Abstract
We reinvestigated type material and subsequently collected fossil nuts of Carya costata (C.Presl ex Unger) Unger based on type material from the Oligocene of western Bohemia. These specimens are older than most occurrences of C. ventricosa (C.Presl ex Brongn.) Unger which has its type locality in the Miocene of Salzhausen, Germany. Although preserved only as molds and casts in tuffaceous volcanoclastic siltstone, micro-CT scanning indicates that the morphology of C. costata is nearly identical to that of C. ventricosa. The preservation of these nuts as 3-dimensional molds retains evidence of gnawing indicating that, as today, hickory nuts were an important food source for mammals and/or birds of the Oligocene.
Published Version
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