A Very Old Christmas Tree
As many people in Canada head to their local woodlot to cut or pick up a Christmas tree, a recent fossil discovery may be an ancient Christmas tree from the Age of the Dinosaurs!
An Amazing Discovery
Steve Murphy has lived around Newport Landing his entire life. He was born and raised on one side of the Windsor gypsum quarry and now lives on the other side. With an interest in minerals and fossils, Steve happened to spot a very unique fossil while walking with his dog Turbo. Picking up the interesting looking rocks, Steve was excited to see they looked like pine cones. Knowing that fossils are important and protected in Nova Scotia, he contacted the Nova Scotia Museum and brought the discovery in for ongoing and future research.
A fossil pine cone that was found by Steve Murphy during recent visit to the site.
Indeed, the museum was excited to see the discovery that Steve had made. Museum researchers recently visited the site with Steve, and another small piece of fossil cone was found. The Curator of Geology (Dr. Tim Fedak) and other museum staff also collected rock samples and loose fossil wood fragments to learn more about the fossil cones.
Fossil Pine cones
The fossils look like normal pine cones you might see hanging from a tree in the forest, but they have turned to stone. The pine cones have been fossilized and filled with minerals that once percolated through ancient tunnels carved in the gypsum rock by flowing water.
Gypsum is a mineral that forms when an ancient ocean evaporates, leaving behind all the minerals that were originally dissolved in the sea water. The gypsum in Nova Scotia formed 320 million years ago. Today, gypsum is mined and used to produce plaster and wall board used in construction. Because gypsum forms when sea water evaporates, it is no surprise that gypsum easily dissolves in water, as it flows in the ground or down a river. Ground water creates tunnels, caves, and form sinkholes in the thick layers of gypsum rock. These tunnels begin to fill with sand and clay soon after they form, leaving ancient records of the past. This process still happens today, and has occurred since the gypsum formed, 320 million years ago.
Dinosaurs & Pine Cones
In 2007, researchers from the University of Bristol reported the discovery of Cretaceous aged fill in the Windsor gypsum quarry. They found 130 million year ago old sediment in the gypsum, along with fragments of charred wood of pine trees, which may be some of the oldest pine fossils in the world.
The new fossil pine cones may be from the same Cretaceous sediments found in 2007, up to 140 million years old. If so, they would have been growing on a tree that a Brontosaurus may have brushed passed. Imagine holding in your hands - a pine cone that is 140 million years old!
Ongoing Research
Dating of the fossil cones will be done over the coming year by looking for clues among the sediments where the fossils were found. Researchers will also work to identify the specific type of tree the cones came from, which may also help identify the age of the fossils. For now, the fossil cones are an exciting and seasonal discovery that remind us of the amazing geological and fossil heritage we have here in Nova Scotia.
If You Find Something
Fossils are protected in Nova Scotia by the Special Places Protection Act. If you find something you think is significant, please do not collect fossils that are embedded in the rock. Do what Steve did. Contact the museum and send a photograph so museum staff can provide information and offer advice on what has been found.