northwest of the Petrified Forest. 

The cone was described (Ward, 1900a) very briefly as 

Araucarites chiquito n. sp. but was not illustrated. In 

1901 Ward discovered some specimens of wood which 

seemed to be typical Araiwarioxylon arizomicum, except 

that they contained rows of elliptical blisterlike objects. 

Thinking that they were resin pockets, he (19C5, p. 35) 

named the specimens of wood Araucarites monttifer.6 

Until going on this trip, Ward had thought (1900a, p. 

331-332) that all the petrified wood in the Triassic 

formations was transported prior to burial. However, 

lie discovered more than 20 stumps in the Leroux Member which he was convinced stood precisely wl °!re they 

had grown (1905, p. 33-34).

6 Daugherty demonstrated (1941, p. 44) that these bodies were pecky 

heart rot caused by a wood-destroying fungus and that tl ey are imbedded in typical A. arizonicum wood. They were described as Polyporites 

wardii by Daugherty.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D13

PAUL PLATEN AND E. C. JEFFREY

A specimen of fossil wood from the southern part of 

what is now the Petrified Forest National Park 

was described by Paul Platen (1908, p. 108) as Araucarioxylon sp. The material was not illustrated, however, and Platen's contribution to the study of Triassic 

paleobotany of the Southwest is small.

Dr. Edward C. Jeffrey, a botanist at Harvard University described (1910) a new genus and species of 

fossil plants based on petrified wood from the Petrified 

Forest as Woodworthia arisonica. He demonstrated 

that this form had the same type of internal structure 

as members of the living Araucarineae, except that it 

lacked the persistent leaf traces found in the secondary 

wood. Another point of difference is the presence of 

persistent short-shoots in Woodworthia, which show as 

characteristic pits on the surface of the specimens,

INVESTIGATIONS SINCE 1917 

H. E. GREGORY AND OTHERS

Herbert E. Gregory's geologic report (1917) became 

the basis of modern stratigraphic work in the Triassic 

rocks of mucli of the Southwestern United States. Although his report concerned primarily northeastern 

Arizona and western New Mexico, many of the Triassic 

units he recognized were soon demonstrated to extend 

into northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada and Utah, 

and parts of northern New Mexico. Eocks that Ward 

had referred to the Shinarump Formation, Gregory 

named the Chinle Formation, and the term Shinarump 

was restricted to the basal conglomerate directly below the Chinle Formation; this was a return to the 

original definition of the Shinarump. (See fig. 8.) The 

name Chinle was taken from the Chinle Valley, where 

the formation is exposed. Gregory recognized four 

mappable units in the Chinle, designating them, from 

youngest to oldest, divisions A, B, C, and D. Division 

A is equivalent to the basal part of Ward's Painted 

Desert Formation; division B and the upper part of 

division C are equivalent to Ward's Leroux Member; 

and the lower part of division C and division D are 

equivalent to Ward's Lithodendron Member of the 

Shinarump Formation. Gregory reported the occurrence of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils of Triassic 

and Late Triassic age in the Chinle. He considered both 

the Shinarump and the Chinle Formations to be of Late 

Triassic age.

H. E. Gregory accepted the name Moenkopi (which 

had been proposed by Ward) for the unit directly 

underlying the Shinarump, although the spelling of 

the name had been changed by the U.S. Geographic

Board from the older form, Moencopie. The Moenkopi 

Formation, which Ward had held to be of Triassic and 

possibly of Permian age, was considered by Gregory 

(1917, p. 30-31) to be entirely of Permian(?) age, 

although he admitted that the paleontologic evidence 

on the age was conflicting. David White had identified 

some poorly preserved plant fossils from the Moenkopi 

as Walchia pmiformis and W. graettis. These species, 

according to White, are characteristic of rocks of 

Permian age. However, some of the invertebrates suggest a Permian age, although others were held to indicate an early Triassic age by Girty. McKee (1954) 

summarized the evidence on the age of the Moenkopi 

Formation. He showed that all the invertebrates and 

vertebrates now known from the formation indicate 

that the lower part of the Moenkopi is of Early Triassic 

age and that the upper part may be Middle Triassic 

age (McKee, 1954, p. 10-11). The problem of the "Permian" plant fossils in the Moenkopi has not been resolved, but it is generally accepted that the formation 

is not of Permian age.

The petrified wood in the Chinle Formation and in 

the Shinarump Conglomerate was discussed at length 

by H. E. Gregory (1917, p. 49-50). He pointed out that 

petrified wood is characteristic of both units; it is not 

limited to particular horizons in either unit but is 

usually present wherever they are exposed. The especially large concentrations of petrified wood in certain 

areas were termed "fossil forests" by Gregory. These 

included in addition to the fossil forest in Lithodendron Wash one in Beautiful Valley (south of Chinle), 

another at Round Rock (north of Chinle), one near 

Willow Springs, and another south of Ganado. The 

fossil forests in Chalcedony Park, south of Lithodendron Wash, which are in the Petrified Forest National 

Park were outside Gregory's report area and, thus, v^ere 

not included in his list.

Gregory was of the opinion that all the petrified wood 

in the Chinle and Shinarump had been carried some 

distance as driftwood by flooding streams before it was 

buried and fossilized. His evidence included the fact 

that most of the logs have worn surfaces on both ends 

and rarely have roots or limbs attached. In addition, 

many of the logs appear to be battered and are usually 

without bark. According to Gregory, the stumps reported to be in place by Ward (1905, p. 33-34) actually 

did not have roots extending downward and obviously 

did not grow where they are now found. He also noted 

that the sandstone beds containing petrified wood are 

crossbedded and lenticular, which suggests that they 

were deposited in a fluviatile environment.

339-930 O 89-
D14 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Since 1917, most of the divisions recognized by 

Gregory in the Chinle Formation have been given 

formal names and in some cases, subdivided. In much of 

east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico, 

division A is now included in the Wingate Sandstone, 

and division B is called the Owl Bock Member of the 

Chinle (fig. 8). Gregory himself named (1950) division 

C, which contains most of the fossilized wood in the 

Petrified Forest of Arizona, the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation. Division D remains unnamed or is called informally the lower red member of 

the Chinle in this area. The Shinarump is now considered to be the basal member of the Chinle Formation. 

As discussed elsewhere in the present report, the Chinle 

is generally thought to be of Late Triassic (Keuper) 

age, the age determination being based mostly upon 

vertebrate fossils.

The sandstone from which Newberry, Powell, and 

Knowlton collected fossil plants in Arroyo del Cobre, 

N. Mex., is the Agua Zarca Sandstone Member of the 

Chinle, according to C. B. Read (written commun., 

1967) and is considered to be the basal member of the 

Chinle in that area. In Arroyo del Cobre, Permian 

vertebrates have been collected from localities several 

hundred feet below the base of the Chinle (Vaughn, 

1963), and Late Triassic vertebrates have been collected 

from localities several hundred feet above it (Colbert, 

1960) in a shale unit correlated with the Petrified Forest 

Member of the Chinle. The bed containing fossil-plant 

remains is generally considered to be of Late Triassic 

(Keuper) age (Eeeside and others, 1957).

E. W. BERRY

In 1921, a small collection of fossil leaves was made 

from the Shinarump Conglomerate in southern Utah 

by E. C. Moore (Gregory and Moore, 1931, p. 53). Dr. 

Edward W. Berry (1927) of Johns Hopkins University 

examined the fossils and reported that one species in the 

collection was the same as Zamites powelli which had 

been described from the Poleo Sandstone in northern 

New Mexico by Fontaine. Berry concluded, however, 

that the specimens of this form actually should be referred to the genus Otozamites, rather than Zatnites. 

Because of this change and because the species had not 

been adequately described, Berry (1927, p. 305-307) 

gave a detailed diagnosis of the form, calling it Otozamites powelli (Fontaine) Berry. Some cycad fronds 

from the Shinarump Conglomerate in southeastern 

Utah were determined to be a new species by Berry 

(1930). He named them Pterophylbum bakeri n. sp.

LYMAN H. DATJGHERTY

The one person who has done the most to increase our 

knowledge of the flora of the Chinle Formation is Lyman H. Daugherty of San Jose State College, S'an Jose, 

Calif., who began his work in 1932. In that year he was 

given a specimen of fossil wood from the Petrified 

Forest which proved to represent a new genus and was 

subsequently described as Schilderia adanwnica by 

Daugherty (1934). This species is smaller ths.n Araucarioxylon arizonicivni and has a swollen fluted base. 

The most striking microscopic characteristic of the 

species is the large multiseriate rays of the herringbone 

type found in the recent genus Ephedra and in a few 

recent genera of dicotyledons. Two or three narrow 

imiseriate rays occur between the multiseriate rays in 

this curious species. It has been tentatively placed in 

the Gnetales by Daugherty (1941, p. 95).

Daugherty made several collecting trips to the Southwest during 1933-37. Specimens were collected from the 

Chinle at several localities in Arizona and Utah, from 

the Poleo Sandstone in northern New Mexico near the 

Arroyo del Cobre localities of Newberry, Pov^ell, and 

Knowlton, from the Dockum Group of eastern New 

Mexico and west Texas, and from the Shinarump Conglomerate in southern Nevada. At the same time that 

Daugherty was working in the Southwest, the park 

naturalist of the Petrified Forest, M. V. Walker, was 

collecting leaf fossils from some localities in the Petrified Forest. Walker's collections were turned over to 

Daugherty, who studied them as well as his own collections, and published a report in 1941. This report was 

the most comprehensive discussion of the Triassic floras 

of the Southwest that had been published up to that 

time. Furthermore, it has remained the only significant 

report on the subject, although a few brief studies on 

the Chinle plants have been published since 1941.

Daugherty discussed 41 species of fossil plants in his 

report. Although most of the work was new, Daugherty 

also repeated descriptions of most of the species previously described from the Chinle. Most of tli3 species 

were based upon leaf remains but two were based on 

seeds, two on cones, five on fossilized wood or pithcasts, 

and four on spores or pollen grains. The flora was found 

to be dominated by the ferns, which were represented by 

10 species, of which the largest family present was the 

Osmundaceae with six members. Both the cycads and 

the conifers were represented by six species ep-ch. Seventeen of the forms were new species; seven were new 

genera and new species; and only 11 forms were referred 

to previously described species. The remaining six
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D15

forms were too fragmentary or poorly known for specific identification.

All the spores and nearly all the leaves studied were 

obtained from the lower part of the Chinle Formation 

(division C) in the Petrified Forest. A few of the leaves 

were found also at three localities in the Chinle elsewhere in Arizona. Only one species, based on a leaf 

fossil, Otozamites poioetti, was found in both the Chinle 

Formation in Arizona and the Dockum Group (considered to be approximately equivalent to the Chinle 

Formation) in west Texas. One leaf fossil (Yuccites 

pol&oensis) was found only in the Poleo Sandstone in 

northern New Mexico near Arroyo del Cobre. Specimens 

of Araucariowylon arizomcum and Woodivorthia arizonica were obtained from several localities in the 

Chinle Formation in the Petrified Forest and from the 

Dockum Group at one locality in Texas. A. arizonicwn, 

was also reported from the Chinle Formation in southern Utah and at several localities in Arizona outside the 

Petrified Forest, from the Poleo Sandstone in northern New Mexico, and from the Shinanmip Conglomerate in southern Nevada.

Daugherty reported that six species occurred in the 

floras of both the Chinle Formation and the Newark 

Group of the Eastern United States. In addition, he said 

that both floras contained six closely related species. 

He noted that two species were found in both the Chinle 

Formation and the Keuper of Germany and that both 

formations contained 11 other closely related species. 

Seven species from the Chinle were found to resemble 

forms from the Rhaetian of Greenland. A comparison 

of the Chinle flora with the Rhaetian floras of Japan 

showed that the two floras had four species that were 

closely related. Daugherty concluded, therefore, that 

the Chinle flora in the lower part of the Chinle is of 

Keuper age, as it "closely resembled" the Newark and 

the Keuper floras.

Daugherty has continued to do some work on the 

Chinle flora. In 1960, he described Itopsidema vancleavei, a new genus tentatively referred to the Osmundaceae. It was based on several fragments of an arborescent stem collected in the Petrified Forest. National 

Monument. In 1963, he published a description of some 

tertiary and secondary fossil roots, which were found 

filling the hollow center of a log of Araucarioxylon arizonicum in the Petrified Forest. The name Araucariorhiza joae was proposed for the roots, which Daugherty 

(1963, p. 805) thought to be "those of a member of 

the Araucarineae and possibly represent roots of Araucarioxylmi arizomcuni. "

M. V. WALKER

M. V. Walker, the park naturalist at the Petrfied 

Forest who discovered some of the fossil leaf remains 

that Daugherty studied, investigated (Walker, 1938) 

the ridgelike, channellike, and tunnellike structures in 

many specimens of Araucarioxylon arizonicum. He 

attributed the structures to the action of several different species of insect larvae and suggested that the larvae probably girdled and killed many of the trees that 

were eventually petrified. Thus, the larvae may have 

been responsible for the concentration of logs at a certain level in the park, as at least 50 percent of these 

logs contain the structures he described.

K. W. BROWN

The late Roland W. Brown described two p^nit 

fossils from the Upper Triassic Dolores Formaticn in 

southwestern Colorado in 1956. One fossil he referred to 

BraeJiypfiyllum munsteri Schenk. The other is a p'vlmlike leaf, which he named Sanmiguelia lewisi. It has 

large elliptical, strongly pleated leaves attached by 

sheathing petioles to a rather stout stem. Unfortunately, all the specimens of this interesting and highly 

controversial fossil are impressions in a bed of very 

fine grained standstone. As no organic remains of 8. 

lewisi have been found, it is difficult to establish its relationships to other plants. Brown pointed out, however, that it does not resemble any other known plant, 

living or extinct, except the palms and a few species 

of the monocotyledons. If these specimens were f ound in 

rocks of Tertiary age, they would undoubtedly b3 accepted without hesitation as representing a palm, according to Brown. Therefore, he tentatively regarded 

S. leioisi as a primitive palm, although he stated 

(Brown, 1956, p. 209) that "This species, if not a primitive palm, is a palmlike monocotyledon * * *." If 

Brown's ideas are correct, then the specimens of $. 

lewisi are the oldest known megascopic remains of the 

angiosperms.

No new data bearing on the status of Sanndguelia 

has been published since Brown's original study, and 

the fossil has not been accepted unequivocally as an 

angiosperm by all authorities. In a review of the evidence of pre-Cretaceous angiosperms, Scott, Barghoorn, 

and Leopold (1960) admit that Sanndguelia if the 

best known example of a pre-Cretaceous angiosperm. 

They argued, however, that as its status is unsettled, 

Sanmiguelia could be a cycadophyte because the Mesozoic members of that group have a wide range of s^ruc-
D16 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

ture. Hughes (1961) suggests in his analysis of preCretaceous angiosperm evidence that Sanmiguelia 

could be an undescribed cycadophyte or ginkgophyte 

just as well as an angiosperm, especially as it does not 

show any conclusive angiosperm characters.

Bock (1962) reassigned Sanmiguelia to Paloreodoxites Knowlton, 1930, but other authors apparently have 

not agreed with this change, although the genera are 

at least superficially similar. In the same paper, Bock 

also stated that the petiole of the form was elliptical in 

cross section like a cycadophyte and had actually been 

collected from rocks of Jurassic, not Triassic, age. According to Arnold (1964, p. 5), however, the stem 

bearing an attached leaf of Sanmiguelia was misinterpreted by Bock for the petiole. He also demonstrated 

that Bock erred when he stated that S. lewisi was collected from rocks of Jurassic, not Triassic, age. Arnold 

regarded Sanmiguelia as an angiosperm because no 

one "has shown any real cycadophytic or ginkgophytic 

characters in it."

During 1958, Koland Brown published a short paper 

on the fossil quillworts. In it the plant fossils that 

Daugherty (1941, p. 82) had described from the Chinle 

as Lepacyclotes circularis Emmons and thought to 

be "the basal portion of the flower of a Wittiamsonia" 

were referred to Isoetites circularis (Emmons) Brown, 

n. comb.

C. A. ARNOLD

Dr. Chester A. Arnold of the University of Michigan transferred (1947, p. 196-197) the species that 

Daugherty had described as Laccopteris smithii to the 

genus Phlebopteris. A few years later Arnold (1956) 

reviewed the fossil ferns from North America referable to the Matoniaceae. In his report, a new species, 

Phlebopteris utensis, was described from the Chinle 

Formation in southern Utah and compared with P. 

smithii (Daugherty).

In 1964 Arnold described the occurrence of Cordaitestype leaf fossils with Sanmiguelia lewisi in the Dolores 

Formation of Colorado. He compared them with the 

leaf Daugherty had described from the Poleo Sandstone in northern New Mexico as Yuccites poleoensis. 

Arnold showed that Yuccites is preoccupied and that 

Pelourdea Seward is the appropriate name for these 

fossils. He therefore proposed the name Peloutrdea 

poleoensis (Daugherty) n. comb, for these straplike 

leaves from southwestern Colorado and northern New 

Mexico and gave an amended diagnosis for the species.

R. A. SCOTT AND OTHERS

Kichard A. Scott, of the U.S. Geological Survey, 

demonstrated (1960a) that the spore identified by

Daugherty as E quisetosporites .chinleana should be referred to the genus Ephedra. This form, now called 

Ephedra chinleana (Daugherty) K. A. Scott, has also 

been recognized at several localities in the Chinle Formation in southern Utah (Scott, 1960a, p. 276). Scott 

(1960b) has studied some of the petrified wood that is 

often associated with uranium deposits in rocks of 

Triassic age on the Colorado Plateau. All the specimens 

that he examined belonged to Araucarioxylon arizonicum Knowlton.

Personnel and students of the University of Arizona 

have begun detailed microenvironmental Studies in the 

Petrified Forest National Park. These studies consider 

the stratigraphy, paleozoology, and palynology of the 

Chinle Formation. In addition, electron-microscope 

studies were made of the petrified wood. Two preliminary reports describing their results have been issued 

(Koadifer and others, 1964; Bryant and Rotifer, 

1965), and the final report is awaited with irterest. 

More recently, some of the pollen and paleoeco^gical 

work was briefly described in an abstract by Gotfesfeld 

andKremp (1968).

Charles N. Miller, Jr., of the University of Montana 

reinvestigated (1968) Chinlea campii Daugherty and 

Osmundites walkeri Daugherty which were dercribed 

from the Chinle Formation in eastern Arizona. The two 

species were based on petrified stems and originally 

were referred to the fern family Osmundaceae by 

Daugherty (1941). Miller concluded that tte two 

species are conspecific and interpreted the stems to be 

the ephemeral aerial shoots of a lepidophyte. The 

binomial OMnlea campii Daugherty emended Miller, is 

now the valid name for these stems. Some undetermined 

stems described by Daugherty and similar stem^ from 

the Chinle are called Chinlea sp., as diagnostic details 

are not preserved.

PRESENT INVESTIGATION

The present investigation began in 1959 as part of my 

work with the U.S. Geological Survey in Albuquerque, 

N. Mex. That year I collected leaf remains in tl e Fort 

Wingate area, New Mexico, at the suggestion of Charles 

B. Read, who had collected there in 1941. Although 

Read's collections had not been described, they were 

the basis for the reclassification of some of tho rocks 

below what is now called the Sonsela Sandstone Bed as 

Upper Triassic, rather than Permian (Read and 

Wanek, 1961, p. 3). After 1959, as time permitted, I 

collected additional Triassic plant remains near Fort 

Wingate and in other areas, including Petrified Forest 

National Park in Arizona, Arroyo del Cobre in northern 

New Mexico, and west Texas. Some of the better preserved leaf and fertile structures were studied in Eng-
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D17

land under the direction of Prof. T. M. Harris in 1964- 

66, and preliminary summaries of my findings were 

published (Ash, 1967a, b). A detailed description of 

Willla-msonia nizhonia n. sp., a new bennettitalean 

cone, was also published (Ash, 1968).

SUMMARY OF THE PRE-CENOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY IN 

THE FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO

Fort Wingate is about 12 miles southeast of Gallup 

in west-central New Mexico and about 75 miles east of 

Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. (figs. 1, 2). Fort 

Wingate was an important U.S. Army post during the 

late 19th century. The buildings have since been used as 

an Indian boarding school.

During the present investigation, the geology of the 

area was studied in some detail, with particular regard 

to the distribution and location of fossil plant material. 

