Diploporus facts for kids

Diploporus is an extinct plant that lived millions of years ago. It belongs to the yew family, called Taxaceae. There is only one known species, called Diploporus torreyoides. Scientists have found its fossils in north central Oregon and south central North Dakota. These plants lived during the Middle Eocene period, about 43 to 45 million years ago. The first fossils found were isolated seeds preserved in a type of rock called chert.

History and Discovery

Diploporus torreyoides fossils were first found in a special place in Oregon. This area is known as the Clarno nut beds. It is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) east of a small community called Clarno, Oregon. Scientists believe these nut beds are from the Middle Eocene period. They used special methods like zircon fission track and argon-argon dating to figure out the age. These methods showed the fossils are about 43 to 45 million years old.

The rocks in the Clarno nut beds formed from volcanic ash and other sediments. This suggests the area might have been a lake delta. It could also have had floods and volcanic mudflows, possibly with hot spring activity. Another type of Diploporus has also been found in North Dakota.

Scientists found many fossils of Diploporus. They studied 75 main fossil specimens to describe the species. One special fossil, called the holotype, is kept at the University of Florida. Many other important fossils, called paratypes, are at the National Museum of Natural History and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. These fossils were collected over many years, from 1942 to 1989. Many people helped, including scientists and even high school students!

A paleobotanist named Steven R. Manchester from the University of Florida studied these Diploporus specimens. He officially described Diploporus torreyoides in 1994. He published his findings in a science journal called Palaeontographica Americana. Manchester explained that the name Diploporus comes from Greek words. Diplo means "twofold" and poros means "passage." This refers to two marks on the seeds. The species name torreyoides means "like Torreya." This is because Diploporus seeds look similar to those of the living Torreya plant.

What the Seeds Looked Like

The seeds of Diploporus were somewhat oval-shaped. They were also bilaterally symmetrical, meaning they looked the same on both sides. The seeds had a slightly pointed tip and a round base. They were about 6.7 to 8.0 millimeters (0.26 to 0.31 inches) long. Their width was between 5.4 and 8.0 millimeters (0.21 to 0.31 inches).

Each seed had a sharp ridge along its upper part. This ridge was formed by the top and bottom surfaces of the seed. Like other plants in the yew family, Diploporus seeds had two special marks on their sides. These are called vascular scars, and they are found at the widest part of the seed.

Scientists can tell Diploporus seeds apart from other yew plants like Taxus and Torreya. For example, the base of a Diploporus seed is not as pointed as a Torreya seed. It is also not as flat as a Taxus seed. In terms of size, Diploporus seeds are bigger than Taxus seeds but smaller than Torreya seeds.