Identification of Fossil Wood from Samarinda, East Borneo

Abstract

This study aims to identify the anatomical structure of petrified wood discovered in Samarinda, East Borneo. The material consists of a single piece of petrified wood, grey, and white-the ground thin-section technique prepared three-dimensional sections (transverse, tangential, and radial). Microscopic characters of the fossil wood were compared with the present wood species. The existence of wood pores characterizes specimens microscopically identified as the petrified wood of hardwood. Further, the xylotomical characters were comparable with the family Dipterocarpaceae. The fossil wood shows a close resemblance with the genus of Shoreaxylon in respect of size and arrangement of pores, rays, and axial parenchyma. The similarity was found on two preparates of Shorea's anatomical properties, which are used as comparisons. Therefore, based on these properties, the species of this petrified wood is undoubtedly the genus of Shoreoxylon.