Several stratigraphic sections were measured, and a 

composite section of the pre-Cenozoic rocks exposed 

near Fort Wingate is shown in figure 9. Several sections 

were also measured in the southern part of Petrified 

Forest National Park, Ariz., and a composite section 

for that area is given in figure 9, as well as suggested 

correlations of some of the units between the two 

places.

The geology in the vicinity of Fort Wingate was described briefly by Callahan and Cushman (1955) in 

their report on the ground-water resources of the area. 

Bead and Wanek (1961) andBaars (1961) described the 

Permian formations in connection with their studies 

of the regional distribution of the Permian rocks in the 

Colorado Plateau. Cooley (1957, 1959) reported on the 

Triassic stratigraphy of parts of eastern Arizona and 

western New Mexico. The principal formations exposed 

in the area are shown on the map of a part of northwestern New Mexico published by O'Sullivan and Beaumont (1957) and on the more recent geologic map of 

New Mexico (Dane and Bachman, 1965). These reports 

and maps largely supersede earlier investigations in the 

area.

PERMIAN SYSTEM 

GLORIETA SANDSTONE

The Glorieta Sandstone is the oldest formation exposed in the vicinity of Fort Wingate. There, it has a 

total thickness of about 200 feet, as estimated from an 

isopach map (Baars, 1961, fig. 17). The Glorieta is 

exposed only in the walls and on the floor of Milk Ranch 

Canyon, where the upper 43.5 feet of the formation 

crops out. In the canyon the Glorieta can be divided 

into two units. The lower unit is 30 feet thick and consists of whitish to slightly yellowish well-cemented massive coarse-grained sandstone. It contains tangential 

cross-laminations which dip southwestward. The unit 

weathers rounded to blocky and generally forms a cliff. 

Its base is not exposed. The upper unit is about 13.5 

feet thick and consists mostly of sandstone and a few 

thin beds of shale. The sandstone is pinkish, well cemented, thin bedded, and fine to medium grained. Typically, it forms a steep ledgy slope.

According to Baars (1961, p. 198), primary sedimentary structures in the Glorieta imply that it war deposited in an environment of "littoral to upper neritic 

marine aspects, with local eolian conditions." Although 

no diagnostic fossils have been reported from the Glorieta Sandstone, it is considered to be of Early Permian 

(late Leonard) age because it is between two formations 

of that age (Baars, 1961, p. 199).

SAN ANDRES LIMESTONE

The San Andres Limestone is exposed only or the 

walls and adjacent slopes of Milk Ranch Canyon and 

in the walls and on the floors of the three deep narrow 

north-trending canyons that debouch into the valley 

containing Fort Wingate. Its lower surface is exposed 

only in Milk Ranch Canyon, whereas the upper surface, 

which is very irregular, is exposed in all four canyons. 

In the Fort Wingate area the thickness of the San 

Andres ranges from 0 to 80 feet because of preMoenkopi (?) erosion.

This formation is composed mostly of grayish deoply 

weathered medium- to thick-bedded dolomitic limestone 

which generally weathers brownish. Locally, the San 

Andres contains bluish chert and a few thin beds of red 

siltstone and one bed of hard white sandstone. The upper 

few feet of the formation is brownish red and contains 

irregular masses of grayish limestone and greenish- and 

yellowish-stained patches and stringers. Many rmall 

vugs (as much as one-half inch in diameter, larger) 

and thin undulating stringers (as much as one-quarter 

inch across) filled with clear quartz occur throughout 

the formation. Several irregular cracks in the San Andres Limestone in Milk Ranch Canyon contain mudstone and sandstone similar to that found in the overlying Triassic rocks.

Poorly preserved remains of brachiopods, criroids, 

and cephalopods, as well as quantities of fossil hash, 

were noted in the San Andres by the author. Baars 

(1961, p. 203) reported the occurrence of eight species of 

marine invertebrates in the formation at a nearby locality, and conodonts have been reported (Clark and 

Ethington, 1962) from the unit in the same general area. 

The fossils indicate that the San Andres Limestone is a 

marine deposit of Early Permian (Leonard) age.
D18 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Petrified Forest

National Park,

Ariz.

-70 miles- Fort Wingate area, 

"*"" New Mexico

Sonsela Sandstone Bed

Lower part

Newspaper Rock 

Sandstone of 

Stagner (1941)

-10062

\

EXPLANATION

Sandstone, horizontally bedded

Sandstone, horizontally bedded;

Limestone, cherty

10061 

USGS paleobotany locality

FEET

rlOO

- 75

- 50

- 25

L 0 

Vertical scale

0061

58-60

_Q

E

to

0

LL.

T3

0)

"5

Q.

OJ

_Q

E

E

T3

0)

(5

1

|P

c

g 

ro

E

o

o>

c

6

ni 11 P0)

CU O C i- -*-1

co c 1

LJ

Oi

TO C

"ffi 2

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-s?

0 ro

CO

o

ro

H

0

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03

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Sandstone, silty

FIGUBE 9. Composite stratigraphic sections of the lower part of the Chinle Formation in the southern part of Petrified F->rest

National Park. Ariz., and in the Fort Wingate area, New Mexico.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D19

UNCONFORMITY BETWEEN THE PERMIAN AND 

TRIASSIC ROCKS

The Permian rocks are separated from the overlying 

Triassic rocks by an erosional unconformity which extends throughout the Colorado Plateau. Present knowledge concerning the unconformity in the region has been 

summarized by several authors, including McKee (1954, 

p. 33-35), McKee and others (1959, p. 2), Baars (1961, 

p. 209-210), and Repenning, Cooley and Akers (1969). 

The unconformity was briefly described by Cooley 

(1957, p. 26-27, 1959, p. 66) and Baars (1961, p. 209) 

in the Fort Wingate area.

Generally, the unconformity has only slight relief, 

but near the Fort Wingate area it has nearly 100 feet of 

relief. In some places, such as in the vicinity of Milk 

Ranch Canyon, steep-walled depressions have been cut 

into the Permian rocks, and relief may be 30 or more feet 

within a small area. Locally, the San Andres Limestone 

is missing because of erosion and rocks of the Triassic 

age lie on the Glorieta Sandstone.

At some places a limestone breccia in the San Andres 

is directly below the unconformity; elsewhere, deeply 

weathered limestone may underlie the unconformity. 

In the Fort Wingate area the surface is overlain by 

reddish thin-bedded flat-lying siltstone of the Moenkopi (?) Formation. The characteristics of the unconformity and of the sediments above and below indicate 

that the surface formed in the same type of environment in which modern karst topography forms.

The length of time represented by the unconformity 

differs slightly in the Colorado Plateau. The underlying 

sediments are of Early Permian age throughout the region, whereas the overlying sediments of the Moenkopi 

Formation are of Early Triassic age in northwestern 

Arizona, become progressively younger toward the 

southeast, and may be of Middle Triassic age in eastern 

Arizona and western New Mexico (Akers, 1964, p. 23- 

24). Thus, in the Fort Wingate area the unconformity 

may represent all of Late Permian time and most, if not 

all, of Early Triassic time. However, until diagnostic 

fossils are found in the Moenkopi (?) in the Fort Wingate area, this is only conjecture especially as there is 

some question about the correlation of the "true" Moenkopi with the Moenkopi(?) Formation that overlies 

the erosional unconformity in the Fort Wingate area.

TRIASSIC SYSTEM 

MOENKOPK?) FORMATION

In the present report, the rocks overlying the karst 

erosional surface that is cut into the Permian rocks, 

and underlying the Shinarump Member of the Chinle,

are referred to as the Moenkopi (?) Formation. As tHir 

name implies, the rocks probably correlate with the 

Moenkopi Formation, of Early and Middle (?) Triassic 

age, which is widely distributed in parts of the Southwest. This correlation is thought to be reasonable, for 

the Moenkopi is thickest in northwestern Arizona and 

adjacent areas and thins southeastward to a feathereige 

in western Colorado and eastern Arizona, according to 

McKee (1954). Thus, a thin veneer of Moenkopi sediments in western New Mexico would be consistent vdth 

the regional distribution of the formation.

The Moenkopi in eastern Arizona has been correlated 

with the upper part of the formation in southeastern 

Utah; therefore, the Moenkopi (?) Formation of the 

Fort Wingate area probably correlates with only the 

upper part of the formation. Several authors have recognized this possibility, as indicated by the names they 

applied to this unit in western New Mexico. For example, Cooley (1959, p. 68-69) called it Upper Moenkopi(?) sediments, whereas Repenning, Cooley, and 

Akers (1969, p. B12) later used the term Moenkopi (?) 

Formation, which points out the possible con-elation 

but is not as awkward as the term previously used by 

Cooley.

The Moenkopi(?) Formation in the Fort Wingate 

area is composed of two units of contrasting lithology 

and topographic expression. The lower unit consists of 

reddish thin-bedded sandy siltstone and silty fnegrained sandstone. In some places the sandstone contains well-rounded grains of quartz and is crossbedded. 

The unit is as much as 80 feet thick and forms a slope. 

An unconformity with 1-5 feet of relief separates the 

two units. The upper unit is composed of grayish coarsegrained conglomeratic sandstone containing quartz, 

jasper, and quartzite pebbles, some of which are as 

much as 4 inches across. Although pebbles occur 

throughout the unit, they are generally concentrr.ted 

in lenses that are particularly abundant in the lower 

part. The unit contains generally low angle erossbedding and ranges from 3 to 25 feet in thickness becr.use 

of the unconformities that separate it from the underlying unit and the overlying Shinarump Member of the 

Chinle Formation.

The age of the Moenkopi (?) Formation is problematical, as no diagnostic fossils have been reported f^om 

it. Theoretically, the Moenkopi (?) could be of Late 

Permian to early Late Triassic age, for it is between 

rocks of Early Permian and middle Late Triassic age. 

However, because regional study suggests that the 

Moenkopi (?) Formation is correlative with the upper 

part of the Moenkopi, it is considered to be of the same 

age as that part of the formation, or possibly slightly
D20 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

younger (Cooley, 1959, p. 69). Cooley's evidence is the 

karst topography formed on the Permian rocks in the 

Fort Wingate area and the unconformity of rather low 

relief formed on the Permian rocks in adjacent areas in 

eastern Arizona. This indicated to him that while the 

basal sediments of the Moenkopi were being deposited 

in eastern Arizona, the Permian rocks in western New 

Mexico were still undergoing erosion; they were not 

buried until some time later.

PRE-CHINLE UNCONFORMITY

The unconformity between the Chinle Formation 

and the Moenkopi (?) Formation is exposed at many 

localities in the vicinity of Fort Wingate. It is only 

slightly irregular, and the local relief is usually less 

than 1-2 feet, although its total relief may be 10-20 

feet in the area. Elsewhere, the pre-Chinle unconformity is one of the most conspicuous unconformities on the 

Colorado Plateau. Its characteristics indicate that it 

was formed by subaerial erosion, and McKee (1954, p. 

38) believed that the unconformity formed over a long 

period of time. In many places the unconformity is extremely irregular; it contains numerous channels, 

which, according to Evensen (1958, p. 95), resemble the 

channels of modern streams. The pre-Chinle unconformity apparently formed during late Middle and early 

Late Triassic time.

CHINLE FORMATION

The Chinle is widely exposed in the Fort Wingate 

area. There, the exposures are typical of the formation, 

as the mudstone units form steep soft slopes which are 

relatively free of vegetation and are often quite colorful. The beds of sandstone and conglomerate hold up 

ridges and form cliffs and are usually more subdued in 

color. The formation at Fort Wingate can be divided 

into five lithologic units that represent about half the 

vertical thickness of the entire Chinle in the region. The 

uppermost part of the formation is exposed outside the 

immediate vicinity of Fort Wingate. The units recognized at Fort Wingate are, from bottom to top, the 

Shinarump Member, the lower red member, the Petrified Forest Member (lower part), the Sonsela Sandstone Bed, and the Petrified Forest Member (upper 

part). Fossil leaves have been collected from only the 

lower red member, but petrified wood is common in all 

members and is especially abundant in the Sonsela 

Sandstone Bed.

The Chinle Formation is thought to have been deposited by streams flowing on "a relatively flat low-lying surface" (McKee and others, 1959, p. 14). The 

fluvial origin is suggested by the lithology and the sedimentary structures in the formation, which are similar 

to those of modern stream deposits (Poole, 3961, p. 

C139). Poole (1961, C139) studied the cross-strata in 

the Chinle and demonstrated that "drainage trends are 

closely related to the positions of major Triassic highlands * * *." He also determined that during the time 

the Chinle sediments were deposited, streams flowed in 

a northerly direction in what is now the Fort V^ingate 

area (Poole, 1961, fig. 199.1). Apparently, the highland 

in southern New Mexico and Arizona was th^ main 

source of these sediments because the material in "the 

lower part of the Chinle becomes coarser southward toward the Mogollon highland region * * *." (Poole, 

1961, p. C141.)

SHINARUMP MEMBER

The Shinarump Member of the Chinle Formation is 

divisible into two units of contrasting lithology. The 

lower unit is about 15-35 feet thick and is composed of 

massive sandy mudstone. It is typically bluish with a 

purplish cast and may have yellow streaks. The unit is 

well indurated, weathers hackly, and forms steep slopes 

or nearly vertical cliffs. This lower unit is separated 

from the underlying Moenkopi (?) Formation by a 

slight erosional unconformity as described above. The 

upper surface is also irregular and has 1-2 feet cf relief 

locally, although it may have as much as 10 feet of relief 

within the entire area.

The upper unit is about 15-25 feet thick and is composed of gray, hard crossbedded sandstone that locally 

contains small pebbles. Individual beds are thin, and the 

unit weathers slabby. It often forms a bench witl rather 

steep sides and may overhang the lower unit. (See fig. 

10.) The upper surface is poorly exposed in the area 

but seems to be slightly irregular.

Plant remains are the only fossils reported from the 

Shinarump. In many places in Arizona and Utah, the 

member contains lenses and pockets of trashy carbonaceous material and petrified wood (Stewart and others, 

1959, p. 505). Petrified wood is common in th°> Shinarump in the Fort Wingate area, also, but none has 

been studied.

LOWER RED MEMBER

The lower red member in the Fort Wingate area can 

be divided into a thick slope-forming lower unit and 

a relatively thin ledge-forming upper unit. As tl ^ name 

implies, the member is typically red or reddish, although in some places, such as along State Highway 

400 south of the school, it is rather greenish especially 

in the lower part.

The lower unit consists of numerous lenticular beds 

of claystone, mudstone, and silty sandstone. They inter-
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D21

FIGUEE 10. Upper part of the Shinarump Member of the Ohinle Formation, 2 miles south of Fort Wingate, N. Mex. The contact 

ibetween the lower and upper parts of the Shinarump is at the base of the ledge-forming crossbedded unit. The contact 

between the lower red member and the Shinarump Member is obscured by the trees.

tongue and grade into each other so that an individual 

bed cannot be traced for any great distance. In places 

the unit contains discrete channel deposits. One such 

channel is exposed in a roadcut south of Fort Wingate 

(fig. 11). It is composed of several beds of hard sandstone and is surrounded by soft sandy mudstone. 

Another channel deposit is exposed near the top of the 

unit (fig. 12). It consists of a lenticular bed of gray 

mudstone within a large mass of reddish mudstone.

The upper unit is about 20-30 feet thick and is composed of fine- to medium-grained sandstone. It also 

contains a few thin beds of claystone and lenses of conglomerate. The unit is predominantly white to yellow. 

Both the upper unit and the sandstone beds in the lower 

unit contain crossbedding and ripple marks.

Schultz (1963, p. C31-C35) determined that most 

clay in the member is montmorillonitic, although 

rather large quantities of illite, chlorite, and kaolinite 

are also found near the base and top of the member.

He concluded that the clay is of volcanic origin and 

that the montmorillonitic clay had been transported by 

water, probably as fragments of tuff from a distant 

source area, which may have been to the south. The 

kaolinitic clay probably formed locally and was transported only a short distance, whereas the chlorite 

apparently was transported for some distance from the 

east.

All the fossil leaves known to occur in the Fort 

Wingate area are in the lower, slope-forming part of 

the lower red member; 10 leaf-bearing localities have 

been found in it thus far. These localities contain many 

of the same species that Daugherty (1941) described 

from the Petrified Forest Member in Petrified Forest 

National Park. Several undescribed forms have also 

been obtained from these localities. Most of the pteridophytes in the area have been studied in detail and 

can be compared with species described elsewhere. Most 

of the higher plants, on the other hand, have not been
D22 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

f^l!-WI".VF' 

^Mf%W & i^iif K&. V-J&-1*« %

FIGURE 11. Large channel-type deposit near the base of the lower red member of the Chinle Formation, exposed in a roadcut 2 

miles south of Fort Wingate on State Highway 400. USGS paleobotany locality 10060 is near the base and beneath the 

channel.

FIGURE 12. Badland topography that has formed on the lower red member of the Ohinle Formation 1 mile south of Fort 

Wingate. The light-colored rock near the center of the picture apparently is a channel-type deposit. USGS paleobotany 

locality 10061 is in this distinctive unit.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC). FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D23

described, and it is premature to discuss that part of the 

flora, except to note that it seems to compare rather 

closely with the flora from Petrified Forest National 

Park.

Ferns occur at USGS paleobotany localities 10058, 

10059, and 10060 (near the base of the member), and 

at locality 10061 (near the top), the upper locality 

being about 125 feet stratigraphically above the lower, 

as shown in figure 9. Comparison of the two floras shows 

that the lower contains six species of ferns and the 

upper contains three of the same species (table 1). 

Differences probably are not significant, as the species 

that occur in the lower flora are also in the overlying 

Petrified Forest Member in Petrified Forest National 

Park (table 1). None of the species has been reported 

from localities in any other formation. Further discussion of the flora from the Fort Wingate area is 

included in the section "Chinle Flora" of the present 

report.

TABLE 1. Comparison of the fern leaves in the lower red member 

of the Chinle Formation in the Fort Wingate area, New Mexico, 

with those in the lower part of the Petrified Forest Member of the 

Chinle Formation in Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz.

Lower red member in Petrified Forest 

the Fort Wingate area Member (lower part) 

 in Petrified Forest 

Lower Upper National Park, Ariz.

flora flora

Todites fragilis _____________ X

Clathropteris walkeri.-_ ______ X

Apachea arizonica 1 ______________

Cynepteris lasiophora- _______ X

Phlebopteris smithii- ________ X

Wingatea p?umosa__________ X

Cladophlebis daughertyi ______ X

Cladophlebis "reticulata" _ _ _ _ _ (2 )

Cladophlebis cf. denticulata _________

Sphenopteris arizonica _____________

X

X

X

X 

X

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X

1 See discussion on the validity of this species in the systematic description of 

Clathropteris ivalkeri.

2 This species has not been found in the Fort Wingate area. It was collected from the 

base of the lower red member at a locality about 30 miles east of the Fort Wingate area.

Bones, teeth, and other vertebrate remains are common in the lower red member in the Fort Wingate area, 

but most of the material is fragmentary and unidentifiable. The remains of a thecodont, Acotnpsas&iurus 

wingatensis n. sp., were described from the badland exposures of the member a short distance northeast of Fort 

Wingate. and fragments thought to be referrable to 

the phytosaur Paleorhinus were also reported from the 

same locality (Mehl and others, 1916). Kecently, Dr. 

E. H. Colbert (written commun., 1967) identified the 

remains of the amphibian Eiipelor frasii and the phytosaur Rutiodon ? from a horizon near the one containing 

USGS paleobotany locality 10061.

PETRIFIED FOREST MEMBER

Lower part

The lower part of the Petrified Forest Member of 

the Chinle is about 130 feet thick in the Fort Wingate 

area. It consists of mostly claystone and soft sandstone. 

The claystone is composed mainly of montmorillonite 

(Sclmltz, 1963, p. C36-C39). Near the base it contains 

small amounts of kaolinite, chlorite, and illite; toward 

the top of the unit, the chlorite increases, and the montmorillonite decreases. Usually, individual beds intertongue and intergrade. The unit is predominantly 

purple and the claystone weathers to form frothy-surfaced slopes.

Schultz concluded (p. 1963, C37-C38) that the clays 

were of volcanic origin and that they had been transported by water from a source area in southern New 

Mexico and Arizona. Some of the material was apparently deposited as discrete particles of tuff, which was 

then altered. Some of the clays may have formed in the 

source areas before transportation and final disposition.

No fossils except petrified wood have been found in 

this part of the Chinle in the Fort Wingate area, but, 

as noted previously, the leaves in the Petrifed Forest 

National Park occur in this part of the Petrified Forest Member.

