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On a coal specimen possibly associated with the classical Mio-Pleistocene São Jorge leaf bed site, Madeira Island, Portugal

datacite.subject.fosCiências Naturais::Ciências da Terra e do Ambiente
dc.contributor.authorMarques, Carlos A. Góis
dc.contributor.authorCorreia, Pedro
dc.contributor.authorSequeira, Miguel Menezes de
dc.contributor.authorGóis-Marques, Carlos A.
dc.contributor.authorSequeira, Miguel
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-02T10:51:36Z
dc.date.available2025-06-02T10:51:36Z
dc.date.issued2025-04
dc.description.abstractDue to the unusual presence of coal seams within a volcanic island, the São Jorge lignite, located in the north side of Madeira Island, was since the early 19th century a magnet for naturalists. In 1854 the site was visited by Sir Charles Lyell and Georg Hartung, where both discovered a leaf-bed associated with the lignite. This finding pro vided key proofs to Lyell's uniformitarian theory of the formation of volcanic islands and the long-term existence of laurel forests in Macaronesia. Despite its historical importance, lignite specimens from São Jorge remain unknown to date. Recently, the study of Funchal Natural History Museum (MMF, Madeira Island, Portugal) collections revealed a coal specimen associated with the classical site of São Jorge. Here we provide a critical anal ysis of this specimen using historical and palaeobotanical approaches. We show that this coal is not a lignite from São Jorge and that it was not collected in ca. 1905. Historically, the São Jorge site was covered by a landslide until 1917, making it inaccessible. Furthermore, the coal is either a bituminous coal or anthracite and contains typical rhizomorph fossils of extinct Lycophytes known as Stigmaria ficoides (Sternb.) Brongn., as already indicated in the old MMF record books. The coal is most likely a late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian, 323.4–298.9 Ma) specimen from the early 20th century British coaling industry on Madeira Island, imported from the UK, which, at some point, was erroneously labelled as originating from the 7–1.8 Ma São Jorge outcrop in Madeira.eng
dc.identifier.citationC.A. Góis-Marques, P. Correia and M. Menezes de Sequeira, On a coal specimen possibly associated with the classical Mio-Pleistocene São Jorge leaf bed site, Madeira..., Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101116
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101116
dc.identifier.issn0016-7878
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/7295
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relationGeosciences Center
dc.relationUIDB/00073/2020
dc.relationUIDP/00073/2020
dc.relation.ispartofProceedings of the Geologists' Association
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectMadeira (Portugal)
dc.subjectCollection
dc.subjectLignite
dc.subjectMacaronesia
dc.subjectMisidentification
dc.subjectOceanic island
dc.subjectPalaeozoic
dc.subjectTaxonomy
dc.subject.
dc.subjectFaculdade de Ciências da Vida
dc.titleOn a coal specimen possibly associated with the classical Mio-Pleistocene São Jorge leaf bed site, Madeira Island, Portugaleng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleGeosciences Center
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F00073%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.titleProceedings of the Geologists' Association
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameGóis-Marques
person.familyNameSequeira
person.givenNameCarlos A.
person.givenNameMiguel
person.identifier.ciencia-id911F-F979-E69D
person.identifier.ciencia-idCA1C-1AC6-6346
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0255-7641
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-9728-465X
person.identifier.ridH-3218-2015
person.identifier.scopus-author-id56711991000
person.identifier.scopus-author-id35101791200
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
relation.isAuthorOfPublication21ef0694-690d-40b3-a556-377c51b09116
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationc4c52673-d265-42c0-b5bd-628a3b2f0b0b
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery21ef0694-690d-40b3-a556-377c51b09116
relation.isProjectOfPublication68212c91-57ae-4ed8-a87d-e069f6d93701
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscovery68212c91-57ae-4ed8-a87d-e069f6d93701

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