A genus of extinct Carboniferous plants or a fossilized wood-like substance found in coal deposits.
From Greek anthrakis 'coal' + xylon 'wood', literally meaning 'coal-wood' or charred wood, referring to fossilized plant material.
The name perfectly captures what these fossils are: ancient wood that got buried, compressed, and chemically transformed into coal over geological time. They're literally nature's time machine showing us what ancient forests looked like.
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