Sonsela Sandstone Bed

The Sonsela Sandstone Bed, which divides the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle into two units, caps 

many of the cuestas and cliffs in the area. For example, 

the cuestas north, of Fort Wingate Indian School are 

capped with the Sonsela Sandstone Bed. (See fig. 6.) In 

this area the Sonsela is about 32 feet thick and consists 

of several intertongTiing beds, some of which are composed of fine- to medium-grained yellow to gray crossbedded sandstone. Others are composed of hard brown 

conglomerate containing pebbles as much as 1 inch in 

diameter. Beds of sandy conglomerate and conglomeratic sandstone are also present in the unit. None of the 

beds can be traced over a very long distance, as they 

lens out or grade into an adjacent unit. The lower contact of the Sonsela is irregular and has several feet 

of relief; the upper contact is just slightly irregular.

Petrified wood is the only common fossil in the Sonsela. One of the type specimens of Araiicarioxylor, arizonicum mentioned previously was collected from this 

unit in the Fort Wingate area.

Upper part

The upper part of the Petrified Forest Member generally is about 800 feet thick in west-central New Mexico, but in the Fort Wingate area most of the unit has 

been removed by erosion. There, the thickest section is
D24 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

on the hill south of the school, where about 200 feet is 

preserved. Elsewhere in the area, only scattered thin 

remnants remain on the Sonsela Sandstone Bed.

The unit is composed mostly of grayish-red-purple 

mudstone and sandstone which usually looks reddish 

brown from a distance. According to Schultz (1963), 

the clay is mostly montmorillonite with small amounts 

of illite and chlorite. Individual beds intertongue laterally and intergrade, and as a result none of the beds 

is persistent over a very large area.

Fragments of petrified wood are the only fossils 

known in the unit, at Fort Wingate.

CHINLE FLORA 

STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

Nearly all the plant fossils described from the Chinle 

Formation were collected in east-central Arizona and 

west-central New Mexico. In most of this region the 

Chinle Formation is usually divided into the six mappable units listed below (from top to base). The thickness of each was taken from Cooley (1959).

Units of the Chinle 

Formation

Thickness 

(feet)

Owl Rock Member_________________ 50-300

Petrified Forest Member:

Upper part___________________ 800 

Sonsela Sandstone Bed____________ 35-200 

Lower part___________________ 125-300

Lower red member__________________ 0-270

Shinarump Member_________________ 0- 75

Most plant fossils described from the Chinle occur below the Sonsela Sandstone Bed in the lower part, of the 

formation. In the Fort Wingate area, fossil leaves were 

collected from the lower red member; in Petrified Forest National Park, leaves were obtained mainly from the 

lower part of the Petrified Forest Member. Elsewhere 

in the region, a few leaves have been identified from the 

Chinle Formation, but the horizon from which they 

came cannot be evaluated in terms of the members given 

above. One poorly preserved species has been reported 

from the Shinarump Member. Petrified wood occurs in 

all but the Owl Kock Member, but the only wood that 

has been described was collected from the lower part of 

the Petrified Forest Member and the Sonsela Sandstone 

Bed.

The floras in both the lower red member and the overlying Petrified Forest Member are similar. Seven of the 

10 species of fern leaves known in the Petrified Forest 

Member are in the lower red member (table 1). One of 

the three species not represented in the lower red member flora may be incorrectly identified and may be referable to one of the other seven species. Thus, only two

species based on fern foliage from the Petrified Forest 

Member definitely have not been collected from the 

lower red member. Although all the leaves of higher 

plants in the lower red member have not been examined 

in detail, preliminary studies showed that many of the 

species in the Petrified Forest Member also have been 

collected from the lower red member. The principal difference in the two floras is the absence in the low?.r red 

member of nearly all the species based on petrified 

wood that have been described from the Petrified Forest 

Member. Some of these exceptions may be due to accidents of preservation or collecting. Probably none are 

of stratigraphic significance.

In the vicinity of Arroyo del Cobre, the Chinle is 

divided into four members, as listed below from top to 

base (Colbert, 1960). The thickness of each is also given.

Units of the Chinle Formation Thickness 

Arroyo del Goitre area (feet)

Petrified Forest Member______________ 400-£00 

Poleo Sandstone Lentil_______________ 60 

Salitral Shale Tongue_______________ 0-100 

Agua Zarca Sandstone Member _ _ _ ]00

Nearly all the fossil plants reported from Arroyo del 

Cobre were collected from the sandstone bed at the 

base of the Chinle Formation, which, as noted above, 

is the Agua Zarca Sandstone Member according to C. B. 

Read (written commun., 1967). Two pith casts we^e obtained from a horizon thought to be of Triassic age by 

Knowlton (Fontaine and Knowlton, 1890, p. 282), but 

the locality description suggests that the casts were 

actually derived from the underlying Permian rocks. 

Daugherty collected several fossils on Poleo Mes01 ,, and 

I suspect that they were obtained from the Agua Zarca 

or its equivalent.

The correlation of the Triassic rocks in the Arrcyo del 

Cobre area with those in east-central Arizona is difficult 

because of large intervening areas where Triassic rocks 

either are not exposed or have been removed by erosion. 

Thus, correlations between the two areas have to be 

based mainly on lithologic characteristics and vertebrate 

fossils, and there is room for conflicting opinions. 

Cooley (1959, p. 71-72) suggested that the Agua Zarca 

correlates with the upper part of the lower red member; 

the Salitral, with the lower part of the Petrified Forest 

Member; the Poleo, with the Sonsela Sandstone Bed; 

and the Petrified Forest Member, in this area, with the 

upper part of the Petrified Forest Member in westcentral New Mexico and east-central Arizona. A somewhat different correlation was proposed by Colbert 

(1960) and by Colbert and Gregory (in ReesicS and 

others, 1957, p. 1462-1464). They correlated the Agua 

Zarca and Salitral with the Shinarump Member, and
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D25

the Poleo with the lower red member. However, they 

also correlated the Petrified Forest Member in the Arroyo del Cobre area with the upper part of the Petrified 

Forest Member of the Chinle in Arizona.

The Chinle flora in the Arroyo del Cobre area is not 

well enough known to confirm or contradict any of these 

correlations. The vertebrate fossils, on the other hand, 

seem to be of some correlative value, according to J. T. 

Gregory (1957, p. 13). He indicated that the vertebrates 

from the Petrified Forest Member in this area seem to 

be more advanced than those from the lower part of the 

Petrified Forest Member in northeastern Arizona. In 

addition, they are similar to those in the upper part of 

the Petrified Forest Member in Arizona, according to 

Colbert and Gregory (in Reeside and others, 1957, p. 

1464). Thus, the faunal evidence seems to indicate that 

the Chinle flora in Arroyo del Cobre occurs in the lower 

part of the Chinle Formation, just as it does in western 

New Mexico and eastern Arizona.

USGS PALEOBOTANY LOCALITIES

10058. In the lower part of the lower red member of 

the Chinle Formation (about 90 ft above 

the San Andres Limestone) in a roadcut on 

the east side of New Mexico State Highway 

400 approximately 1^4 miles south of the 

Fort Wingate Post Office.

10059. In the lower part of the lower red member of 

the Chinle Formation (about 85 ft above the 

San Andres Limestone) in a roadcut on the 

east side of New Mexico State Highway 400 

approximately iy2 miles south of the Fort 

Wingate Post Office.

10060. In the lower part of the lower red member of 

the Chinle Formation (about 80 ft above the 

San Andres Limestone) in the same roadcut 

as the previous locality and approximately 

100 feet south of it.

10061. In the upper part of the lower red member of 

the Chinle Formation (about 225 ft above 

the San Andres Limestone) in the badlands 

about iy2 miles southeast of the Fort Wingate Post Office. This may be the same as 

TJSGS paleobotany locality 8958, which was 

discovered by C. B. Read and W. E. Salter 

in 1941.

10062. In the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle 

Formation just below a thin tongue of the 

Newspaper Rock Sandstone of Stagner 

(1941) in the low hills on the west side of the

principal road through Petrified Fores': National Park, Ariz. SEi^ sec. 22, T. 18 I 1"., R. 

24 E. This is probably the same as Dr.ugherty's (1941) locality p9301-l.

COMPOSITION

The composition and status of the megaflora in the 

Chinle Formation were discussed by Daugherty (1941, 

p. 24-27) and have been summarized more recently by 

Ash (1964, 1967a). The flora includes species based on 

leaves, fructifications, and stem material. Some roecimens are preserved as compressions, others as potrifications or impressions. At present, the flora consists of 

40 reasonably well defined species referable to 37 genera. A few additional species have been reported or 

briefly described, but in all cases the specimens are so 

poorly preserved or of such a nature that they cr.nnot 

be critically evaluated. As collecting proceeds, the numbers, given above, will undoubtedly increase, but they 

give an indication of the size of the flora as it is now 

known.

Representatives of most major plant groups have 

been described from the Chinle Formation. One sp^ies 

has been referred to the Fungi, and two have been assigned to the Equisetales and to the Lycopodiales. The 

best understood and second largest group in the flora is 

the Filicales. It comprises 12 well-characterized sp ^ies 

that are referrable to 10 genera. Five of the fern sp 'xnes 

based on foliar material are redescribed in detail under 

"Systematic Descriptions" of this report, and a crossreferenced list of all the ferns and fernlike fossUs is 

included. The largest group in the flora is the Gyrnnospermae, which includes 16 described and two undescribed new species. Although the classification of several of the forms has not been determined, it is clear 

that members of the Cordaitales, Bennettitales, Ginkgoales, and Coniferales are present. One species has 

been referred tentatively to the Gnetales. Five new 

species of uncertain classification are also known.

CORRELATION AND AGE

In his compresensive study of the Chinle flora, 

Daugherty (1941) concluded that it was closely related 

to the flora in the Upper Triassic Newark Group of the 

Eastern United States. This conclusion was basei on 

six species that he thought were common to both f oras 

and six other species in the Chinle that he considered to 

be similar to forms in the Newark. Daugherty (1941, 

p. 37) stated that any differences "must be due in part 

to diiferent climatic conditions during the time of 

deposition."
D26 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

My own research on the Chinle flora suggests that 

this flora is not closely related to the so-called "Newark 

flora" of the Eastern United States. The floras do contain some of the same genera, but only one or two species 

may be common to both. Otherwise, they seem to be 

quite distinct.

The six species from the Chinle flora that Daugherty 

held to be identical with the species in the Newark flora 

are listed below, together with my own findings:

Cladophlebis mierophylla. The specimens identified as 

G. micropJiylla are here referred to C. daughertyi 

n. sp. They do not appear to resemble any described species in the Newark flora of the Eastern 

United States.

Cladophlebis reticulata. A single small fragmentary 

leaf was referred to this species. However, close 

examination of the specimen suggests that it is 

distinct from G. reticulata and does not closely resemble any described species in the Newark flora. 

The leaf compares with specimens obtained recently from the lower red member of the Chinle 

at a locality about 30 miles east of Fort Wingate. 

Possibly, all these specimens should be described 

as a new species of Cladophlebis.

Lepacy'dotes circularis. The several specimens Daugherty assigned to this species were transferred tentatively to Isoetites circularis (Emmons) Brown. 

They do look somewhat like those curious plant 

fossils from the Newark flora, although they differ 

in detail. The Chinle specimens may be correctly 

assigned generically, but I think they should be 

referred to a species other than circularis.

Lonchopteris virginiensis. Specimens that have been 

referred to this species are here assigned to Gynepteris lasiophora n. gen., n. sp. They do not resemble 

any described form in the Newark flora.

Macrotaeniopteris magnifolia. The two specimens referred to this species were misidentified. They have 

about 42 lateral veins per centimeter, whereas 

M. magnifolia has only about 20 per centimeter. 

These specimens do not resemble closely any in the 

Newark flora. Cuticles of several specimens from 

the Chinle that agree in gross morphology with 

those considered by Daugherty have been examined. Two specimens came from Daugherty's locality in Dinnebito Wash, Ariz., and the others were 

collected from the upper part of the lower red 

member of the Chinle Formation near Fort Wingate, N. Mex. All the specimens have syndetocheilic 

stomata. Leaves with the gross morphology and

cuticle shown by these specimens are usually referred to the genus Nihsoniopteris Nathorrt. Although it is assumed that DaughertyV two 

specimens also have syndetocheilic stomata, the 

possibility exists that they do not. Until cuticle 

preparations can be made of Daugherty's specimens, this question will remain open. However, his 

material probably does not vary greatly frcrn the 

specimens I have examined.

Neocalamites virginiensis. The material that was referred to this rather imperfectly characterized 

genus and species may be correctly identified. The 

Chinle and Newark specimens need to be studied in 

detail, however, and the whole question of the status 

of Neocalamites must be critically evaluated before any significant conclusions can be drawn 

about their value as index fossils.

The six species that were held by Daugherty (1941, 

p. 36-38) to be closely related to forms in the Newark 

Group are Araucarioxylon arizonicum, Glathropteris 

walkeri, Otozamites powelli, PagiopJiyllutn neuiberryi, 

PTilebopteris (Laccopteris) stnithii, and Podozamites 

arizonicus. Three additional, but poorly known, secies 

(Lycostrofous chinleana^ Zamites occidentalis, and 

Equisetites sp.) in the Chinle were tentatively considered also to be closely related to forms in the Newark. 

In most cases, however, Daugherty did not specify 

which of the species in the Newark Group were closely 

related to the nine forms in the Chinle which mp.kes it 

difficult to verify his conclusions.

Three of the species listed by Daugherty (G. walkeri, 

O. powelli, and P. smitJiii) definitely do not closely 

resemble any species described from the Newark Group. 

One species (A. arizonicum) may fairly closely resemble 

A. woodwortM from the Newark, but both specie? have 

not been reconsidered since they were originally described in the late 1800's. The other five species s,re too 

poorly known because of poor preservation and limited 

material to be compared with any forms in the Newark 

Group with any assurance at all.

In summary, of the six species in the Chinle flora 

identified with members of the Newark flora, four (G. 

microphylla, G. reticulata, L. virginiensis, and M. 

magnifolia,) were apparently misidentified and seemingly do not resemble any form in the Newark flora. 

Furthermore, one species (L. circularis) is probably 

wrongly identified and is not represented in the Newark 

flora. The sixth (N. virginiensis) may be correctly identified, but its value as an index fossil is questionable. 

Eight of the nine other species in the Chinle held to be 

closely related to forms in the Newark Group are now
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WESTGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D27

considered to be distinct or are too poorly known to be 

of comparative value. The ninth species, A. arizonicum, 

may be closely related to a form in the Newark. Thus, 

the Chinle and Newark floras do not seem to be as 

closely related as was formerly thought.

Daugherty (1941, p. 39) thought that the Chinle flora 

correlated also with the large flora in the Upper Triassic rocks of Sonora, Mexico. The principal studies of the 

Mexican flora are by Newberry (1876) and Silva 

Pineda (1961). Only a small part of the flora has been 

described, so any factual conclusions about the composition and correlation of the Mexican flora are difficult 

to make. The collections described by Newberry and 

Silva Pineda contain several species superficially resembling specimens in the Chinle flora, but detailed 

examination showed that they are distinct, and it appears at this time that the two> floras are not closely 

related.

Daugherty (1941, p. 17) reported that the Dockum 

Group in west Texas, which is considered to be the 

lateral equivalent of the Chinle, contained several of 

the Chinle species. Species of Arcvucariowylon arizonicum, Otozamites powelli, and Woodworthia arizonica were definitely identified in the Dockum, and 

Pelouvdea (Yuccites) poleoensis was tentatively identified. No one else has worked on the Dockum flora, and 

Daugherty (1941) only mentioned it briefly in his report 

on the Chinle flora. Recently, I collected specimens of 

O. powelli and two undescribed species from several 

localities in the Tecovas Formation in the lower part 

of the Dockum in west Texas. They compare exactly 

with species known from the Chinle, and it is apparent 

that the Chinle flora is more closely related to the 

Dockum flora than it is to any other now known.

The Chinle Formation is generally considered to be 

of Late Triassic age (Reeside and others, 1957, p. 1456). 

The age determination is based primarily upon vertebrate fossils, which suggest that the Chinle correlates 

with the Lettenkohle and Gypskeuper of the Keuper, 

the type Upper Triassic of Germany. According to J. T. 

Gregory (1957, p. 17), the Chinle vertebrates also indicate that the formation correlates with all but the upper 

part of the Newark Group in the Eastern United States. 

He considered the lower part of the Chinle to be slightly 

older than the principal fossil-leaf-bearing part (Cumnock Formation and equivalent units) of the Newark 

Group in the Eastern United States. This theory has 

been strengthened by Baird and Patterson (1967), who 

reported that in North Carolina the Pekin Formation 

(which underlies the Cumnock Formation) contains a 

reptilian fauna association similar to the fauna in the 

lower fossil-leaf-bearing part of the Chinle Formation that is, in the lower part of the Petrified Forest

Member and the lower red member. The apparent differences in the age of the fossil-leaf-bearing units in 

the Newark and Chinle may help explain why the two 

floras are so distinct.

SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS

Phylum PTERIDOPHYTA 

Order FILICALES

Family OSMUMDACEAE 

Genus TODITES Seward, 1900, em. Harris, 1961

Emended diagnosis. Leaf bipinnate; pinnules with 

a midrib and diverging lateral veins. Fertile pinnules 

bearing sporangia either along the veins or scattered 

over the lower side of the lamina. Sporangia large, 

ovoid, almost sessile; cells of apical region thickened, 

opening by a longitudinal slit. Spores with a triradiate 

scar.

Todites fragilis Daugherty, 1941

Figures 13,14; plate 1

1941. Todites fragilis Daugherty, p. 52-53, pi. 6, figs. 

3,5.

Emended diagnosis. Leaf bipinnate, petiolate, lanceolate, as much as 6 cm wide, 12.5 cm long. Petiole and 

rachis as much as 1.2 mm wide, surface smooth, showing 

fine cellular striate about 20/u, wide, surface bearing stiff 

backward- and outward-pointing multicellular hairs 

700ju-800/A long, 16^-23^ thick, arising from a slightly 

enlarged base, shaft with parallel sides, widening 

slightly at transverse cell walls, tapering to a sharp 

point in upper quarter of hair, usually composed of 

four or five cells.

Pinnae arising at about 45° and bending outward to 

about 80°, sometimes recurved; rachis slender; lamina 

linear-lanceolate as a whole; apex obtuse; lamina 

asymmetrical; acroscopic part of lamina about twice 

as wide as basiscopic part. Lower part of lamina divided 

into pinnules; acroscopic pinnules being more strongly 

developed than basiscopic; lowest one to four pinnules 

having lamina divided to pinnae rachis, but later ones 

divided progressively less deeply, having shallow 

indentations along margin in upper part of pinae, indicating divisions between individual pinnules. First 

pinnule arising on acroscopic side close to and usually 

overlapping rachis. First few acroscopic pinnules 

roughly parallel to main rachis, others inserted at an 

angle of 60°-70°; typically 4-9 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm 

wide. No pinnules near rachis on basiscopic side of 

pinna rachis; basiscopic pinnules about 2-3 mm long, 

1 mm wide, inserted at an angle of about 20°-35°. Pinnule margins entire to obtusely dentate; substance of
D28 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

FIGURE 13. Todites fragilis Daugherty from USGS paleobotany 

locality 10061, lower red member of Chinle Formation, Fort 

Wingate, N. Mex. A, First pinnule of a sterile pinna, showing 

lamina divided to the pinna rachis. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42935, X 5. B, Small sterile pinna, showing deeply 

divided pinnules near main rachis on acroscopic side of pinna 

rachis and less deeply divided pinnules elsewhere on pinna. 

Transfer preparation, USNM 42935, X 5. C, Stoma on lower 

epidermis, showing thick region near aperture. Transfer preparation, USNM 42935, X 400. D, Three fused sterile pinnules 

from basiscopic side of pinna, showing shallow indentations 

along outer margin denoting location of divisions between

.:". \." '>'.".'. > >. 

G

individual pinnules. Transfer preparation, USNM 42935, X 5. 

E, Three spinelike hairs from margins of pinnule; edge of 

pinnule shown by stippling; tracheids indicated by ladderlike 

figures in veins. Transfer preparation, USNM 42937, X 100. 

