Calamites stem segments

3D Model

Specimen: Calamites

Locality: Poland, Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Górnośląskie Zagłębie Węglowe)

Age: ~305mya

This fossil consists of several stem fragments of the giant tree-like horsetail Calamites, which have been flattened by earth and time in the intervening 300 million years since they first fell to the forest floor.

While horsetails as a group still survive today, the largest species (Equisetum myriochaetum) only reaches heights of around 20 feet (6 meters) while the extinct Calamites could reach up to 100 feet (30.48 meters) and grew in a branching form resembling a tree.

This specimen measures approximately 14.5cm x 10.1cm x 2.9cm and was scanned with Agisoft Photoscan.