Pinus yorkshirensis

Pinus yorkshirensis Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 131–129  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
The holotype before it was destroyed
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Pinus
Subgenus:	P. subg. Pinus
Species:	†P. yorkshirensis
Binomial name
†Pinus yorkshirensis Ryberg et al., 2012

Pinus yorkshirensis is an extinct species of pine tree. The fossil pine cone came from Hauterivian and Barremian-aged sedimentary rocks located in the Speeton Clay Formation in Yorkshire (hence the species epithet). ^[1]

Discovery and naming

Surviving microscope slides of the holotype

The type specimen of Pinus yorkshirensis, BiRUG BU4737, was discovered during a field trip with the University of Birmingham to the Speeton Clay Formation. It is one of four known fossil pine cones from Europe and it was found within a weathered concretion that had split into seven fragments. It was 5 million years older than the previous record holder, Pinus belgica . ^[2]

The fossil was destroyed for science so scientists could study the fossil in more detail. All that remains are a few microscope slides and a single image. ^[1] They are currently housed at Lapworth Museum of Geology. ^[3]

Pinus yorkshirensis was named and described by Ryberg et al. (2012). ^[2]

Description

The preserved cones of P. yorkshirensis are conical in shape. ^[4]

References

1. Hilton, Jason; Riding, James B.; Rothwell, Gar W. (2016-08-01). "Age and identity of the oldest pine fossils: COMMENT". Geology. 44 (8): e400 –e401. doi:10.1130/g38050c.1. ISSN   1943-2682.
2. Patricia E. Ryberg; Gar W. Rothwell; Ruth A. Stockey; Jason Hilton; Gene Mapes; James B. Riding (2012). "Reconsidering Relationships among Stem and Crown Group Pinaceae: Oldest Record of the Genus Pinus from the Early Cretaceous of Yorkshire, United Kingdom". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 173 (8): 917–932. doi:10.1086/667228. S2CID   85402168.
3. "Pinus yorkshirensis - Object of the Month". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
4. Bazhenova, N. V.; Bazhenov, A. V.; Tekleva, M. V.; Resvyi, A. S. (2023). "New Representative of Pinus L. from Jurassic Deposits of Belgorod Region, Russia". Paleontological Journal. 57 (1): 102–119. doi:10.1134/s0031030123010033. ISSN   0031-0301.