F, Hair from pinna rachis of pinnule. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42936, X 100. O, Part of sterile basiscopic pinnule 

(lower epidermis) ; pinna rachis shown at right of drawing; 

lower margin of pinna at left; stomatal apertures shown by 

short black lines (a few may be missing) ; one nearly complete 

marginal hair and base of another are shown. Transfer preparation, USNM 42936, X 50.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D29

FIGURE U. Todites fragilis Daugherty, fertile leaf, from 

USGS paleobotany locality 10061, lower red member of Chinle 

Formation. Fort Wingate, N. Mex. A, Typical fertile pinna, 

showing obtuse dentation along margin of some pinnules, 

spines on margins at vein endings, and abundant sporangia 

(solid black areas on pinnules; sporangia too closely packed 

to indicate individuals accurately). Apex of pinna missing. 

Transfer preparations, TJSNM 42937 and 42938 (part and 

counterpart), X 5. B, Part of fertile pinnule (lower epidermis), showing spine on margin at end of a vein, two sporangia (large black dots) and extent of recognizable tracheids in vein. Transfer preparation, USNM 42937, X 100. C,

View of thickened cells of apical region of sporangia overlying basal area of attachment of same sporangia. Transfer 

preparation, USNM 42936, X 300. D, Four hairs from lamina, and veins of fertile pinnule. Transfer preparation, USNM 42936, X 100. E, Two spores. USNM 42939, X 1,000. F, 

Basal area of attachment of two sporangia and parts of adjacent sporangial cell walls. Transfer preparation, USNM 

42940, X 300. G, Part of fertile pinnule (lower epidermis), 

showing numerous sporangial stalks (small circles divided 

into 3 cells) and several sporangia (large black dots) still 

attached to lamina. Transfer preparation, USNM 42937, X 50.

339-930 O 69-
D30 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

lamina delicate; narrow flange of lamina running 

decurrently from each pinna along the margins of 

rachis, joining lamina of next pinna below. Pinnule 

midrib slender, clearly marked, arising at an angle of 

40°-50°, bending forward; lateral veins distinct, 

prominent, approximately 0.15 mm wide; pinnule midrib and lateral veins bearing hairs like those on main 

rachis but shorter, 200/*-300/* long, 20/x-25/x thick. Veins 

in acroscopic pinnules given off pinna rachis at an acute 

angle, first vein arising from basiscopic side a short 

distance above pinna rachis, later ones alternating 

anadromically; veins once forked at a point about midway between midrib and pinnule margin. Lamina on 

basiscopic side of pinna rachis usually showing onceforked veins only, forking occurring at a point midway 

between pinna rachis and margin of pinnule. Veins 

extending to margin of pinnules, tending to curve forward abruptly near margins, frequently running along 

margin for a short distance; having concentration of 

about three per millimeter at pinnule margin. Short 

stiff hairs about 300/x long, 25/x wide, having expanded 

base, usually present at place where vein reaches margin and occasionally again at end of vein.

Stomata oval, 25//.-30ju, long, 10/x-13/x wide; pore 

typically 10/x-ll/x long; scattered, orientation random 

or parallel to nearest vein; about 65-80 per square 

millimeter on lower surface of lamina.

Fertile and sterile pinnae on same leaf; fertile pinnae slightly smaller than sterile pinnae; basiscopic 

lamina even more reduced than in sterile pinnae, but 

otherwise similar to sterile pinnae. Sporangia numerous, solitary, scattered over lower surface of fertile 

pinnules, completely covering surface of lamina except 

in areas near free margins, obscuring midribs and 

veins. Sporangia round to oval, typically 150/x-230/x in 

diameter, stalk extremely short, round in section 30/x35/A wide in diameter, composed of three cells (occasionally four cells), anticlinal walls of stalk cells ^ thick. 

Apical region showing straight-walled isodiametric 

polygonal cells, about 25/x-30ju, in greatest dimension, 

anticlinal walls 3ju thick. Region below sporangial apex 

showing two or three rows of conspicuous elongated 

straight-walled cells about 45/x-110/x long, 9/x-18/x wide, 

anticlinal walls 3/x thick. Ordinary cells of sporangial 

wall elongated, anticlinal walls about 1/x thick. Spore 

content probably 128, spore rounded to slightly triangular, width 32/x-42/x, triradiate mark simple, narrow, slightly longer than one-half spore radius, 

margins unspecialized. Contact facets of spore unornamented; other surfaces covered with small spines

slightly less than 1/x high; wall of spore about 1/x thick. 

Fertile pinnules bearing abundant multicellular hairs 

between sporangia, similar to those on midrib and veins, 

except that they are not expanded at transverse cell 

walls.

Description. Most of the specimens consist of a short 

length (usually less than 2 cm long) of the main rachis 

with a few attached pinnae. The largest specimen known 

is about 12.5 cm long. All pinnae are incomplete on this 

specimen; the longest measures 3 cm, indicating that 

the entire leaf was more than 6 cm wide. The specimen 

has a petiole about 3.5 cm long. The holotype (Daugherty, 1941, p. 6, fig. 3), which is somewhat smaller, is 

about 8 cm long and 3.7 cm wide. It shows 20 more or 

less complete pinnae and apparently came from the middle of a leaf. The thickened cells of the sporangia, as 

vertically compressed, nearly always lie directly over 

the stalk. In a few places where the stalk is not covered 

by the thickened cells, it is covered by a few thin cell 

walls of the unthickened part of the sporangia. The stalk 

must be quite short, as it was never seen in side view, and 

appeared to have been compressed vertically in every 

specimen. Although the stalk generally is composed of 

three cells, in one specimen it consisted of four cells.

Several sporangia were macerated, and each yielded 

100-125 spores. The spores separated very readily and 

apparently are mature or nearly so.

Comparisons. Of all the species of Todites known 

to me, T. fragilis most closely resembles T. princeps 

(Presl) Gothan as recently emended by Harris (1961, 

p. 94-96). Both species have sphenopterid venation, 

anadromic branching, bear similar hairs on the pinnae 

rachises and pinnule midribs, have about the same number of spores in a sporangium, and have spores of about 

the same size and shape. Each of the species has several characteristics that can be used to distinguish it. 

The most obvious is the distinctly asymmetrical pinnae 

of T. fragilis which have rather short pinnules on the 

basiscopic side of the pinna rachis and much longer 

pinnules on the acroscopic side. This contrasts with the 

nearly symmetrical pinnae of T. prmceps, which have 

pinnules on the basiscopic side that are slightly longer 

than those on the acroscopic side of the pinna rachis. 

In T. fragilis the separation of the pinnules varies from 

being completely divided to the pinnae rachis near the 

main rachis to being completely fused in the upper part 

of the pinnae, whereas in T. prmceps most of the pinnules are divided nearly all the way to the pinna rachis. 

The pinnule margins of T. fragilis are typically entire, 

whereas they are notched or lobed in T. prmceps. In
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D31

addition, the sporangia are widely distributed on the 

lamina of T. fragilis, rather than lying along the veins 

as in T. princeps. The spores of T. fragilis are finely 

echinate, not smooth as those of T. prmoeps, and the 

margins of the pinnules of T. fragilis characteristically bear short stiff spinelike hairs at the vein endings which are absent in T. princeps. The primary 

branches (pinnae) of T. fragilis are rather like the secondary branches (pinnules) of a large tripinnate leaf 

of T. princeps. Although the two species are similar in 

some respects they are sufficiently different in other ways 

to warrant them being considered distinct.

Harris (1931, p. 31; 1961, p. 76) showed that all the 

known species of Todites can be separated into three 

groups on the basis of venation. T. fragilis fits into the 

T. princeps group, which is characterized by sphenopterid venation and formerly contained T. princeps 

alone.

Todites fragilis differs from all the modern members 

of the Osmundaceae by its larger, more apical patch of 

thickened cells on the sporangia and by its distinctly 

asymmetrical pinnules. Among the modern Osmundaceae, Todites fragilis most closely resembles Todea 

(Leptopteris) frazeri by having little modified fertile 

pinnules in the lower part of the leaf, sporangia covering nearly the entire lower surface of the fertile pinnules, approximately the same number of spores in a 

sporangia and sphenopterid venation. The sporangia 

in Todea (Leptopteris) frazeri, however, are several 

times the size of the sporangia of Todites fragilis, and 

the pinnules are more deeply lobed throughout the pinna 

than in Todites fragilis.

Remarks. Although only a few fragmentary specimens of T. fragilis are known, our knowledge of its 

characteristics is remarkably complete. There are two 

important exceptions: the size and shape of the entire 

leaf is a matter of conjecture, and nothing is known of 

its epidermal cells.

Material. Holotype: UCMP (Univ. California Mus. 

Paleontology) 1539. Paratype: UCMP 1540.

Distribution. This distinctive fern is rather rare. 

Only a few small fragments have been found at three 

localities. The most productive are USGS paleobotany 

localities 10059 and 10061 in New Mexico, where 12 

specimens and four counterparts were collected. The 

only other locality is in Petrified Forest National Park, 

where two specimens, including the holotype, were obtained from Daugherty's locality P3901-1 (USGS 

paleobotany locality 10062 of this report).

Family CYNEPTEKIDACEAE Ash, n. fam.

Diagnosis. Leptosporangiate ferns with compound 

leaves, all veins originating from pinnule midribs, venation reticulate, no blind-ending vein branches except 

at margins. Fertile and sterile leaves similar. Sporangia 

solitary, superficial, open vertically; stalk short; annulus a horizontal ring around apex; complete, small apical plate present.

Genus CYNEPTERIS Ash, n. gen.

Diagnosis. Leaf twice pinnate, branching katadromic. Adjacent pinnules connected by narrow lamina, margins typically entire, veins anastomose and bifurcate several times, forming a coarse reticulation. 

Sporangia oval, numerous, attached over and between 

veins, retained after dehiscence, about 220/x, long, 150j« 

wide; stalk not exactly opposite annulus; annulus 

apical, complete, uniseriate except near stomium. Spores 

rounded, triradiate; surfaces nearly smooth.

Type species. Cynepteris lasiophora n. sp.

Remarks. The name is from KW^, a cap, and refers 

to the appearance of the annulus on the apices of the 

sporangia.

Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. sp.

Figures 15, 16; plates 2, 3

1941. Lonchopteris virginiensis auct. non Fontaine. Daugherty, 

p. 49, pi. 5, figs. 1,2; pi. 6, figs. 1,2.

1941. Lonchopteris( ?) sp. Daugherty, p. 50, pi. 4, fig. 2. (Specimen from upper part of leaf).

Diagnosis. Lamina as a whole as much as 24 cm 

wide, length unknown, possibly 1 m, apex of lamina 

acute (base and petiole unknown). Main rachis rather 

slender, not grooved above, smooth, attaining 3 mm in 

width, showing fine cellular striae 10/x,-15/x, wide, bearing frequent, slender, but stiff, simple hairs pointing backwards and outwards. Hairs uniseriate, 350j«- 

600/x, long, composed of three or four cells, having bulbous base approximately 35/x,-50j« wide, base tapering above (sometimes quite abruptly) to 15/x,; sides 

of hair shaft parallel to a point about 50/x, from apex 

of hair, where it begins to taper to an acute point. Similar hairs occur on pinna rachis and on pinnule midribs, veins, and margins, and occasionally on lamina. 

Pinna as much as 12 cm long, arising laterally at intervals of 6-15 mm at an angle of 60°-TO°, occasionally 

at a higher angle. Pinna rachis marked with narrow cellular striae about 10/x,-15/x, wide. Lamina of pinna 

(taken as a whole) elongated, acute, base constricted; 

narrow flange of lamina runs decurrently from each 

pinna along margins of rachis, joining lamina of next 

pinna below. Branching katadromic throughout.
D32 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

H

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D33

Pinnules decurrent, oblong, typically 2.5-3.5 mm 

wide and 5.0-7.0 mm long in middle of leaf, becoming 

smaller (1 mm wide, 2 mm long) in upper part of leaf 

and larger and often elongated (6 mm wide, 15 mm 

long) in lower part of leaf; slightly falcate, apex acute 

to obtuse, margins entire to obtusely dentate, surface 

flat, substance of lamina delicate, veins projecting on 

lower side. Adjacent pinnules connected by an undivided lamina about 0.5 mm wide, separated by narrow rounded sinus; some free parts of pinnules overlap. 

First pinnule arising on basiscopic side of pinna rachis 

close to main rachis; later ones alternate katadromically, typically arising at 60°-70° to pinna rachis; pinnules in lower part of leaf typically arising at 80°-90° 

to pinna rachis.

Midrib of pinnule stout at base, becoming slender in 

middle of pinnule, clearly marked, arising at an angle 

of 30°^rO° but often bending outward near base, sometimes changing direction one or more times, disappearing at or slightly beyond middle of pinnule. Lateral

FIGURE 15. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp. A-C, D 

(left figure), E-I from lower red member of Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate, N. Mex. D (right figure), J from Petrified 

Forest Member of Chinle, Petrified Forest National Park, 

Ariz. A, B, D (left figure), E-I from USGS paleobotany locality 10061; C from USGS paleobotany locality 10060; D (right 

figure), J from USGS paleobotany locality 10062. A, Pinna from 

upper part of leaf showing indented margin typical in this part 

of leaf; hairs shown by short dashes. Compare with specimen 

shown by Daugherty (1941) and illustrated in, his report on 

plate 4, figure 2. USNM 42943, X 5. B, Upper part of typical pinnule from central area of leaf sihowing obtuse dentation, hairs1 (short dashed lines), and irregularly branching 

structures of uncertain function between veins. Long dashed 

lines represent obscure imprints of veins, and margin of 

pinnule. USNM 42944, X 10. C, Part of typical pinna from 

central region of leaf. Several of the structures of uncertain function shown in vein meshes. USNM 42945, X 5. D, 

Two stellate trichomes. Transfer preparations USNM 42953 

and 42951, X 100. E, Five simple hairs. Two hairs on right 

attached to vein (solid black) on pinnule margins. Three 

hairs on ,left from transfer preparation, USNM 42954; others 

are from transfer preparation, USNM 42955. All X 100. F, 

Lower epidermis. Transfer preparation, USNM 42956, X 100. 

G, Bases of two pinnae and adjacent rachis showing constricted bases and narrow flange of lamina running decurrently along rachis between pinnae. Hairs on rachis shown by 

short white lines, Drawn on a photograph. USNM 42946, X 

5. H, Trichome base on lower epidermis. Transfer preparation, USNM 42953, X 400. /, Stoma on lower epidermis 

viewed from outside of leaf showing guard cells overlapping 

ordinary epidermal cells. Thick region near aperture darkly 

stippled. Transfer preparation USNM 42957, X 400. J, Lower 

epidermis showing stomatal apertures (short lines), trichome 

bases (large dots), and anastomosing veins. Possibly a few 

stomata and trichomes are missing. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42952, X 25.

veins distinct, prominent, approximately 0.1 mm wide, 

alternate, given off midrib at an acute angle and at irregular intervals (about 1-2 mm), forking at once 

into forward and backward branches which join those 

of adjacent veins to form primary arches. Primary 

arches wider than high, angular, giving off two to five 

outer veins. All outer veins usually anastomosing two 

or more times with adjacent veins, forming angular, 

nearly isodiametric to elongated polygonal meshes. 

Basal web connecting adjacent pinnules containing one 

strong, forward- and backward-running sinuous vein 

originating from pinnule midribs; vein parallels pinna 

rachis, forming a low, long primary arch. Primary arch 

typically giving off four outer branches which usually 

anastomose one or more times with adjacent branches. 

Vein meshes and primary arches never containing blind 

vein endings; veins always free at margins.

Cells of upper and lower surface irregularly shaped, 

typically more or less equidimensional, becoming polygonal and elongated near veins and pinna rachis; anticlinal cell walls wavy to slightly sinuous, about 1.5/x, 

thick. Stomata on lower epidermis scattered, sparse, 

about 60-80 per square millimeter; orientation random 

or parallel nearest vein, absent in narrow zone along 

pinnule margins. Guard cell pair usually oval, 27^- 

52/u, long, 22ju-34ju, wide, stomatal aperture 10^-16^ 

long; guard cells overlapping epidermal cells to a small 

extent. Trichome bases on lower epidermis rare to sparse 

(estimated from 0 to 60 per sq mm), irregularly distributed, usually unicellular, consisting of a ring on 

surface of small slightly thickened, round or oval epidermal cell about 14^-23^ across. Free part of two 

types: (1) a simple hair similar to those on midribs; 

and (2) stellate hairs consisting of a single basal cell 

bearing two to five pointed branches. Branches stiff, 

uniseriate, about 90^-140^ long, 11^-22^ thick, composed of two to four cells; individual branches similar 

to simple hairs.

Fertile pinnules similar in size, shape, and venation 

to large elongated sterile pinnules in lower part of 

leaf; fertile and sterile pinnules on same pinna. Sporangia numerous, solitary, scattered over all lower surface 

of pinnules, or restricted to basal part of pinnules, oval 

to inversely pear shaped, typically 210ju,-245ju. long, 140/u,- 

175/* wide, stalk about 24/u, in diameter. Ordinary cells 

of sporangial wall elongate parallel to major axis of 

sporangium, about 14/u, broad, and 35ju,-^0ju. long, anticlinal walls about ljur-2/u, thick, almost straight. Annulus 

apical, complete, well developed, conspicuous, occupying about one-third of the length of sporangium, sometimes slightly narrower than remainder of sporangium, 

formed of a single row of 14-16 straight-walled cells
D34 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

B

H
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D35

except near stomium, here two to four cells deep, cells 

of annulus about 6/X-9/X broad, 60ju,-VOju, long, radial walls 

6ju,-9jtx thick, dehiscence longitudinal, stomium along 

whole length of annulus. Thick-walled cells surround 

small apical patch of several thin-walled cells. Estimated spore content 64; spores rounded to roundedtriangular, width in polar view 38/x-49)u, (mean 42/u,, 

standard deviation 4/x), spore wall 1^ thick. Distal side 

hemispherical, proximal side slightly flattened, triradiate mark simple, narrow, margins unspecialized, nearly 

as long as spore radius. Both surfaces of spore covered 

with irregular broad ridges having low relief and forming low reticulations, wall of spore typically about 1/x 

thick, irregularly thickened on both inside and outside 

of wall.

Description. Most specimens of Cynepteris lasiophora studied consist of isolated and fragmentary 

pinna; a few of the pinnae, however, are attached to 

a rachis. One of the largest specimens known to me consists of part of the rachis with 13 nearly complete 

pinnae (pi. 2, fig. 3).

The diagnosis made clear that as we do not know 

the lower part of the leaf, the statement that the leaf 

as a whole is lanceolate is not fully certain. The estimate of its length is based on the very slight taper of 

the rachis in the largest fragments.

The precise attachment of the sporangia is not plain 

because the specimens showing them do not have the 

veins clearly preserved. Their stalks have been observed

FIGURE 16. Cyne.pteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp. from lower 

red member of Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate, N. Mex. A-E, 

G from TJSGS paleobotany locality 10059; F from USGS paleobotany locality 10061; H from USGS paleobotany locality 

10058. A, B, Basal area of attachment of two sporangia. Transfer preparation, USNM 42958, X 300. C, Side view of annulus 

showing thick radial walls and relatively narrow cells. Transfer preparation, USNM 42959, X 300. D, Apical part of sporangium. Thin-walled cells of stomium are to right and are 

continuous with small, thin-walled cells of apical plate. A few 

of the thick radial walls of annulus are preserved to the left of 

plate. Transfer preparation, USNM 42960, X 300. E, Sporangium in side view. A hair occurs above and to the right, and 

another occurs below and to the right. Basal cells are below and 

to the left and some tissue of doubtful nature occurs at base 

of sporangium. Same specimen as plate 3, figure 6. Transfer 

preparation, USNM 42959, X 300. F, Six selected structures 

of unknown function from lamina of sterile pinnule. Cell 

walls within each shown by dotted lines; heavy stippling 

indicates dark areas in these structures. Structure in lower 

left is apparently attached to vein. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42989, X 50. G, Spore, drawn under phase contrast 

illumination. USNM 42961, X 2,000. H, Parts of several typical 

fertile pinnules. Sporangia shown by large black dots, some 

may be missing. Drawing from a photograph. USNM 42947, 

X5.

in side view in several places, although mostly they are 

preserved as vertical compressions. Nearly all the sporangia studied have dehisced, but some of those macerated yielded several dozen spores which were alike and 

indeed remarkably similar. The spore walls appeared 

almost smooth, and the sculpture was only recognized 

when they were studied at high magnification and under 

phase contrast illumination. One macerated sporangium, which may have been immature, yielded a compact 

mass of spores 130/u, long. The individual spores measure 

about 40/x wide. From the calculated volume of individual spores and of the whole mass, there would be 

space for about 64 spores.

