Carya washingtonensis
Encyclopedia
Carya washingtonensis is an extinct
species
of hickory
nut
in the walnut
family Juglandaceae
. The species is solely known from the Miocene
sediments exposed in Kittitas County near Ellensburg, Washington
.
. This locality is thought to be an extension of the Ginkgo flow basalts notable for the fossils found at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. The Ginkgo Flow, part of the Wanapum basalts
is the oldest segment of the Frenchman Springs Member, dating to around 15.6 million years old, or the Langhian stage
of the Miocene
.
The nuts were originally discovered as a single silicified, opal
ized, mass of well over fifty nuts found in a petrified Platanus
species stump. The mass was discovered in the 1940s by Carl Clinesmith but as of 1987 the mass was lost and Steven Manchester presumed it was disaggregated with the individual nuts disseminated to various collections. However it is reported in a 1995 Washington Geology article by Wesley Wehr
the specimen was, at that time, on display at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
, part of the University of Washington
in Seattle, Washington
, USA. At least a portion of the mass is still preserved in the collections at the Burke Museum as specimen number "UWBM38700".
, number "HU60073A", and two paratype
s, numbers "HU60073B" and "IU5343". Both the holotype and one paratype are preserved in the paleobotanical
collections housed at the Harvard University Biology Laboratories
. The second paratype is deposited in the paleobotanical collections in the Indiana university, Department of Geology
.
The specimens were studied by paleobotanist Steven R. Manchester, currently of the Florida State University Department of Geology
as part of his PhD dissertation and was accepted for publication in 1984. Steven Manchester published his 1987 type description for C. washingtonensis in the journal Monographs in Systematic Botany. The chosen specific name
washingtonensis, in reference to Washington State where only known specimens of the species have been recovered.
The nuts of Carya washingtonensis are globose in shape, with a smooth to slightly wrinkled surface. They show four faintly developed angles at the apex. The nuts range in size but are all within 18–20 mm (0.708661417322835–0.78740157480315 in) in length and 14–19 mm (0.551181102362205–0.748031496062992 in) in width. While the preservation quality varies, the silicification in a number of the specimens was enough to allow examination of the internal anatomy. In general the nut wall and septa are approximately 1.5 millimetre (0.0590551181102362 in) thick without and do not have lacunae but do possess a secondary septum. The locule
is divided into four compartments basally with inner ribs that are well developed and containing vascular bundles and the placentary bundles of primary septum
arch out peripherally.
When described by Steven Manchester, the mass was interpreted to represent a Miocene rodent nut cache and was the oldest known at that time. Since then a slightly older cache was discovered in Germany. The German cache of Castanopsis
fruits was found in a preserved sand dune dating to the Burdigalian stage
of the Miocene, placing it slightly older than the Carya washingtonensis cache.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
in the walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
family Juglandaceae
Juglandaceae
The Juglandaceae, also known as the Walnut Family, is a family of trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Various members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia....
. The species is solely known from the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
sediments exposed in Kittitas County near Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 18,174 at the 2010 census. The population was 18,250 at 2011 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 and is known as the...
.
Type locality
The species was described from the three nut specimens, all found at the no longer accessible Badger Pocket-Squaw Creek locality south of Ellensburg which is now part of the Yakima Training CenterYakima Training Center
The Yakima Training Center is a United States Army training center located in south central Washington state. It is bounded on the west by Interstate 82, on the south by the city of Yakima, on the north by the city of Ellensburg and Interstate 90, and on the east by the Columbia River...
. This locality is thought to be an extension of the Ginkgo flow basalts notable for the fossils found at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. The Ginkgo Flow, part of the Wanapum basalts
Columbia River Basalt Group
The Columbia River Basalt Group is a large igneous province that lies across parts of the Western United States. It is found in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California...
is the oldest segment of the Frenchman Springs Member, dating to around 15.6 million years old, or the Langhian stage
Langhian
The Langhian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, an age or stage in the middle Miocene epoch/series. It spans the time between 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma . The Langhian was a continuing warming period defined by Lorenzo Pareto in 1864, it was originally established in the Langhe area north...
of the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
.
The nuts were originally discovered as a single silicified, opal
Opal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
ized, mass of well over fifty nuts found in a petrified Platanus
Platanus
Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
species stump. The mass was discovered in the 1940s by Carl Clinesmith but as of 1987 the mass was lost and Steven Manchester presumed it was disaggregated with the individual nuts disseminated to various collections. However it is reported in a 1995 Washington Geology article by Wesley Wehr
Wesley C. Wehr
Wesley Conrad Wehr was an American paleontologist and artist best known for his studies of Tertiary fossil floras in western North America, the Stonerose Interpretive Center, and as a part of the Northwest School of art.-Early life:...
the specimen was, at that time, on display at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...
, part of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, USA. At least a portion of the mass is still preserved in the collections at the Burke Museum as specimen number "UWBM38700".
History and classification
Carya washingtonensis was described from three type specimen's, the holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
, number "HU60073A", and two paratype
Paratype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
s, numbers "HU60073B" and "IU5343". Both the holotype and one paratype are preserved in the paleobotanical
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
collections housed at the Harvard University Biology Laboratories
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. The second paratype is deposited in the paleobotanical collections in the Indiana university, Department of Geology
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
.
The specimens were studied by paleobotanist Steven R. Manchester, currently of the Florida State University Department of Geology
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
as part of his PhD dissertation and was accepted for publication in 1984. Steven Manchester published his 1987 type description for C. washingtonensis in the journal Monographs in Systematic Botany. The chosen specific name
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
washingtonensis, in reference to Washington State where only known specimens of the species have been recovered.
The nuts of Carya washingtonensis are globose in shape, with a smooth to slightly wrinkled surface. They show four faintly developed angles at the apex. The nuts range in size but are all within 18–20 mm (0.708661417322835–0.78740157480315 in) in length and 14–19 mm (0.551181102362205–0.748031496062992 in) in width. While the preservation quality varies, the silicification in a number of the specimens was enough to allow examination of the internal anatomy. In general the nut wall and septa are approximately 1.5 millimetre (0.0590551181102362 in) thick without and do not have lacunae but do possess a secondary septum. The locule
Locule
A locule is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism ....
is divided into four compartments basally with inner ribs that are well developed and containing vascular bundles and the placentary bundles of primary septum
Septum
In anatomy, a septum is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones.-In human anatomy:...
arch out peripherally.
When described by Steven Manchester, the mass was interpreted to represent a Miocene rodent nut cache and was the oldest known at that time. Since then a slightly older cache was discovered in Germany. The German cache of Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
fruits was found in a preserved sand dune dating to the Burdigalian stage
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma...
of the Miocene, placing it slightly older than the Carya washingtonensis cache.