Description

Metasequoia dakotaensis
Gymnosperm
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
Hell Creek Formation
Wibaux County, Montana, USA

Average 16mm – 19mm, fine cone. Our pick. Price is each.

Metasequoia is a conifer that appeared during the early part of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian age).  It survived the K/T extinction and thrived in North America during the Paleocene and Eocene.  It ranged as far north as Ellesmere Island, indicating a wet, mild climate even in northernmost Canada at the time.  However, climates began trending drier and cooler by the Late Eocene.

Metasequoia died out in North America by the end of the Miocene and was considered extinct worldwide until it was discovered alive in China in the 1940’s.  Since then, it has been successfully re-introduced into North America.

This cone comes from the time of the last dinosaurs – the last few million years of the Cretaceous. it can be an affordable representative of that age for your collection.