The lower surfaces of some sterile pinnules of this 

species from USGS paleobotany locality 10061 bear 

numerous irregularly branching structures. They occur 

on the lamina, mainly between the veins, although a 

small percentage are attached to an adjacent vein. (See 

fig. 16F and pi. 3, fig. 1.) Often there is more than one 

in a vein mesh. They are of various shapes. Some are 

stellate and have three or more branches. Others consist of a large irregular "trunk" with several branches 

extending outward. Most of the structures appear to be 

tubular, and they frequently contain what appear to be 

cell walls dividing them into two or more cells. The 

structures vary considerably in size. One of the largest 

on a pinnae has a "trunk" slightly more than 1 mm 

long. The "trunk" is about 60/x wide at the broadest 

and has a rather irregular form. There are at least 10 

branches extending outward at various angles from the 

"trunk." Some are as much as 200/u, long, and several 

bifurcate one or more times.

The function of these curious structures is unknown. 

They do not seem to be made up of vascular tissue, and 

they appear to be on the surfaces of the pinnules, so 

the structures probably are not part of the vascular system of the plant. A second possibility is that they are 

some type of trichome, but no trichome bases of the 

size of these structures have been observed on the pinnules. They may be the remains of fungi hyphae. This 

is more likely, as a few branches were observed which 

appear to penetrate stomata.

Comparisons. The material described here cannot 

be placed in the species virginiensis of Fontaine nor in 

the genus Lonchopteris Brongniart as formerly held.

1. Specific differences from L. virginiensis Fontaine: 

Daugherty (1941, p. 49) quoted all of Fontaine's 

(1883, p. 53) description of L. virginiensis and 

used it as a description for the new specimens that 

he considered from the Chinle of Arizona. However, neither the specimens examined by Daugherty 

nor the comparable specimens collected by me in
D36 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

New Mexico and Arizona fit Fontaine's description 

in all respects, nor do they look very much like the 

type material of L. virginien-sis collected in 

Virginia (Fontaine, 1883, p. 53, pi. 28, figs. 1, 2 

and pi. 29, figs. 1-4). There are several significant 

differences. The meshes in the specimens from the 

Chinle Formation are distinctly polygonal; in 

those described by Fontaine they are elliptical. 

Also, the meshes in the Chinle material are broad, 

whereas they are quite narrow in the species from 

Virginia. All the veins in the Chinle specimens 

originate from the midrib, whereas some veins in 

the Virginia specimens arise from the pinna rachis 

in the areas between the midribs of adjacent pinnules, as Fontaine noted. Finally, only a few rows 

of meshes are on either side of the midrib in the 

specimens from the Chinle, whereas meshes are 

abundant on either side of the midrib in those from 

Virginia. Thus, none of the specimens described 

here from the Chinle can be included in the species 

mrginiensis Fontaine.

2. Differences between the present material and L. 

bricei, the type species of the genus Lonchopteris 

Brongniart:

Lonchopteris Brongniart (type L. bricei) is 

mainly a Carboniferous genus of possible pteridosperm leaves; only a few leaves not of Paleozoic age 

have been referred to it. C. lasiophora differs 

greatly from L. ~bricei. The pinnules in C. 

lasiophora have few lateral veins leaving the midrib (whereas those of L. bricei have abundant 

veins) and none entering it directly from the pinna 

rachis (whereas those of L. bricei have several), 

and nearly isodiametric vein meshes instead of 

much elongated ones. There is also a difference in 

cuticle. C. lasiophora, as is usual in ferns, has no 

such chemically resistant layer, but L. bricei has 

cuticle chemically resistant to oxidative maceration 

(Barthel, 1961, p. 831-832, pi. 5, figs. 5-10, and pi. 6, 

figs. 1-3). A good many Paleozoic species have been 

included in Lonchopteris, but none have the 

characters of C. lasiophora. Of course, the 

sporangia separate C. lasiophora completely from 

Lonchopteris.

The specimen described by Daugherty (1941, p. 50, 

pi. 4, fig. 2) as Lonchopteris (?) sp is identified with G. 

lasiophora. Daugherty had thought is differed from 

L. mrginiensis by having pinnules with constricted 

auriculate bases and coarser reticulations formed by the 

anastomosing veinlets. However, the parts of that specimen considered by him to be pinnules are actually pinnae in which the pinnules are nearly completely fused,

the positions of the sinuses between the pinnules being 

indicated by slight indentations along the margins of 

the lamina. A comparison of the figure of Daugherty's 

specimen (1941, pi. 4, fig. 2) with the figure of L. 

virginiensis (here referred to C. lasiophora) given by 

him on his plate 5, figure 2, demonstrates that the 

fusing of pinnules in the upper part of the leaf is a 

characteristic of the species. Constricted auriculate 

pinnae bases are typical of C. lasiophora. (See fig. 16#.) 

The size of the reticulations in Daugherty's specimen 

is within the size range noted in this species.

Cynepteris lasiophora closely resembles only two 

previously described species. Emplectopteris triangularis Halle (1927) and Gigantonoclea lagrelii (Halle) 

Koidzumi (1936). They have been reported from rocks 

of Permian age at several localities in China, Korea, 

and Manchuria (Asama, 1959, p. 56-57). The pinnules 

of both have the same type of venation and about the 

same shape as the pinnules of C. lasiophora, but they 

are about twice as large as those described above. In 

addition, the intercalated pinnules found on the main 

rachis between the pinnae of E. triangularis are not 

present in C. lasiophora. Finally, seeds have been found 

attached to pinnules of E. triangularis, confirming that 

it is a pteridosperm and, thus, effectively separating it 

from the spore-bearing C. lasiophora (Halle, 1931). 

The lowest pinnule on the basiscopic side of the pinnae 

rachis in the upper part of the leaf of G. lagrelii is 

broadly decurrent on both the pinna and main rachis, 

forming what have been called winglike expansions. 

These are absent in G. lasiophora. The position of 

G. lagrelii has not been determined, but it is usually 

considered to be a pteridosperm (Halle, 1927, p. 238; 

Asama, 1959, p. 55). If it is pteridospermous, then it 

also is distinct from G. lasiophora. Should G. lagrelii 

prove to be a fern, it might be rather closely related to 

C. lasiophora.

The general form of a sterile leaf of C. lasiophora 

resembles some of the Dipteridaceae, in particular 

Thaumatopteris schenki. (See Nathorst 1907; Harris, 

193"!, p. 93-94.) C. lasiophora differs from all forms of 

this alliance, however, in that its vein meshes have no 

blind endings, and the sporangia are different. The 

dipterids have their sporangia attached in sori, and 

their sporangia have a complete oblique annulus. In 

C. lasiophora, the sporangia are solitary, and the 

annulus is apical.

The spores recovered from the sporangia of G. 

lasiophora resemble a few previously described dispersed spores. They compare rather favorably in size 

and form with Todiosporites minor Couper (1958) 

reported from the Middle Jurassic of England (Couper,
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D37

1958, p. 135, pi. 16, figs. 9, 10) and the Upper Triassic 

(Keuper) of Austria (Bharadwaj and Singh, 1964, p. 

30-31, pi. 1, fig. 28, and pi. 2, fig. 29), but the two species 

do not have the same type of surface ornamentation. 

Verrucosisporites morulae Klaus (1960) from the 

Upper Triassic (Keuper) of Austria (Klaus, 1960, p. 

130, pi. 29, fig. 11; Bharadwaj and Singh, 1964, p. 34-35, 

pi. 3, figs. 59-63) is of the same shape and has surface 

ornamentation somewhat like that in the much smaller 

spores of C. lasiophora. The spore that most closely 

resembles C. lasiophora is Verrucosisporites sp. C of 

Bharadwaj and Singh (1964, p. 35, pi. 3, fig. 66) 

described from the Upper Triassic (Keuper) of Austria.

Affinity. Cynepteris lasiophora rather closely resembles some members of the Schizaeaceae in several 

respects. The sporangia are typically schizaeaceous and 

of a kind that occurs in no other family of ferns. Among 

the sporangial characters common to C. lasiophora and 

the Schizaeaceae (especially Lygodiwm) are solitary 

position, large size and oval-cylindrical shape, very 

short stalk, apical annulus (not quite opposite the 

stalk), longitudinal dehiscence, possession of an apical 

patch of several small thin-walled cells, and, most 

important of all, the mostly uniseriate, radially 

aranged cells of the caplike annulus. Another point of 

agreement is the simple hairs on veins, margins, rachis, 

and lamina, but this is not an exclusive feature of the 

Schizaeaceae.

No member of the living Schizaeaceae has sporangia 

over the surface of broad pinnae. In all, the fertile 

branches are narrow, and although the sporangia may 

be placed at a short distance from the end of veins, as 

in Lygodium, Bower, (1926, p. 155) considered them 

truly marginal. The fossils Klukia and Senftenbergia 

also have sporangia a short distance from the margin. 

In Cynepteris they are plainly superficial. This does 

raise doubt whether- Cynepteris should be included in 

the Schizaeaceae. If it is, then this genus could be considered fairly primitive, as it is such an ancient member of the Schizaeaceae, and the modern ferns may be 

regarded as reduced, having evolved the marginal locaation of sporangia from ancestors having superficial 

sporangia. However, this trend is opposite to that which 

supposedly has characterized leptosporangiate evolution 

(Bower, 1935, p. 633-634).

The sporangia of some of the fossil members of the 

Schizaeaceae show a remarkable resemblance in compressions to those of C. lasiophora. For example, the 

sporangium of Anemia poolensis illustrated by 

Chandler (1955, pi. 32, fig. 7) rather closely resembles 

the sporangium here shown on plate 3, figure 5. Also, 

the annulus of A. poolensis Chandler, 1955 (p. 32, fig. 9,

and pi. 33, figs. 14-17), and of A. cowettensis Chandler, 

1955 (pi. 35, fig. 46), is rather similar to that shown on 

plate 3, figure 3. The sporangia of Senftenbergia phtmosa as figured by Radforth (1938, pi. 1) and of 8. sturi 

and $. pennaeformis also illustrated by Radforth (1939, 

pi. 1) resemble some of the sporangia of C. lasiophora 

shown in figure 16 and on plate 3 in general appearance.

Most Holocene and fossil Schizaeaceae have spores 

with strong ornamentation which may be of many 

kinds parallel ridges, a reticulation, or papillae. A 

few, however, have perfectly smooth walls, as does the 

fossil Anemia poolensis Chandler (1955, p. 295, pi. 33, 

figs. 24-31, and pi. 36, figs. 54-58). We thus have neither 

a point of agreement nor disagreement in the spores, 

but, admittedly they do not show one of the more characteristic schizaeaceous forms.

Various Schizaeaceae have pinnate branching. In the 

fossils KluMa and Senftenbergia the order is katadromic, as it is in C. lasiophora. In Mohria and Anemia 

the order is anadromic. The outstanding difference is in 

the venation, for no living or fossil schizaeaceous genus 

has conspicuously reticulate venation like that of C. 

lasiophora. It is true that in Anemia and Lygodium 

some reticulation may occur in the large leaves, but this 

is certainly not seen in the fertile parts.

Apparently what is usually considered to be the schizaeaceous type of sporangia was not restricted to this 

family in the past. Eggert and Taylor (1966) described 

a new Paleozoic fern, Tedelea^ which had fertile parts 

resembling those in some living and fossil Schizaeaceae 

and Omsundaceae. The anatomy of Tedelea is not 

matched in these two families, however, and is similar 

to some of the members of the Zygopteridaceae. When 

Tedelea and Cynepteris are compared, it is obvious that 

Tedela has more schizaeaceous characters than does 

Cynepteris.

Although C. lasiophora more closely resembles some 

of the Schizaeaceae than members of any other family 

of ferns, it has several characters which cannot be 

matched in that family. Some of these unmatched characters are particularly significant. Among them, the 

superficial, nonmarginal arising sporangia of C. lasiophora are especially noteworthy. They contrast with the 

marginal sporangia that arise along the pinnule margins 

of the schizaeaceous ferns. The reticulate venation of 

C. lasiophora is an important character which must also 

be taken into account. Such venation is not as common or 

ever as well developed in any of the schizeaceous ferns. 

As C. lasiophora differs in so many ways from the Schizaeaceae and other ferns, it is tentatively placed in a 

new family the Cynepteridaceae.
D38 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Remarks. The name is from Aacrios, hairy, and refers 

to the hairs that occur so abundantly on the pinnules.

Material. Holotype: USNM 42948. Paratypes: 

USNM 42949, UCMP1536.

Distribution. Gynepteris lasiophora is a minor 

though persistent element in the Chinle flora of western 

New Mexico and eastern Arizona. Specimens were collected from nearly every fossil-plant locality in the 

Fort Wingate Area, New Mexico, and it occurs at two 

localities in Arizona. In New Mexico it was collected 

from the lower red member at USGS paleobotany localities 10058-10061; in Arizona it was collected from the 

Petrified Forest Member at USGS paleobotany locality 

10062 in Petrified Forest National Park and from a locality in an unspecified level in the Chinle Formation 

near Nazlini (Daugherty, 1941, p. 50). Theholotype was 

obtained from USGS paleobotany locality 10062.

Family GLEICHENIACEAE 

Genus WINGATEA Ash, n. gen.

Diagnosis. Leaf large, tripinnate; branching katadromic throughout; fertile and sterile pinnules similar. 

Pinnules delicate, oblanceolate, acutely pointed; single 

vein enters each pinnule from secondary branch rachis; 

midrib may branch several times; veins free at the margins. 'Fertile pinnules bearing a single, superficial sorus 

containing a small number of sporangia. Sporangia 

round in surface view, annulus complete, oblique to horizontal, a single ring of thick-walled cells, conspicuous. 

Spores rounded-triangular in polar view, triradiate 

mark simple, margins unspecialized, and surfaces of 

spore unornamented.

Type species. Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash.

Remarks. The name is derived from the settlement 

of Fort Wingate, N. Mex., which is close to a locality 

containing specimens of the form.

Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, n. comb.

Figure 17; plate 4, figure 1

1941. Coniopteris plumosa Daugherty, p. 54-55, pi. 9, figs. 3-5. 

?1941. Undetermined fertile frond. Daugherty, p. 99-100, pi. 6, 

fig. 1. (Called Dennstaedtia-like frond in plate 

description.)

Emended diagnosis. Lamina lanceolate as a whole, 

tripinnate, rather large, 12 cm wide in largest fragment, 

possibly as much as 50 cm long, base and petiole unknown. Main rachis slender, as much as 2 mm wide, not 

grooved above, smooth, showing fine cellular striae 

about lOju wide, bearing frequent slender, simple multicellular hairs about 15/u,-30ju wide, as much as 550ju long.

Primary branches linear-lanceolate, apex acute, as 

much as 6 cm long 2-4 cm wide, opposite to subopposite, 

arising at intervals of 8-22 cm and at an angle of 60°- 

70° to main rachis, branches bending outward at a point 

a few millimeters from rachis to nearly 90°, sometimes 

recurved. Primary branch rachis about 0.1 mm wide, 

bearing occasional, slender, simple hairs similar to those 

on main rachis. Primary and secondary rachises flanked 

by a continuous flange of lamina about 0.1 mm wide. 

Secondary branches oblong, apex acute, arising laterally 

in a katadromic order, at intervals of 2-3 mm, and at 

an angle of about 35°-45° to primary branch rachis. 

Secondary branch rachis about 45ju,-70ju wide, smooth, 

bearing sparse simple hairs similar to those on main 

rachis. Lower basal angle strongly decurrent, upper 

basal angle strongly contracted.

Lamina of secondary branches typically divided into 

about seven acutely pointed pinnules. Pinnules about 1-2 

mm wide, 2-3 mm long, arising in a katadromic order 

at intervals of 0.8-2 mm and at an angle of about 30°- 

40° to secondary branch rachis. Lamina thin, margins 

showing two or more teeth or deeply cleft, acutely

FIGURE 17. Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, n. gen., n. 

comb. A, B, D from USGS paleobotany locality 10059, lower 

red member of Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate, N. Mex. C 

from USGS paleobotany locality 10062, Petrified Forest 

Member of Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National 

Park, Ariz. A, Part of sporangium showing some thickwalled annular cells and some thin-walled cells on distal 

face. Transfer preparation, USNM 42965, X 100. B, Spore. 

Transfer preparation, USNM 42965, X 500. C, Several typical fertile pinnules from large part of leaf illustrated by 

Daugherty (1941, pi. 9, fig. 3). Impression on rock surface. 

Cotype, UCMP 1546, X 10. D, Sterile pinnules, showing venation and acutely pointed lobes typical of species. USNM 

42966, X 10.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D39

pointed lobes. Veins 20/u,-^0)u, wide, ending a short distance from pinnule margins; a single vein enters each 

pinnule; it may branch one or more times in a katadromic order, each vein usually ending in an acutely 

pointed lobe. Upper angle of pinnule deeply indented 

almost to midrib, lower angle decurrent, joining the next 

pinnule below.

Fertile pinnules similar to sterile, each bearing a 

sorus about 0.8-1.2 mm in diameter. Sori superficial, 

typically centered over midrib in lower part of pinnules, 

occasionally also over secondary branch rachis, containing 8-12 sporangia. Sporangia about 220|u,-^:00|u, in diameter in surface view, stalk apparently short. Annulus 

ringlike, oblique to horizontal, complete, well-developed, 

conspicuous, formed of a single row of 14-20 straight, 

thick-walled cells about 70/u, long, 6/u,-15/u, wide, radial 

walls about 15//, broad. Ordinary cells of distal face of 

sporangia polygonal about 40yu,-50/u, in diameter, walls 

straight, about 3/u, thick. Spore rounded-triangular in 

polar view, 31/A-38/* in diameter, wall about 1/n thick, 

distal side hemispherical, proximal side flattened, triradiate mark simple, narrow (about 2/x wide), margins 

unspecialized, nearly as long as spore radius, both surfaces smooth.

Description, The sori of Wingatea plumosa may be 

protected by an indusium, as Daugherty thought (1941, 

p. 55), but none were recognized in the dozen transfers 

made of the fertile branches during the present investigation. Apparently the lamina of this species was rather 

delicate, judging by the fossil remains. Although parts 

of the distal face and annulus of the sporangia and 

hairs were visible, none of the epidermal cells were observed in any of the transfers. All that remained of the 

lamina was a thin structureless brown film. Epidermal 

cells of other ferns at the locality were preserved, 

however.

Comparison. Wingatea plumosa was originally referred to the genus Coniopteris Brongniart by Daugherty (1941, p. 55-56) because the fronds resemble C. 

hymenophylloides (Brongniart). This assignment is not 

tenable. The sterile branches of the two species are remarkably similar, but the fertile are very different. In 

W. plumosa the fertile and sterile branches are similar 

in outline, and the sori are distinctly superficial, as 

shown in figure 17(7. In all species of Coniopteris, including C. hymenopkylloides, the sori are marginal, and 

the fertile pinnules are usually somewhat modified and 

do not look exactly like the sterile. The sori of W. Plumosa may be protected by an indusium, which would be 

compatible with Coniopteris, but, as noted above, none 

were observed.

The ultimate branches of W. plumosa rather closely 

resemble in gross morphology the sterile leaves of the 

extant fern Botrychium virgianianum, but the fertile 

structure of B. virginianum is a spike that cannot be 

matched in W. plumosa.

This species superficially resembles several species of 

Sphenopteris, including S. nystroemi Halle from rocks 

of Permian age in China, as pointed out by Daugherty, 

and S. damesi Stur from the upper Carboniferous formations of Germany. The fertile leaves of these species 

are not known, however, so our comparisons are 

incomplete.

The sporangia of W. plumosa resemble those of the 

modern fern Gleichenia linearis in several important 

characters. They are superficial and about the same general size, and the sporangia apparently are subsessile 

and develop simultaneously in both W. plumosa and G. 

linearis. The annuli are complete and oblique, and the 

sori lack indusial protection and usually contain 12 or 

less sporangia. The pinnules are somewhat different in 

gross morphology, however, and the pseudodichotomous 

type of branching typical of Gleichenia and all living 

members of the Gleicheniaceae has not been observed in 

W. plumosa.

W. plumosa has sporangia which closely resemble 

those of the late Carboniferous genus Oligocarpia^ the 

earliest form referred to the Gleicheniaceae. Oligocarpia is not pseudodichotomously branched and is also 

matched by W. plumosa in this character, but the pinnules of W. plumosa do not resemble those of Oligocapria. The sporangia of the Mesozoic genus Gleichenites generally resemble the sporangia of this species. 

