New Paleobotanical Finds from the Libouš Quarry

Exhibit of the Month 1 / 2024

Keferstein Alder (Alnus kefersteinii) § twig with fruiting. Size 8cm.

The Most Basin and its associated brown coal mining is a significant site for Tertiary flora and fauna. The richest finds came from the Holešice layers, justly placing the Most Basin among the most important sites in Europe.

The younger Libkovice and Lom layers were until recently very poor to sterile in fossil flora and fauna finds in the area of the Most Basin. Since 2014, several positions of the Libkovice layers have been documented in the Nástup Tušimice mines, in the Libouš II – North quarry.

Since 2014, fossil flora and fauna finds have been documented in several positions in the surface quarry Libouš. These layers are located near crandallit intercalations, which are a significant stratigraphic element. This allows for a relatively precise determination of the age of the layers with fossil finds ranging from 17,700,000 years to 17,000,000 years.

So far, 63 species of plants have been found in these layers. Of these, 8 species are conifers and 55 species are angiosperms.

The most common species include, as in most other locations in the Most Basin, representatives of the birch family (Alnus julianoformis, A. gracilis, A. kefersteinii, A. menzelii), the myrtle family (Myrica intergerrima, M. lignitum, M. vindobonensis), the bald cypress family (Taxodium dubium, Glyptostrobus europaeus, Quasisequoia couttsiae), the pine family (Pinus sp., P. ornata, P. engelhardtii, P. rigios), the elm family (Ulmus pyramidalis, Zelkova zelkovifolia), the maple family (Acer sp., A. pseudopmonspessulanum, A. tricuspidatum), the jujube family (Ziziphus paradisiaca), and the walnut family (Engelhardia orsbergensis, E. macroptera).

In addition to plant fossils, remains of fish, insects, and an unusually large number of dragonfly wings have also been found at the site.

Text: Pavel Dvořák

Photo: Pavel Krásenský

Leaf of the Chestnut Tree (Castanea sp.) Leaf length 12cm.

Most Leafless Zelkova (Zelkova zelkovifolia). Leaf length 4.5cm.

Julian Alder (Alnus julianiformis). Leaf length 9.5cm.