Carboniferous Fossil Seed Coal Measures UK Specimen Westphalian Houghton Colliery County Durham Genuine COA Included

Description

Genuine Carboniferous Fossil Seed – Rare Westphalian Coal Measures Specimen

Offered here is an authentic Carboniferous fossil seed specimen, preserved within the famous Westphalian Coal Measures of northern England. Fossil seeds are an especially fascinating and uncommon type of plant fossil, representing the reproductive structures of prehistoric vegetation that flourished more than 300 million years ago in vast tropical coal swamp forests.

This specimen originates from Houghton Colliery, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, UK, a classic historic locality renowned for producing significant Carboniferous plant fossils. The fossil is a carefully chosen piece, selected for its quality, rarity, and natural display character. The photographs show the exact specimen you will receive, with full sizing details clearly visible in the provided images.

Included with the fossil is a Certificate of Authenticity with lifetime guarantee, supplied as a generic authenticity card to permanently accompany this genuine specimen.

Geological Age and Formation – Westphalian Coal Measures

This fossil seed dates to the Westphalian Stage of the late Carboniferous Period, approximately 310–315 million years old. During this extraordinary time in Earth’s history, Britain lay close to the equator and supported warm, humid tropical climates.

The landscape was dominated by immense swamp forests filled with giant clubmosses, horsetails, seed ferns, and early conifer relatives. These ecosystems formed one of the richest plant environments ever to exist and were responsible for producing the coal deposits that later shaped Britain’s industrial heritage.

The Coal Measures were deposited in swampy delta plains, river flood basins, and waterlogged lowland environments. Thick vegetation accumulated rapidly, becoming buried beneath fine silts and mudstones. Oxygen-poor conditions slowed decay and allowed delicate plant structures, including seeds, cones, and fronds, to fossilise rather than decompose.

Fossil Type – Ancient Seed from Prehistoric Coal Forest Plants

Fossil seeds from the Carboniferous hold special scientific importance because they document one of the most significant evolutionary advances in plant history: the emergence and spread of seed-based reproduction.

During the late Carboniferous, early seed plants such as seed ferns and primitive gymnosperm-like groups diversified throughout the coal swamp forests. Seeds provided protection and a reproductive advantage over spore-only plants, paving the way for the later dominance of seed-bearing vegetation across Earth.

Unlike fossil leaves or stems, seeds are far less commonly preserved, making genuine Carboniferous fossil seed specimens relatively rare and highly desirable among collectors.

Morphology and Preservation Features

This specimen preserves the natural compact form of an ancient fossilised seed within its original Coal Measures matrix. Such fossils are often preserved as carbonised compressions or mineralised structures within shale, sometimes displaying subtle surface texture and shape that reflect their biological origin.

Fossil seeds provide a rare and intimate glimpse into the reproductive biology of prehistoric plants, capturing a crucial part of the life cycle of Carboniferous swamp vegetation frozen in deep time.

This makes the specimen both scientifically intriguing and visually distinctive as a display fossil.

Locality – Houghton Colliery, County Durham, England

Houghton Colliery is one of County Durham’s historic coal mining sites, well known among palaeobotanists and collectors for yielding classic Westphalian plant fossils. Specimens from this locality are increasingly scarce today as traditional coal exposures decline, adding provenance value and rarity to this fossil seed.

Owning a fossil from this region connects directly to Britain’s globally significant Carboniferous coalfield heritage.

Authenticity, Display and Collecting

This is a 100% genuine Carboniferous fossil seed specimen, ideal for:

• Fossil and mineral collectors
• Carboniferous coal forest enthusiasts
• Educational geology and natural history displays
• Unique prehistoric gifts and conversation pieces

A rare opportunity to own an authentic fossil reproductive structure from Britain’s ancient tropical coal swamps, preserved for over 300 million years and supplied with a lifetime Certificate of Authenticity.