Particularly interesting is the close resemblance in form 

of the sporangia of W. plumosa and the sporangium of 

G. porsildi illustrated by Seward (1926, pi. 5, fig. 21) 

from the Cretaceous of Greenland. However, the sporangia of W. plumosa are about half the size of the 

sporangium from Greenland. The pinnules of G. porsildi are altogether different, and its mode of branching 

is pseudodichotomous.

As the grouping of the sporangia and the annular 

structure of W. plumosa are matched so closely in the 

Gleicheniaceae, it seems appropriate to assign it to that 

family.

Material. Cotypes: UCMP1546,1547.

Distribution. This is a rare form and occurs at only 

two localities. In New Mexico it was collected from the 

lower red member of the Chinle Formation at USGS 

paleobotany locality 10059 in the Fort Wingate area; 

in Arizona it was collected from the Petrified Forest 

Member of the Chinle Formation at USGS paleobotany 

locality 10062 in Petrified Forest National Park.
D40 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

H
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D41

Family DIPTERIDACEAE

Genus CLATHROPTERIS Brongniart, 1828

Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty, 1941

Figure 18, plate 4, figures 2-7 

1941. Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty, p. 56-57, pi. 10, figs. 1-4.

Emended diagnosis. Leaf of moderate size (16 cm 

wide in largest, nearly complete specimen), fertile and 

sterile leaves similar, palmate, orbicular as a whole, 

petiole dividing into two short basal arms about 1 mm 

wide, each arm bearing three to five segments (pinnae). 

Pinnae linear lanceolate, gradually increasing in width 

to middle, sides then usually subparallel until near apex, 

where the pinna narrows abruptly, typically 4-10 cm 

long (at least 15 cm long in largest fragment) and 2-3 

cm wide, basal web uniting lamina of adjacent pinnae 

for 2-4 cm. Pinnae margins strongly toothed, teeth commonly curving forward, apex obtuse to acute, divisions 

between teeth typically extending less than one-quarter 

the distance to pinna rachis, rarely more than onequarter. Substances of leaf rather thick.

Midrib of pinna sunken above, usually smooth, occasionally channeled, slender, as much as 1 mm wide, primary branch veins sunken above, slender, as much as 

0.5 mm wide, given off midrib at intervals of 5-8 mm, 

alternate, typically arising at an angle of about 40°-50° 

to midrib, rarely at a wider angle, straight, rarely bendFIGURE 18. ClatJiropteris walkeri Daugherty. B from USGS 

paleobotany locality 10059 and G, H from USGS paleobotany 

locality 10058, lower red member of Chinle Formation, Fort 

Wingate, N. Mex. A, C-F, I from USGS paleobotany locality 

10062, Petrified Forest Member of Chinle Formation, Petrified 

Forest National Park, Ariz. A, Spore. USNM 42968, X 1,000. 

B, Basal part of small pinna showing irregular polygonal 

meshes formed by veins. USNM 42973, X 5. C, Three selected 

sporangia (annulus alone visible). Sporangium at lower left 

has dehisced. Transfer preparation, USNM 42969, X 100. D, 

Part of vein mesh showing orientation and grouping of sporangia ; a tertiary vein is visible at top (impression on rock 

matrix). USNM 42974, X 50. E, Three typical hairs from 

fertile leaf. Transfer preparation, USNM 42969, X 100. F, 

Stonia on lower epidermis, thick region near pore darkly 

stippled. Irregular width of anticlinal cell walls apparently 

due to slightly oblique compression of walls. Transfer preparation, USNM 42970, X 400. G, Part of typical sterile pinna 

showing low, forward-pointing marginal teeth, prominent 

midrib, and less prominent primary and secondary branch 

veins. USNM 42976, X 1. H, Two marginal teeth of sterile 

pinna. Midrib and primary, secondary, and some tertiary 

branch veins are shown. Drawn on a photograph. USNM 

42978, X 5. /, Venation of sterile part. Note numerous blind 

vein endings. There appears to be a slight swelling at apex of 

each such ending. Transfer preparation, USNM 42971, X 10.

ing forward slightly near apex. Secondary branch veins 

sunken, slender, about 65/t-100/* wide, occasionally 

forming irregular rectangular meshes about 4 by 7 mm 

in a large leaf. Tertiary branch veins delicate, about 

24ju-36j« wide, tending to form straight-sided roughly 

square or polygonal meshes usually 0.1 mm in largest 

dimension; meshes may enclose blind vein endings. 

Basal web betwen adjacent pinnae contains irregular 

polygonal meshes. Surfaces of pinna midrib and primary and secondary branch veins show numerous fine 

longitudinal cellular striations about 15/t wide. Lower 

surface of fertile and sterile leaves densely covered by 

simple, curved, multicellular hairs, 250ju-600ju long, 

about 15ju,-45ju wide. Epidermis thin, cells irregularly 

shaped, 12/i-30ju wide, 40ju-106 long, long axis oriei] ted 

parallel to veins in region of vein, elsewhere irregularly 

oriented; anticlinal cell walls wavy to sinuous, about 

I/* thick. Stomata oval, scattered, orientation typcially 

random, guard cell pair 35ju-45/i long, 20jw-32ju wide usually overlapping epidermal cells to small extent, 

stomatal pore 12ji*-18ju long. Trichome bases consist of 

a small round cell, typically 15jw-35jw in diameter.

Sori irregularly distributed on lower surface of fertile 

leaf, round, indistinct, typically containing 7-9 FT)Orangia, placenta obscure, Sporangia probably spherical, 

lY5ju-210/* wide in surface view. Annulus compl°te, 

oblique; a single row of 25-30 straight-walled cells about 

90/i long and 15/w wide, radial walls about 10j«, thick. 

Spores rounded triangular in polar view, 35/jt-42ji<. in 

diameter, triradiate mark simple, narrow with unomamented margins extending nearly to the edge of the 

spore, all surfaces of spore covered with irregularly 

distributed short, small, warts about 0.5ju high and 0.5jw 

wide at base.

Description. The emended diagnosis is based on the 

holotype and paratypes designated by Daugherty 

(1941) and on several dozen additional specimens which 

I collected in New Mexico and Arizona. Several nearly 

complete small leaves were collected, but most of the 

specimens consist of small parts of rather large leaves. 

Some transfer preparations were made of the new specimens, but only those from Petrified Forest National 

Park showed epidermal features. The other specimens 

are preserved only as stained impressions.

Comparisons. The teeth on the pinnae in Olathropteris loalkeri are about the same size, shape, and proportions as those in C. meniscoides that were figured by 

Harris (1931, p. 90-91) from the Ehaetian of Greenland. The pinnae of C. walkeri, however, lack the prominent rectangular to meniscus-shaped (that is, concave 

on one side, convex on the other) areas formed by the 

primary branch veins and the secondary veins typical
D42 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

of specimens of C. m-enisc aides that have been described 

from the Rhaetian of Greenland by Harris, from the 

Lower and Middle Jurassic of Portugal (Teixeira, 

1948), and from numerous other localities in rocks of 

Jurassic age in Europe and Asia. The sporangia described by Harris (1931, p. 89) from specimens of C. 

meniscoides collected in Greenland are larger (250/x in 

diameter) than those borne by C. walkeri (150^-200^ 

in diameter). Harris has reported that the sori in C. 

tneniscoides are composed of 10-15 sporangia, whereas 

there are 7-9 sporangia in the sori of C. walkeri.

Some of the teeth on the pinnae of C. walkerl are of 

about the same shape and have the same proportions as 

the teeth on the pinnae of the type specimens of C. 

elegans Oishi (1931), but the primary branch veins slant 

forward at a lower angle in C. walkeri (40°-50°) than 

in 0. elegans (60°-70°). Furthermore, the fronds of C. 

walkeri are larger than the fronds of C. el-egans. The 

teeth on the pinnae of C. ivalkeri are larger than those 

011 the pinnae of C. reticulata Kurr which has been described from the Keuper of Germany by Frentzen 

(1922). In addition, the primary branch veins in C. 

walkeri slant forward at a slightly higher angle than the 

veins in C. retieulata, and the pinnae of C. reticulata 

contain fewer rectangular meshes formed by the primary and secondary veins than are present in the pinnae of 0. walkeri.

Superficially, C. walkeri resembles C. obovata Oishi 

(1932, p. 291, pi. 30, fig. 2, and pi. 32, fig. 1), but they 

differ in detail. Leaves of C. walkeri are slightly smaller 

than those of C. obovata. Pinnae in G. obovata are oblanceolate to obovate, whereas they are lienar lanceolate 

in C'. walkeri. The teeth on the pinnae of C. walkeri 

generally are shorter than the teeth on C. obovata. In 

specimens of C. obovata described from the Middle 

Jurassic rocks of Yorkshire by Harris (1961, p. 123- 

126), the sori are regularly distributed and are 

surrounded by hairs which are apparently absent elsewhere. In C. walkeri, the sori are irregularly distributed, and hairs occur over the entire lower surface of 

the leaf. The primary branch veins in G. walkeri are 

nearly straight throughout their course and bend forward near the margins of the pinnae, whereas in C. 

obovata they bend forward near their base.

Several species of Olathropteris have been described 

from the Upper Triassic rocks in the Eastern United 

States, but none of them is very similar to C. walkeri. 

The pinnules determined by Newberry (1888, p. 94) 

as C. platyphylla Brongniart and those described as C. 

platyphylla var. expansa Saporta by Fontaine (1883,

p. 54-58) have primary branch veins that are nearly 

perpendicular to the midrib, whereas comparable veins 

are set at an angle of 40°-50° in C. walkeri. Also, the 

fronds of these two forms are considerably larger than 

those of C. walkeri, and the pinnae have rather low 

broad teeth in comparison with those of C. walkeri. C. 

rectiusculus Hitchcock (1855, p. 22-25, fig. 2), which 

was described from the Triassic rocks in Conrecticut, 

seems to be of about the same size and to have the same 

type of delicate veins as C. walkeri, as pointed out by 

Daugherty (1941, p. 5T). The specimen is small and 

fragmentary, however, and the only illustration is so 

poor that it is difficult to judge whether the two species 

are identical.

Clathropteris ivalkeri resembles the single fragmentary specimen on which Apachea arizonica Daugherty 

was based. Both leaves are palmate and have spreading 

pinnae, or lobes, originating from the base of the leaf. 

The principal differences noted by Daugherty are the 

marginal characters of the pinnae and the form and 

venation of the leaf. According to Daugherty, the pinnae margins of A. arizonica are entire, whereas they are 

toothed in C. walkeri. Microscopic examination of the 

holotype of A. arizonica, however, shows that there are 

a few teeth of the same size and shape as those on 

C. walkeri. These teeth also contain venation similar 

to that occurring in C. walkeri. The venatior of the 

lower part of the leaf of A. arizonica resembles that in 

a similar part of a leaf of 0. walkeri and the venation 

of the pinnae of C. ivalkeri. The differences in the form 

of the leaf of A. arizonica are believed to be due to the 

fragmentary nature of the fossil and to its portion in 

the rock relative to the rock surface. The lower surface 

of the holotype of A. arizonica is covered with a dense 

mat of hairs that are similar in size, shape, and distribution to those on the lower surface of C. walkeri. 

I believe that the specimen called A. arizonica is 

actually the basal part of a leaf of C. walkeri. Until a 

transfer can be made of the holotype of A. arizonica or 

more complete specimens are collected, however, it will 

be best to tentatively consider A. arizonica as Vrilid and 

distinct from C. walkeri.

Material. Holotype: UCMP 1550. Paratypes: 

UCMP 1551, 1552, 1553.

Distribution. This easily recognized form 1 "S been 

collected from USGS paleobotany localities 1C 058 and 

10059 in the Fort Wingate area, New Mexico, and from 

locality 10062 in Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. 

(The type specimen was collected from this locality.)
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D43

TOCIASSIFIED FERNS

Form-genus CLADOPH1EBIS Brongniart, 1849

Cladophlebis daughertyi Ash, n. sp.

Figure 19; plate 5

1941. Cladoph-leMs microphylla, auct. non Fontaine. Daugherty, 

p. 46-47, pi. 4, fig. 3, pi. 5, fig. 2 (not fig. 3).

Diagnosis. Lamina as a whole linear lanceolate, 

twice pinnate, width typically about 6 cm (largest 29 

cm, length possibly 60 cm, apex acute. Petiole unknown, 

rachis slender as much as 2 mm wide, showing a broad 

sharply defined channel about 0.5 mm wide; not punctate, without hairs, marked with narrow cellular striae 

about 15//, wide. Pinnae acute, slightly falcate, largest 

11 mm wide, 14.5 cm long, arising laterally, usually 

alternate, at intervals of about, 8-10 mm and at an angle 

of about 140° in lower part of leaf, changing to 90° in 

middle and to about 60° near apex of leaf.

Pinnules falcate, oblong (usually at least twice as long 

as wide), typically 2 mm wide, 5 mm long, apex rather 

obtuse. First pinnule arising on basiscopic side close to 

main rachis, later ones alternating katadromically. 

Pinnules typically arising at 60°-65° to pinnae rachis, 

basal pinnule on acrosopic side tending to be parallel 

with main rachis. Basal pinnule on basiscopic side 

smaller than others but shape normal; basal pinnule on 

acroscopic side rather enlarged; pinnules of both sides 

otherwise similar. Adjacent pinnules connected by an 

undivided laminae about 1 mm broad; pinnules rather 

crowded, often slightly overlapping; margins of pinnules generally entire, occasionally showing low 

rounded teeth. Midrib of pinnule stout, usually straight, 

occasionally slightly undulating, running nearly to 

apex. Veins making an angle of about 30°-40° to midrib; first veins on basiscopic side originating near pinnae rachis and forking two or three times, later veins 

forking once or imperfectly twice; venation sparse with 

a concentration of about two to three vein branches per 

millimeter at pinnule margins (veins are about 0.4 mm 

apart), typically 18-22 veins per pinnule; veins ending 

at a point about 100/A-200//, from pinnule margin.

Cells of upper and lower epidermis irregularly 

shaped, often sinuous walled, usually moderately elongated, distinctly elongated near margins of pinnules 

and veins, randomly oriented except near margins, 

where long axes of cells are parallel to margin, and 

near veins, where they parallel veins. Anticlinal cell 

walls about 2//, thick, surfaces occasionally bearing 

marks suggesting contact areas of mesophyll. Stomata 

evenly distributed except along margin where stomata

are typically absent, about 20-30 per square millimeter 

on lower epidermis, four to five per square millimeter 

on upper surface, parallel to neighboring veins, others 

at random, shape round to oval, slightly longer than 

wide. Guard cell pair 42/A-52/A long, 34/A-45//, wic1 ^, 

usually overlapping epidermal cells to some extent, stomatal pore 15//.-20//, long, surface of guard cells showing 

radiating striations. Trichome bases common on low0* 

epidermis (about 30-45 per sq mm) less common (about 

5 to 10 per sq mm) on upper epidermis, consisting of a 

rather small polygonal cell, typically 15/u, wide, containing a circular thickened scar about 10/u, in diameter, 

free part of trichome unknown.

Description. The diagnosis is based on the two specimens illustrated by Daugherty as Cladophlebis microphylla (UCMP 1530, 1531) and the several dozen specimens that I collected. Most of the specimens consist 

of isolated and fragmentary pinna; however, in several 

specimens the pinnae are attached to a rachis. T^e 

largest specimen of the species shows a rachis about 2 

mm broad, to which are attached 29 pinnae. Complete 

pinnae on the specimen are 14.5 cm long; pinnules are 

2.5 mm wide, 6 mm long.

Acetate film transfers were made of seven specimens 

and epidermal cells, usually from the lower epidermis, 

showed in most preparations. (See fig. 197^.) In these, 

the tissue of the veins is still present, lying on top of 

the lower epidermis, but no trace of the upper epidermis 

was seen, and nothing of the mesophyll except probable 

contact marks on the lower epidermis. I know of no 

explanation of this strange feature of preservation. In 

a few transfers both the upper and lower epidermis are 

preserved (fig. 19^, 6r), and the tissue of the veins is 

present between them.

An epidermis with stomata similar to those occurring 

in this fossil was noted in two Holocene mesophytic 

ferns, Alloserus crispa and Struthiopteris germsanica.

Comparisons. Cladophlebis daughertyi differs from 

C. microphylla Fontaine (1883, p. 51-52), with which 

Daugherty identified it, as follows. The pinnules of C. 

daughertyi are distinctly oblong, not subquadrate; they 

are inserted at a lower angle (typically 60° instead of 

80°), and they are larger (typically 2X5 mm) than the 

pinnules of C. microphylla (3X3 mm). The midrib is 

rather slender and extends nearly to the apex of the 

pinnules in C. daughertyi, whereas in C. microphylla it 

is quite stout and extends less than halfway up the 

length of the pinnules. Venation is not as sparse in the 

pinnules of C. daughertyi (about two veins per mm) 

as in the pinnules of C. microphylla (about 1.5 veins 

per mm). In C. daughertyi some of the lateral nerves
D44 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO D45

fork more than once, especially in the lower part of the 

pinnules, and the bifurcation usually occurs halfway 

between the midrib and the pinnule margin. In G. microphylla all the lateral nerves fork only once and at a 

point near the midrib.

Daugherty considered Pecopteris mexicana Newberry (described as P. meaeicana but illustrated as Alethopteris mexicana by Newberry, 1876, p. 143-144, pi. 

6, figs. 2,2a) to be the same as his C. microphyUa. However, a comparison of C. daughertyi with the description and illustrations of P. meoeicana and with a specimen from a locality near the one which yielded the 

type specimen of P. meseicana shows that they are different. Typically, the pinnules of C. daughertyi are 

twice as large as the pinnules of P. mexicana, and there 

are probably more veins per millimeter at the pinnule 

margin in C. daughertyi than in P. measicana.

The only other species of Gladophlebis of which we 

have anatomical knowledge is C. sahnii Vishnu-Mittre 

(1959, p. 51, pi. 1, figs. 5, 6, text figs. 4, 5). Although 

data concerning this Middle(?) Jurassic form are 

comparatively meager, enough is known to demonstrate 

that it differs from C. daughertyi in several respects. 

The pinnules of C. daughertyi are considerably larger 

than the pinnules of C. sahnii (1-1.5X1-3 mm), and 

there are no ridges of elongated cells along the pinnule

FIGTJBE 19. Cladophleltis daughertyi Ash, B. sp. A-D, F, H from 

USGS paleobotany locality 10062, Petrified Forest Member 

of Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. 

E, G from USGS paleobotany locality 10061, lower red member 

of Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate, N. Mex. A, Part of pinnule 

(lower epidermis) ; stomatal apertures shown by short black 

lines, trichome bases shown by large black dots; some of the 

stomata and trichome bases probably missing. Transfer preparation, USNM 42981, X 25. B, Part of apical region of pinna; 

overlapped edge of pinnule dotted. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42982, X <5. C, Lower epidermis showing straight-walled 

cells near margin at upper right of figure. Transfer preparation, USNM 42984, X 100. D, Part of typical pinna from central 

part of leaf; overlapped edge of pinnules dotted. USNM 

42986, X 5. E, Upper and lower epidermis from marginal area 

of pinnule, viewed from outside (lower surface), margin is 

on right; anticlinal cell walls of lower epidermis shown by 

solid lines, those of upper epidermis shown by broken lines. 

Transfer preparation, USNM 42987, X 400. F, Lower epidermis 

(somewhat obliquely compressed) ; anticlinal cell walls darkly 

stippled. Transfer preparation, USNM 42983, X 200. G, Upper 

and lower epidermis, viewed from outside (lower surface) ; 

anticlinal cell walls of lower epidermis shown by solid lines, 

anticlinal cell walls of upper epidermis shown by broken lines. 

Transfer preparation, USNM 42987, X 400. H, Lower epidermis showing narrow, straight-walled cells near margins of 

adjacent pinnules and wavy-walled ordinary cells elsewhere. 

Two veins are on right side of figure. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42985, X 100.

margins of C. daughertyi as there are in G. sahnii. Furthermore, the walls of the epidermal cells in the pinnules of C. daughertyi are not as sinuous as they are 

in G. sahnii, and the stomata in C. daughertyi are round 

or slightly oval, whereas they are considerably elongated in G. sahnii. Finally, trichomes are present on tH 

epidermis of C. daughertyi; they have not been repor*- 

ed on the epidermis of G. sahnii.

