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Polystrate fossil
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<p>A polystrate fossil is a <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossil</a> of a single organism (such as a <a href="/facts/Tree_trunk/13Nq8CEC">tree trunk</a>) that extends through more than one geological <a href="/facts/Stratum/w5D4VAwa">stratum</a>. The word <i>polystrate</i> is not a standard <a href="/facts/Geology/WGvVRIYF">geological</a> term. This term is typically found in <a href="/facts/Creationist/IIhQyYTo">creationist</a> publications.[2] </p><p>This term is typically applied to "fossil forests" of upright <a href="/facts/Petrified_wood/JBu2j1N8">fossil tree trunks</a> and stumps that have been found worldwide, i.e. in the <a href="/facts/Eastern_United_States/VnPT6jFW">Eastern United States</a>, Eastern <a href="/facts/Canada/D5P9yqs6">Canada</a>, <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a>, <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>, <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a>, and <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, typically associated with coal-bearing strata.[3] Within <a href="/facts/Carboniferous/BRKlkYyd">Carboniferous</a> coal-bearing strata, it is also very common to find what are called <i>Stigmaria</i> (root stocks) within the same stratum. <a href="/facts/Stigmaria/kqxtNYFG">Stigmaria</a> are completely absent in post-Carboniferous strata, which contain either coal, polystrate trees, or both. </p>