"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
Thanks Sacha. Nice to see a complete specimen as here is what I
normally
see:
http://i18.tinypic.com/63h5ts7.jpg[/IMG]

the pollen of an extinct species.
Graham



?? Where, how when?! ;-)
--
It's from the basal Oligocene or latest Eocene (around 33-34 million
years
old) of the Mackenzie Delta in Arctic Canada. I also often find the
pollen
of Tilia, Juglans, Carya, Alnus and Betula in the same samples.
Graham


What are you doing when you find them, Graham? Are you a fossil
collector?

I'm a palaeontologist/geologist specialising in fossilized spores, pollen
and microplankton. I use them to determine the age and environment of
deposition of the rocks and sometimes the level to which the rock has been
heated. Most of my work is for oil companies and the pollen grain came from
a well in the Mackenzie Delta at depth of about 600m.

Presumably you then take your collections home and put them under a
microscope.

After lab processing involving some very nasty acids.

What a fascinating sight.

It can be but, like most of life, most of the material is uninteresting.
I tend to look at the pollen grains in an abstract sort of way but it is
nice to relate them to modern plants when possible.

Graham