The most similar species known to me are G. svedbergi 

from the basal Liassic of Sweden (Johansson, 1922 p. 

19-22) and Greenland (Harris, 1931, p. 54, 57, text-fig. 

18); G. fontainei Seward (1907, p. 26) from the Jurassic of Turkestan; and G. grabauana Pan (1936) from 

the Rhaetian of Shensi, China G. svedbergi is distirguished by having rather large pinnules (as much as 12 

mm), a stout rachis, and pinnae that taper abruptrj. 

G. fontainei differs in that the pinnules are nearly equidimensional, and venation is rather sparse (14 per pirnule). Because only one specimen of C. fontainei is 

known, however, comparisons are incomplete. G. gro,- 

bauana, though very similar, may be distinguished by 

the rounded apices of the pinnules. Comparison with 

this species is also incomplete, as only two small specimens are known. Almost all other species that have 

been compared have larger pinnules with more numerous veins.

Remarks. The species is named for Lyman H. 

Daugherty, who made the first comprehensive study 

of the fossil leaves, spores, and wood in the Chinta 

Formation and the Dockum Group of the Southwestern 

United States.

There has been a mixup in the numbering of one of 

the specimens of this species, described by Daugherty, 

which is now in the collections of the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Specimen 1532 in 

that collection actually is Gladophlebis microphylla 

(here referred to G. daughertyi n. sp.), not G. reticulata; and specimen 1531 is G. reticulata, not G. micrcphylla. These discrepancies apparently are due to th? 

fact that the explanations of figures 2 and 3 on plate 5 

have been reversed, as a comparison of the original 

specimens with Daugherty's descriptions shows.

Material. Holotype: USNM 42988. Paratypes: 

UCMP 1530, 1532.

Distribution. This species occurs in the lower red 

member of the Chinle Formation at USGS paleobotany 

localities 10059 and 10061 in the Fort Wingate area, 

New Mexico, and in the Petrified Forest Member (lower part) of the Chinle Formation at USGS paleobotany 

locality 10062 in Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz,,
D46 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

INDEX LIST OF FOSSIL FERNS

All the genera and species based on fern and femlike 

foliage described or reported from the Chinle Formation are listed below in alphabetical order. The several 

petrified stems attributed to the ferns are also included. 

This index list, in general, follows the style of the catalog part of LaMotte's (1944) "Supplement to Catalogue 

of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Plants of North America/' 

All references cited are included in the bibliography of 

this report.

Data for each generic citation are arranged in the following order: The generic name, author, date of publication, page reference, and the name and author of the 

type, or first-described species of the genus.

For each primary specific citation, data are arranged 

as follows: The generic and specific name, the name of 

the author, the year of publication, the page number, 

and the plate or text-figure references. Then follow formation and locality data for the type specimen of the 

species and other specimens described or reported by 

the author. Next, in chronological order, are listed citations of the species by later authors together with the 

year of publication, page, plate and figure references, 

and formation and locality information. Thus, additional discoveries of the species are connected with the 

appropriate author and locality da/ta. Brief annotations 

concerning the fossil are enclosed in parentheses at the 

end of the primary citation. Beneath each primary 

citation are listed, in chronological order, synonyms of 

the species, together with the author, year of publication, page, plate and text-figure references, and formation and locality data.

Apachea Daugherty, 1941, p. 55-56. Type species: A. arisonica,

Daugherty.

.1. arizonica Daugherty, 1941, p. 55-56, pi. 9, fig. 2. Petrified 

Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest 

National Park, Ariz. (Sterile foliage, Dipteridaceae. 

May be a poorly preserved specimen of Clathropteris ivalk' 

eri. See p. D42 in this report.) 

Ch inlea Daugherty, 1941, p. 45-46, em. Miller, 1968. Type species :

G. campii Daugherty.

0. campii Daugherty, 1941, p. 45-^6, pi. 4, fig. 4 em. Miller, 

1968, p. 113, figs. 1-13. Petrified Forest Member of the 

Chinle Formation, St. Johns area, Arizona. (Poorly preserved petrified stems, Lepidophyta.)

Osmunditcs icalkeri Daugherty, 1941, p. 50-52, pi. 5, fig. 1. 

Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park and St. Johns area, Arizona; 

Chinle Formation, Dinnebito Wash, Ariz.

Chinlea sp. Miller, 1968, p. 113, fig. 14. Petrified Forest Member 

of the Ghinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park 

and St. Johns area, Arizona. (Poorly preserved petrified 

stems, Lepidophyta.)

Undetermined stem fragments. Daugherty, 1941, p. 100-101, 

pi. 19, fig. 2; pi. 20, figs. 1, 2. Petrified Forest Member of 

the Chinle Formation, St. Johns area, Arizona. 

Cladophlebis dauffhertyi Ash, n. sp., p. D43-D45, this report, Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified 

Forest National Park, Ariz., and lower red raember of 

the Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate area, New Mexico- 

(Sterile foliage.)

0. microphylla auct. non Fontaine Daugherty, 1941, p. 46- 

47, pi. 4, fig. 3; pi. 5, fig. 2. Petrified Fores'; National 

Park, Ariz.

C. cf. denticulata (Brongniart) Fontaine. Ash, table 1, this paper. Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. (Sterile foliage.) 

C. microphylla auct. non Fontaine. Daugherty=Cf . d-aughertyi

Ash. 

C. reticulata auct. non Fontaine. Daugherty= ICladophlebis n.

sp. (See p. D26 of this report.)

Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty, 1941, p. 56-57, pi. 10, figs. 1-4. 

Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formatior, Petrified 

Forest National Park, Ariz. Ash. p. D41-D42, tils report; 

lower red member of the Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate 

area, New Mexico. (Fertile and sterile foliage, Dipteridaceae. )

Coniopteris plumosa Daugherty=Winffatea plumose, (Daugherty) Ash. 

Cynepteris Ash, p. D31, this report. Type species: C. lasiophora

Ash.

C. lasiophora Ash, p. D31-D38, this report. Lower red member of 

the Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate area, Ne^ Mexico; 

Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. (Fertile and sterile foliage, Cynepteridacea.)

Lonchopteris virginiensis auct. non Fontaine: Daugherty, 

1941, p. 49, pi. 5, figs. 1, 2; pi. 6, figs. 1, 2. Petrified Forest 

Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz.; Chinle Formation near Nazlini, Ariz. 

Lonchopteris (?) sp. Daugherty, 1941, p. 50, p1 4, fig. 2.

Chinle Formation near Nazlini, Ariz. 

Itopsidema, Daugherty, 1960, p. 775. Type species: /. vancleavet

Daugherty, 1960.

I. vancleavei Daugherty, 1960, p. 775, text-figs. 1-lf, Petrified 

Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest 

National Park, Ariz. (Petrified stem, ?Osmundaceae.) 

Laccopteris smithii Daugherty Phlebopteris smitMi (Daugherty) Arnold. 

Lonchopteris virginiensis auct. non Fontaine. Daugherty=Oynepteris lasiophora Aslh.

Lonchopterist sp. Daugherty=Cynepteris lasiophora Ash. 

Osmundites walkeri Daugherty=Chinlea campii Daugherty em.

Miller.

Phlebopteris smithii (Daugherty) Arnold, 1947, p. 19C-197, textfigs. 91-92. Arnold, 1956, p. 119. Petrified Forest Member 

of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park. 

Ash, this report, table 1. Lower red member of the Chinle 

Formation, Fort Wingate area, New Mexico. (Fertile 

and sterile foliage, Matoniaceae.)

Laccopteris smithii Daugherty, 1941, p. 53-54, £1. 7; pi. 8, 

figs. 1-3; pi. 9, fig. 1. Petrified Forest Member of the 

Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz.; 

Chinle Formation, Dinnebito Wash, Ariz.
FERNS, CHINLE FORMATION (UPPER TRIASSIC), FORT WINGATE AREA, NEW MEXICO

P. ntensis Arnold, 1956, p. 119-120, pi. 16. OMnle Formation, 

Garfield County, Utah. (Fertile and sterile foliage, 

Matoniaceae.)

Sphcnoptcris arizonica Daugherty, 1941, p. 99, pi. 19, figs. 3, 4. 

Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified 

Forest National Park, Arizona. (Sterile fernlike foliage of 

unknown affinities.)

Todites fragilis Daugherty, 1941, p. 52-53, pi. 6, figs. 3, 5. Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. Ash, this paper p. D27-D31. Lower 

reel member of the Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate area, 

New Mexico. (Fertile and sterile foliage, Osmundaceae.) 

Undetermined fertile frond. Daugherty, 1941, p. 99-100, pi. 6, 

fig. 4. Chinle Formation, Nazlini, Ariz. (Probably a fragment of W. plumosa.) 

Wingatea Ash, p. D38, this report. Type species: W. plumosa

(Daugherty) Ash.

Tr. plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, p. D38-D40, this report. Lower 

red member of the Chinle Formation, Fort Wingate area, 

New Mexico. (Fertile and sterile foliage, ?Gleicheniaeeae.) 

Coniopteris plumosa- Daugherty, 1941, p. 54-55, pi. 9, figs. 

3-5. Petrified Forest Member of the Ohinle Formation, 

Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz.

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4, v. 1, no. 2, p. 223-255, pis. 16-18, 3 figs.

 1932, The Rhaetic plants from the Nariwa District, Prov. 

Bitchu (Okayama Prefecture), Japan: Hokkaido Imp. 

Univ. Fac. Sci. Jour., ser. 4, v. 1, nos. 3, 4, p. 257-379, pis. 19- 

53, 4 figs.

O'Sullivan, R. B., and Beaumont, E. C., 1957, Preliminary geologic map of western San Juan Basin, San Juan and McKinley Counties, New Mexico: U.S. Geol. Survey Oil and 

Gas Inv. Map. OM-190, scale 1:125,000.

Pan, C. H., 1936, Older Mesozoic plants from north Shenei: 

Paleont. Sinica, ser. A, v. 4, pt. 2, 49 p., 15 pis.

Peck, R. C., and Eyer, J. A., 1963, Pennsylvanian, Permian, and 

Triassic Charophyta of North America : Jour. Paleontology, 

v. 37, no. 4, p. 835-844, pis. 100, 101, fig.

Penhallow, D. P., 1907, A manual of the North American gymnosperms * * * : Boston, Ginn & Co., 274 p., 55 pis., 48 figs.

Platen, Paul, 1908, Untersuchungen fossiler Holzer aus dem 

Westen der Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika : Naturf. Gesell. Leipzig Sitzungsber., Jahrg. 1907, v. 34, p. 1- 

164, 3 pis.

Poole, F. G., 1961, Stream directions in Triassic rocks of Fre 

Colorado Plateau: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 424-C, 

p. G1S9-C141, fig. 199.1.

Powell, J. W., 1876, Report on the geology of the eastern portion of the Uinta Mountains and a region of country adjacent thereto: Washington, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

of the Territories, 218 p., 4 figs., 8 maps.

Radforth, N. W., 1938, An analysis and comparison of the strr-?- 

tural features of Dactylotheca plumosa Artis sp. and /Ser,/- 

ten-bergia ophiodermatica Goppert sp. : Royal Soc. Edinburgh Trans., v. 59, no. 14, p. 385-396, 2 pis., 2 figs.

 1939, Further contributions to our knowledge of the fossil Schizaeaceae ; genus Senftenbergia: Royal Soc. Edinburgh Trans., v. 59, no. 27, p. 721-745, 2 pis., 3 figs.

Read, C. B., and Wanek, A. A., 1961, Stratigraphy of outcropping 

Permian rocks in parts of northeastern Arizona and adjacent areas : U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 374-H, 10 p.

Reagan, A. B., 1925, Life and mythology of Ganado petrified 

forest : Pan-Am. Geologist, v. 43, no. 3, p. 238-239.

Reeside, J. B., and others, 1957, Correlation of the Triassic 

formations of North America, exclusive of Canada : Ge*>l. 

Soc. America Bull., v. 68, no. 11, p. 1451-1514, 2 pis.

Repenning, C. A., Cooley, M. E., and Akers, J. P., 1969, Strat'*?- 

raphy of the Chinle and Moenkopi Formations, Navajo and 

Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona, New Mexico and Utrh. 

U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 521-B, p. 31 p., 2 pis., 10 figs.

Roadifer, J. E., and others, 1964, Preliminary investigations 

of the micro-environment of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona : Arizona Univ. Geochron. Lab. Interim Research Rept. 3, 26 p., 5 pis.

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12 figa

Scott, R. A., 1960a, Pollen of Ephedra from the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) and the genus Eqiiisetosporites: Micropaleontology, v. 6, no. 3, p. 271-276, 1 pi., 2 figs.

 1960b, Fossil woods associated with uranium on the

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B132, fig. 55-1. 

Scott, R. A., Barghoorn, E. S., and Leopold, E. B., 1960, How

old are the angiosperms? : Am. Jour. Sci., v. 258A, p. 284-

299. 

Seward, A. C., 1900, The Jurassic flora, I. The Yorkshire Coast,

Catalogue of the Mesozoic plants in the Department of

Geology, Britisih Museum (Natural History), pt. 3: London, British Mus. (Nat. History), 341 p., 21 pis.

 1907, Jurassic plants from Caucasia and Turkestan: 

Russia Comit6 Geol. Mein. (new ser.), no. 38, 48 p., 8 pis.
D50 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

 1926, The Cretaceous plant-bearing rocks of western 

Greenland: Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans., ser. B, v. 215, 

p. 57-175, pis. 4-12.

Silva Pineda, Alicia, 1961, Flora ffisil cle la Formacion Santa 

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Autonoma lust. Geologia Paleontologia Mexicana, no. 11, 

36 p., 6 pis., 1 fig.

Simpson, James H., 1850, Journal of a military reconnaissance from Santa Fe, New Mexico to the Navaho Country, 

made in 1849 * * * : U.S. 31st Cong., 1st sess., Senate Exec. 

Doc. 64, p. 56-138, 146-148.

Sit greaves, Lorenzo, 1854, [Diary], in Sitgreaves, Lorenzo, and 

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v. 10, no. 59, p. 4-29.

Stagner, H. R., 1941, Geology of the fossil leaf beds of the Petrified Forest National Monument: Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 526, p. 9-17.

Stewart. J. H., and others, 1959, Stratigraphy of Triassic and 

associated formations in part of the Colorado Plateau 

region: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1046-Q, p. 487-576.

Swaine, P. T., and Hegewald, J. F. C., 1882, Information concerning some fossil trees in the United States National 

Museum : U.S. Natl. Mus. Proc., v. 5, p. 1-3.

Teixeira, Carlos, 1948, Flora Mesozoica portuguesa: Lisbon, 

Portugal Services Geologicos, 119 p., 45 pis., 9 figs.

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P. 207-209.

U.S. Military Academy, 1920, Annual reports of the Association 

of Graduates Office for 1920: West Point, N.Y., U.S. Military 

Academy, p. 100-102,1 fig.

Yaughn, P. P., 1963, The age and locality of the late Paleozoic 

vertebrates from El Cobre Canyon, Rio Arriba County, New 

Mexico : Jour. Paleontology, v. 37, no. 1, p. 283-285.

Vishnu-Mittre, 1959, Studies on the fossil flora of Nipania, 

Rajmahal Series, India; Ptericlophyta, and geners 1 observations on Nipania fossil flora: Palaeobotanist (Lucknow, 

India) v. 7, no. 1, p. 47-66, 5 pis., 61 figs.

Walker, M. V., 1938, Evidence of Triassic insects in the Petrified 

Forest National Monument, Arizona: U.S. Natl. Mus. Proc., 

v. 85, Pub. 3033, p. 137-141.

Ward, L. F., 1889, The geographical distribution of fossil plants : 

U.S. Geol. Survey 8th Ann. Rept, pt. 2, p. 663-£W, pi. 61.

 1892, The plant-bearing deposits of the American Triasi: 

Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 3, p. 23-31.

 1900a, Status of the Mesozoic floras of the United 

States The older Mesozoic: U.S. Geol. Survey 20th Ann. 

Rept., pt. 2, p. 213-748, pis. 21-179.

 1900b, Report on the petrified forests of Arizona: 

Washington, U.S. Dept. Interior, 23 p.

 1901a, The petrified forests of Arizona: Sinithsonian 

Inst. Ann. Rept. for 1899, p. 289-307, 3 pis.

 1901b, Geology of the Little Colorado Valley: Am. Jour. 

Sci., ser. 4, v. 12, p. 401-413.

 1905, Status of the Mesozoic floras of the United States

(second paper) : U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 48, pt. 1, 616 p., 

pt. 2,119 pis.

Whipple, A. W., and others, 1855, Report of explorations for a 

railway route near the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude, from 

the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: U.S. 33d Cong., 

1st sess., House Exec. Doc. 129, v. 18, pt. 2, p. 1-87; also 

U.S. 33d Cong., 2d sess., Senate Exec. Doc. 78, v. 3, p. 1-36; 

House Exec. Doc. 91, v. 3, p. 1-136 [1856].

Woodhouse, S. W., 1854, Report on the natural history of the 

country passed over by the exploring expedition under the 

command of Brev. Capt. L. Sitgreaves, United States Topographic Engineers, during the year 1851, in Sitgreaves, 

Lorenzo, and others, Report of an expedition down the Zuni 

and Colorado Rivers: U.S. 32d Cong., 2d sess., Senate Exec. 

Doc., v. 10, no. 59, p. 31-40.
INDEX

Abietinae. ...................................

abiquiense, Equisetum.... ....................

Acknowledgments ......................

Acompsosaurus wingatensis ..................

adamanica, Schttderia. .......................

Agate Bridge. __..--.-.--.- --------------

Agua Zarca Sandstone Member, Chinle 

Formation-..--. .-._.- --------

Alethopterismeucana. ........... ... _ - _

Allosorus crispa. ............................

Amethyst crystals... -__.._ ..............

cowellensis-.--. ...........................

poolensis- ................................

Angiosperms, oldest known --_.-._-_._---__.- 

Apachea arizonica. ......................... 23,

Araucaria. ...... ...................... -.-....

Araucarioxylon arlzonicum. ...................

11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 23, 

icood worthi... ............................

sp............. ...........................

Araucarites chiquito. ------------------------- -

mollhausianus --------------------------- .

monttifer --.--.- ........................

shinarumpensis. -------------------------

arizonica, Apachea ......................... 23,

Sphenoptens. .............................

Woodworthia.- ... ...................... 11,

arizonicum, Araucarioxylon -.--...........-...

11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 23, 

arizon icus, Podozamites .......................

Arroyo del Cobre, Ohinle members... . .. .

fossil plant remains- _____ _ __ _._____ __

stratigraphy correlation - - _ .............

vertebrate fossils. __..-.- ._ . ...... ..

B 

bakeri, Pterophyttum.-........

Beautiful Valley, fossil forest - 

Bennettitales.. .__........

Blake, W. P., quoted.........

Botrychium tirginianianum. _.

Brachyphyllum munsteri--.-_.

sp........................

bricei, Lonchopteris...........

