Pinus yorkshirensis

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]

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

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]