Sequoiadendron chaneyi
Sequoiadendron chaneyi is an extinct species of tree in the Cupressaceae genus Sequoiadendron. Known from Miocene fossils found in Nevada and California, S. chaneyi is the oldest species of Sequoiadendron. The common use of the name "sequoia" generally refers to Sequoiadendron giganteum, which occurs naturally only in the various groves that exist on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada of California. S. chaneyi is considered the probable direct ancestor to the extant Sequoiadendron giganteum. Description This species was found fossilized northeast to the current S. giganteum groves in the Sierra Nevada and near Reno. It was very similar to the modern species, even having the same plants associated with its fossils as the modern Sequoia. Occurrences Fossils of Sequoiadendron chaneyi have been described from the Middle Miocene floras found in the area of Middlegate Basin in Churchill County, Nevada. The area of the Middlegate basin is preserved as the Middlegate and Eastgate Formations, which grew along the shores of an ancient lake. While S. chaneyi is found in both formations, it is much rarer in the Middlegate formation, which was a south-facing scrubland-type ecosystem, being represented by only a few twiglets with foliage. In contrast, S. chaneyi is abundant