Page

6

11

4

23

14

9

. 14,24

45

43

11

37

37

37

15

42,46

9

10,

26,27

26

13

12

6,10

12

12

42,46

23,47

13,15

10,

26,27

24

7,10

14

14

C 

campii, Chinlea............................ . 16,46

Chalcedony Park. -.. . ......... .- 9,11

fossil forest---------.-----------------..-- 13

silicified wood------------------..-------- 9

Chinle flora.___ .......... .. . .. S3

composit ion......-.... ................. 85

correlation_..-.-.-.. --.............-- 15,25

stratigraphic distribution................. 24

Chinle Formation, age_______ ___ _.13,25,27

description.... ..----...-.. ........... SO

units. - ......----.-............... .. 13

Chinlea campii-. -________ __ --..__.__...... 16,46

sp ... .-.. 16,46

chinleana, Ephedra ----. ... ......_.. .... 16

Lycostrobus............................... 26

chinleana, Equisetosporites..... -._.___.-.__.__- 16

chiquito, Araucarites..... _ - _ 12

circularis, Isoetites.... ..........._._..---._.. 26

Lepacydotes..... ....................... 16,26

[Italic page numbers indicate major references]

Page 

Cladophlebis....---------_.............. .. 43

daughertyi .............__.. 23, 26, 43, 46; pi. 5

denticulata-............................... 23,46

fontainei.................................. 45

grabauana................................ 45

microphylla............................ .26,43,46

reticulata.................... ...-.-- .23,26,45,46

sahnii......------------_-.-- .--....-.- 45

svedbergi.................................. 45

Clithropteris.................................. 41

elegans.. ---.--------------------------.- 42

meniscoides............................... 41,42

platyphylla,--------------............... 42

expansa.....---...... -......... ... 42

reticulata..------------------------------- 42

walkeri.- ................... 23,26, 41, 46; pi. 4

Clay, volcaric origin-.. .. .- 21,23

Colorado Plateau, pre-Chinle unconformity-- 20 

unconformity between Permian and

Triassic rocks .--------..----_- 19

Coniferales .-.._ - - 25 

Conifers-.....__. -----------_-------_ 14

Coniopteris hymenophylloides.................. 39

plumosa.......--.------..-.--.------...38,46,47

Copper mines, fossil plant remains........... 7, 10

Cordaitales.. -- - 25 

Cordaites------------------------------------- 16

Correlation, Chinle flora_------------------- 15,25

Chinle flora, with rocks of Sonora, Mexico. 27 

fossils in Arroyo del Cobre area........... 25

Leroux Member...._ - - - 13

Moenkopi Formation 19

Triassic rocks, Arroyo del Cobre area and

east-central Arizona....._.._ ... 24

with European rocks. -...----------_- 6, 7

with Tonichi, Sonora, Mexico, flora....... 8

cowellensis, Amenta.. 37

crispa, Allosorus.............................. 43

Cycads . ...__ - .-- ... 14

Cynepteridaceae_ . _ 31, 37

Cynepteris. ..--.-.............. . .-._.. 31

lasiophora-----.---------.- 23,26, 31, 46; pis. 2, 3

D 

damesi, Sphenopteris.-. ____ __ __ -___ . 39

daughertyi, Cladophlebis..--------- 23,26, 43, 46;pi. 5

Dennstaedtia-like frond_____ ----------------- 38

denticulata, Cladophlebis...................... 23,46

D ipteridaceae. - _ __ - 41

Dockum Group.-----.---------_. - . 14

Dolores Formation.--.-.-...---.----------.-- 15

E

elegans, Clathropteris............-.. ......... 42

Emplectopteris triansularis.................... 36

EpAedro- -.-- 14,16

. .-. 16

.-.- . . 25

. .... 26

. .. .- 16

. . 11

.. . . 11

.. . 23

expansa, Clathropteris platyph ylla-............ 42

chinleana.............

Equisetales_............

Equisetites sp...----------

Equisetosporites chinleana - 

Equisetum abiquiense.- 

knowltoni.............

Eupelor frasii.-...........

Expeditions in area, Hegewald, 2d Lt. J. F. C. 

Ives, Lt. Joseph C..........___.......

Macomb, Capt. J. N.._.................

Sitgreaves, Capt. Lorenzo..___........

Washington, Lt. Col. John M......._

Whipple, Lt.AmielW..---.-.-.-------

F

Pape

8

6

7

5

5

5

Ferns, lower red member, Chinle Formation . 23

unclassified __ --- -- 43

Fillcales.. ....... .. .-- 25

Flora, Chinle .------..--------.--------- S3

fontainei, Cladophlebis .. ............ .... - - - - 45

Fossil forests, defined ---------------------- 13

Fossil-leaf-bearing localities. _ ._. ------- 21

fragilis, Todttes. ...................... 23,37, 47; pi. 1

frasii, Eupelor. . _._ ------ - 23

frazeri, Todea (Leptopteris) ... ... . -. 31

Frond, .Dennsteedi Jo-like. .. ... .. ----- 38

fertile, undetermined--------------------- 47

Fungi. ....... .- - ---- -- 25

in petrified wood..... ------------------- 9,12

G

Ganado, fossil forest .--- -- --- 13

Goeppert, II. R., quoted. ------ ------- 6

germsanica, Struthiopteris - ...--.-...- .---- 43

Gigantonoclea lagrelii ... ---------- ---------- 36

Ginkgoales- . . ..-- ------------- 25

Gleichenialinearis.--- -... - --- -------- ----- 39

Gleicheniaceae-- - -- __ - 38,39,47

Gleichenites. ---... ---------------------- 39

porsiZdi---. ----------------------------- 39

Glorieta Sandstone, description ----- 17

Gnetales. ------------------------------------ 25

grabauana, Cladcphlebis. ..............-------- 45

gracilis, Walchia.. ...... ..... - ----- --- 13

Gymnospermae. ----------------------------- 25

II, I

hymenophylloides, Coniopteris--.. - -..- ------ 39

Insect larvae, structures in petrified wood . . 15 

Isoetites circularis..------------ ----- --- --- 16,26

Itopsidema vancleavei ------------------------ 15,46

J, K 

Juniperus virginianus ... ... ------------------- 9

Karat topography.---- --- ------------ 1 $> W

Klukia.. ---------------------------------- 37

knowltoni, .Eguisrfzwn-- --------------------- H

KUITZ, George F., quoted -------- 9

Laccopteris smithii-.-------------------------- 16,46

( Laccopteris) smithii, Phlebopteris............. 26

lagrelii, Gigantonoclea...----. -------------- 36

Las Minas Jimmie -------------------------- 1"

lasiophora, Cynepteris. - 23, 26, 31, 46; pis. 2. 3 

Leaves, fossil, association with copper --------- 7

fossil, Chinle Formation. - ------- 24

lower red member, Chinle Formation. 20 

Petrified Forest National Park... 14 

Shinarump Conglomerate ------------ 14

imprints, Tanners Crossing... ----- 12

D51
D52 INDEX

Page 

(Leotopteris) frazeri, Todea.------------------- 31

Lepacyclotes circularis ----------------------- 16, 26

Leroux Member, Shinarump Formation...... 12,13

leioisi, Sanmiguelio-..------------------------ 15,16

linearis, Gleichenia.--------------------------- 39

Lithodendron Member, Shinarump Formation 11,13 

Lithodendron Valley -...----.-..-..----...-.- 9

Lithodendron Wash.------------------------- 8

fossil forest.------------------ --.__.-.- 13

Location of area..-----...----------.-----.--- 17

Lonchopteris.................................. 35

6ric«'------------------------------------ 36

»ir(/inifnsis------------------__ 26,31,35,36,46

sp..-__---.-------_---.-------------- 31, 36,46

Lower red member, Chinle Formation...--.. 20 

Lycopodiales..-. . --.. ----- ----- 25

Lycostrobus chinleana........-----.-.....--... 26

Lygodium... .------_-----_----------_--------- 37

M 

macombii, Otozamites..------------------------

Macrotaeniopteris magnifolia.. -----------------

magnifolia, Macrotaeniopteris..................

Marcou, Jules, quoted...__-----------------

meniscoides, Clathropteris......................

mexicana, Alethopteris.... -....................

Pecopteris-.--.-..........................

microphylla, Cladophlebis................... 26,

Milk Ranch Canyon, Permian section..-__-_- 

Minas de Pedro.-----------------------------

minor, Todiosporites___ ---------------------

Moencopie Format ion........--.---..........

Moenkopi Formation.------------------------

Mohria........................................

mollhausianus, Araucarttes -...................

monilifer, Araucarites.........................

morulae, Verrucosisporites.....................

munsteri, Brachyphyllum.....................

N

Neocalamites virginiensis.. 

Newark flora---.-...____.

Newark Group.-...__-__. 

newberryi, Plagiophyllum - 

Nilssoniopteria...........

nizhonia, Wuliamsonia....

nystroemi, Sphenopteris -..

26

26

5

41,42

45

45

43,46

17

7

36

11,13

13,19

37

6,10

12

37

15

O 

obovata, Clathropteris.... ...................... 42

occidentalis, Zamites........................... 7,26

Oligocarpia................................... 39

Osmundaceae.- _______ _ ._.______-. 14,16, #7

Osmundites walkeri.........-.-----.. ......_.. 16,46

Otozamites...------........................... 14

macombii................................. g

powelli-............................ 14,15,26,27

Owl Rock Member, Chinle Formation_.... 14

Pachyphyllum sp._..__..................... 7

Painted Desert Formation................... 12,13

Paleobotany localities..-._---. ........... 25

Paleorhinus........

Paloreodoxites......

Pecopteris mexicana. 

Pelourdea..........

(Yuccites) poleoensis....................

pennaeformis, Senftenbergia.................

Petrified Forest Member, Chinle Formation-. 14,23

Petrified Forest National Monument, established...... .-...--............... 11

Petrified Forest National Park, comparable

flora__ _- - -._-.__..__.- 23 

forest levels____________________________ 12

Petrified Forest National Park Continued 

leaf collections...........................

leaf fossils..-..--------------------------

microenvironmental studies _____ -____-

named__......---..-....----...-.-.--.

Page 

14 

23 

16 

11

Petrified wood, associated with uranium

deposits.....-..........----.-.._. 16

Chinle Formation, lower red member.__ 20 

Petrified Forest Member._.......... 23

Shinarump Member.-..-----___.---.. 20,#/

colored, factors involved------------------ 9

commercial value-------------------..--.. 9, 11

driftwood theory.-------------------.--.- 13

fossil forests.--..--------------.-----._. 13

historical uses..----------.-_--------.--.. 4,11

origin_.................................. 9

previous investigations.__....._...... 5

structures made by insect larvae_...... 15

Phlebopteris .----........................... 16

smtthii.............................. 16,23,26,46

utensis.................................... 16,47

(Laccopteris) smtthii....................... 26

piniformis, Walchia............................ 13

Plagiophyllum newberryi-............ ....... 26

platyphylla, Clathropteris...................... 42

expansa, Clathropteris... ....-...---.-..... 42

plumosa, Coniopteris.-..................... 38,46,47

Senftenbergia.............................. 37

Wingatea...................... 23,38,46, 47; pi. 4

Podozamites arizonicus........................ 26

Poleo Sandstone.....--....-......--....---... 14,15

poleoensis, Pelourdea.......................... 16

Pelourdea (Yuccites)-- .................... 27

Yuccites......-------..................... 15,16

Polyporiteswardii.--......................... 12

porsildi, <-leichenites........................... 39

powelli, Otozamites.----...-----.-....... 14,15,26,27

Zamites................................... 11,14

Pre-Chinle unconformity, age.______-.----.__ 20

Previous investigations, Arnold, Dr. Chester

A...-............................ 16

Berry, Edward W........................ 14

Brown, Roland W...... ..-...... .. 15

Daugherty, Lyman H-.-.....------_---.- 1, 14

Fontaine, W. M........................... 11

Gregory, Herbert E...................... 13

Jeffrey, Dr. Edward C................... 13

Knowlton, Frank....__-.---..---_..-.. 10

Kunz, George F_..................... 9

McKee, E. D -.. --------- 13

Miller, Charles N., Jr..................... 16

Platen, Paul. - ~ ~ 13 

Powell, Maj. John W .___. -~.~.. 10,11 

Scott, RichardA.---------,------~--- 16

University of Arizona.*--.-.------------ 16

Walker, M. V_ . .------------- 15

White, David-.--------------.----------- 13

See also Expeditions in area. 

princeps, Todites................. .--. -----. 30,31

Pteridophytes-------------------------------- 21

Pterophyllum bakerL....---............------- 14

rectiusculus, Clathropteris...------.....-.----- 42

reticulata, Cladophlebis..- --------------- 23,26,45,46

Clathropteris.............................. 42

Round Rock, fossilforest..................... 13

Rutiodon..................................... 23

S 

sahnii, Cladophlebis:.....--------------------- 45

San Aridres Limestone, description........... 17

Sanmiguelia.-------------------------------.. 16

lewisi..................................... 15,16

schenki, Thaumatopteris....................... 36

SchUderia adamanica.......................... 14

Schizaeaceae.--------------___----------- 37

Page 

Senftenbergia................................. 37

pennaeformis............................. 37

plumosa.................................. 37

Shinarump Conglomerate----------.--------- 11,14

Shinarump Formation...-- ........... .. 11,13

Shinarump Member, Chinle Formation...... 14, SO

shinarumpensis, Araucarites........ __....... 12

Silicified wood, Chalcedony Park...... ... 9

smithii, Laccopteris........................... 16,46

Phlebopteris........................ 16,23,26,46

(Laccopteris).......................... 26

Sonsela Sandstone Bed, Chinle Fonration. 16,23 

Sphenopterisarizonica......................... 23,47

damesi --------................... ....... 39

nystroemi................................. 39

Sporangium, Greenland. -------_ 39

Stratigraphy, pre-Cenozoic, summary._.... 17

Struthiopteris germanica .................... 43

svedbergi, Cladophlebis-....................... 45

Tanners Crossing, leaf imprints..-......-...- 12

Tedelea....................................... 37

Thaumatopteris schenki....................... 36

Todea (Leptopteris) frazeri.................... 31

Todiosporiies minor........................... 36

Todites....................................... 27

fragilis.......................... 23,27, 47; pi. 1

princeps.................................. 30,31

Tomchi, Sonora, Mexico, possible floral correlation. ._---------___-....- 6

triansularls, Emplectopteris.................... 38

U

Unconformity, between Permian and Triassic

rocks..._____.___-.-_.-. 19

pre-Chinle..._..__..________... 20

utensis, Phlebopteris.........--... ............. 16,47

vancleavei, Itopsidema.. .......... ... .......... 15,46

Verrucosisporites morulae ..... ... ............. 37

sp. C.-.. 37

Vertebrate fossils, basis lor age of Chinle-- - - - - 27

Petrified Forest Member, Chinle Formation. ______ _ .. ... _ ..... 25

virginianianum, Botrychium. .................. 39

virginianus, Juniperus....... ... -------------- 9

virginiensis, Lonchopteris ...... ....... 26,31,35,36,46

Neocalamites ... ........................... 26

W 

Walchia gracilis. .............................. 13

piniformis................................ 13

walkeri, Clathropteris.........--.- 23, 26, 41, 46; pi. 4

OimundUes.... ........................... 16,46

....... 12

------- 5

------- 16

-- 17 

----- 13

wardii, Polyporites.. ... ... .......

Whipple, Lt. AmielW., quoted.,

nizhonia.. . ... .. ... . ... -------------- 

Willow Springs, fossil forest __ - __ _. _ --- 

Wingate Sandstone, Chinle Formation . . 14 

Wingatea.........................-. .-.. 38,47

plumosa... ---------- 23, 88, 46, 47; pi. 4

wingatensis, Acompsosaurus ----------------- 23

Woodhouse, Dr. S. W.. description of petrified

wood..-.- ------------- ------ 5

woodworthi, Araucarioxylon..... ... ..... .... ... 26

Woodworthia arizonica.......--.--...-----.- 11, 13,15

Yuccites.

(Yuccites) poleoensis, Pelourdea.

16

15,16

27

Zamites occidentalis........................... 7,26

poweML-------------------------.------; 11,14

Zygopteridaceae.._ ... 37
PLATES 1-5
PLATE 1

FIGURES 1-10. Todties frag His Daugherty, USGS paleobotany locality 10061 (p. D27).

1. A multicellular sporangial stalk between two veins in surface view. Transfer preparation, USNM 4r936, X 200. 

2, 3. Central part of a leaf, X 1 and X 2. The venation is clearly shown in some of the pinnules. USNM 42942.

4. Apex of a leaf showing the asymmetrical pinnae. USNM 42941, X 2.

5. Apical part of a sporangia showing the cells of the annulus and the stomium. Transfer preparation, UPNM 42936,

X 200.

6, 7. Two spores obtained by macerating a sporangia. Spore on right has been slightly crushed, whereas the other has 

a more typical outline. USNM 42939, X 100.

8. Two spinelike hairs on the edge of a fertile pinnule. Broken hair in upper part of figure is attached1 to end of a 

vein. Several multicellular hairs and two incomplete sporangia are also shown. Transfer preparation, USNM 

42936, X 100.

9. Multicellular hairs in marginal area of pinnule. Pinna rachis is near bottom of figure. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42936, X 100.

10. Marginal part of fertile pinnule showing densely packed hairs and several incomplete sporangia. Transfer preparation, USNM 42936, X 100.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D PLATE 1

TODITES FRAGILIS Daugherty

10
PLATE 2

FIGURES 1-5. Cynepteris lasiophora Ash, n. gen., n. sp. (p. D31).

1. Lower epidermis. USGS paleobotany locality 10061; transfer preparation, USNM 42963, X 100.

2. Parts of several vein meshes formed by anastomosing veins on lower epidermis. A number of stomata and some 

epidermal cells are also visible. USGS paleobotany locality 10061; transfer preparation, USNM 42962, X 100.

3. Holotype; part of a large frond. USGS paleobotany locality 10062; USNM 42948, X 1.

4. Two typical pinnae. USGS paleobotany locality 10062; transfer preparation, USNM 42962, X 1.

5. Pinna with rather elongated pinnules. Venation typical of this species visible in some of the lower pinnules. USGS 

paleobotany locality 10061; USNM 42949, X 1.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D PLATE 2

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CYNEPTERIS LASIOPHORA Ash, n. gen., n. sp.
PLATE 3

FIGURES 1-7. Cynepteris laswphora Ash, n. gen., n. sp. (p. D31).

1. Two of the irregularly shaped, multicellular structures found on lamina of some sterile pinnules of this species 

in the Fort Wingate area. Structure on left is attached to a vein. USGS paleobotany locality 10061; transfer 

preparation, USNM 42957, X 200.

2. Spore obtained from sporangium on specimen USNM 42950. USGS paleobotany locality 10059; USNM 42961, 

X 1,000.

3. Apical part of two sporangia showing radial walls of annuli and stomium. USGS paleobotany locality 10059; 

transfer preparation, USNM 42959, X 200.

4. Sporangium containing several spores in side view. USGS paleobotany locality 10060; transfer preparation, 

USNM 42964, X 200.

5. Side view of empty sporangium, stalk missing. USGS paleobotany locality 10060; transfer preparation, tJSNM 

42963, X 200.

6. Side view of complete sporangium showing basal attachment, apical annulus, and walls of several cells. Same 

specimen as in figure l&E in text. USGS paleobotany locality 10059; transfer preparation, USNM 42959, 

X 200.

7. Top of sporangium showing apical annulus and stomium. USGS paleobotany locality 10059; transfer preparation, USNM 42960, X 200.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D PLATE 3

6 7 

CYNEPTERIS LASIOPHORA Ash, n. gen., n. sp.
PLATE 4

FIGURE 1. Wingatea plumosa (Daugherty) Ash, n. gen. (p. D38). Part of sterile leaf showing delicate pinnules typical of this form.

USGS paleobotany locality 10059; USNM 42967, X 2. 

2-7. Clathropteris walkeri Daugherty (p. D41).

2. Apex of pinna. USGS paleobotany locality 10058, USNM 42979, X 1.

3. Central part of pinna showing marginal teeth. USGS paleobotany locality 10058; USNM 42975, X 1.

4. Parts of two pinnae showing venation typical of this species. USGS paleobotany locality 10058; USNM 42977, 

X 1.

5. Edge of a mass of spores obtained from sporangium. USGS paleobotany locality 10062; USNM 42972, X 500.

6. View of surface of leaf showing distribution of sporangia within vein mesh. Midrib of pinna is at left. Impression on rock surface. USGS paleobotany locality 10062; USNM 42974, X 5.

7. Basal part of leaf. USGS paleobotany locality 10058; USNM 42980, X 1.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D PLATE 4

WINGATEA PLUMOSA (Daugherty) Ash, n. gen., and CLATHROPTERIS WALKERI Daugherty
PLATE 5

FIGURES 1-7. Cladophlebis daughertyi Ash, n. sp. from USGS paleobotany locality 10062 (p. D43).

1, 2. Parts of two leaves. Venation is particularly clear in figure 2. USNM 42988, 42986b, X 1.

3. Three incomplete pinnae. Outline and venation of pinnules is typical of this species. Counterpart of part of 

specimen shown in figure 2. USNM 42986a, X 1.

4. An enlargement of a stoma. Note that guard cells overlap adjacent epidermal cells. Transfer preparation, 

USNM 42984, X 200.

5. Lower epidermis in marginal region of pinnule showing veins ending near edge of pinnule. Transfer preparation, USNM 42981, X 75.

6. Upper and lower epidermis. View looking through upper epidermis at lower epidermis. Note cell walls in 

upper epidermis clearly cross stomata in lower epidermis. Transfer preparation, USNM 42984, X 200.

7. Stoma between two veins on lower epidermis of pinnule. Radiating striations on surface of guard cells are 

clearly shown. Anticlinal cell walls on upper epidermis are faintly visible in lower right corner of figure 

and elsewhere. Transfer preparation, USNM 42984, X 200.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-D PLATE 5

CLADOPHLEBIS DAUGHERTYI Ash, n. sp.