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Balteurypterus tetragonophtalmus + Ortoceras. Newest addition to my collection.

An Orthoceras fossil from Beckham's Barn. Any idea which species it is?

Can anyone shed some light on how these fossils, which are often seen in either single specimens or large slabs, ..how they are polished to such a clear diplay, and then on the back side there is normally a similar fine cut, but with a very bad finish. Also, i find that these fossils are ussually all the same color, this is due to the fossilization conditions such as, materials, region, era, ect... Correct? Also peculiar that they often do not contain other traces of the organism.

Hello all! Recently I have been obsessed with cephalopods and realized there is a real lack of reconstructions of the color patterns on extinct nautiloids and ammonites! This led me to compile a list of known fossil color patterns on cephalopods. After a year of on and off research, I found about 90 species of cephalopods retaining official or undescribed, original patterning on their shells. These are the first 15 species on my list. The color markings are based both on descriptions and photographs of the fossil material. The shades of the markings are based on the fossils, but also inferred. I Hope you will appreciate my work!

A few months back I managed to get a whole piece of one of the layers that delivered cephalopods. I took the whole rock back home spotting only a few posible cephalopods. After the prep work this is how it looked in the beginning: multiple Goniatites and orthocones on 1 plate: ( Manticoceras, Sphearomanticoceras, Orthoceras ) Late Devonian ( Frasnian ) Chimay area ( Belgium) after a little work:

Hi folks, due to my recent infatuation with the trilobites, I've neglected the other plowed area where the orthoceras are found (and virtually nothing else, btw). It has rained a few times so I walked through the patch and picked these up this morning. Have a great weekend ALL !

Hi folks, found this orthoceras this morning. Both pieces were relatively close to one another, (rarely happens) There is a strange inhabitant residing inside. Do you recognize it ? I'm experimenting with photos through a microscope. Hope they are clear enough. The second find today is another one I haven't seen yet. I assume it is a cephalapod but the sutures are very close together, unlike the others I've found here. They are only 0.5mm (0.02") apart. It is basically round and tapered like the others also. Thanks

Hi folks, We had a nice rain last night. Walked around the upper yellow shale garden and found these rinsed off lying on the surface. Sort of strange, this is (practically) the only fossil I've found here in this spot. Just 200 yds. away is my other dig site that has all of the other examples I've posted, but none of the orthoceras has been found there. I suppose there are many layers separating them, makes me wonder what the timeline would be relating to the different exposed areas. The bulk of the orthoceras seems to be in one end of my current tilling. Soon I plan to extend the plowed area a bit further up the ridge in search of higher concentrations. Cheers.

Hi folks, Rocky again. We had a nice shower this eve., walked the yellow shale plowed area and found these tidbits rinsed off. The longer one is the best orthoceras segment that I've found here so far. Also found the delicate little arrowhead. But as usual, it is broken. This is the first rain since the tilling. I'm hopeful (and confident) that more will pop up after several more rains and another tilling ... or 2. Kind regards.

Found this fossil at a fossil quarry in ohio, maybe you guys can help identify these fossils.

Found this badly worn specimen in a Hunt TX creek bank and believe it is an Orthoceras. Thought?

Last weekend I had again a field trip to my favorite location in the area of Couvin. We went to the quarry with a geology club, around 20 participants came to the meeting point. Everyone got a quick briefing of the geology and paleontology of the quarry and the usual safety instructions before going down in the quarry. Once at the interesting spot we noted a few changes: a pile of gray nodular limestone was freshly excavated. In those boulders a few of us found large well preserved goniatites. I had the chance to find a nice one from around 8cm in diameter. After a careful examination of the boulder I went on top of the quarry to dig out a layer yielding small cephalopods ( orthoceras, manticoceras and bactrites ) I had to dig whit a heavy pickaxe, but I was able to clear a decent part of that layer for me and a couple of the other searchers. The hard work paid off, I found around 20 goniatites and a whole bunch of orthocones, most of them are waiting for a cleanup and prepwork. While leaving the quarry I saw a piece of shell sticking out of a stone, a lucky split of that rock turned out to reveal a large Goniatite with beautiful suture lines. This one will require some extra prepwork, but it looks very promising.

It has been a while that I made a decent field trip. Past Sunday I left with 2 friends to a quarry in the Ardennes from Belgium. Last year we made a few visits to that place with great success and a fair number of late Devonian cephalopods were found. So hoping to add a few goniatites to our collections we left early in the morning. The weather conditions for the trip were terrible: it was raining and the wind was blowing very hard. Before we got to the quarry the rain stopped, but there was still a lot of wind. The rain had turned most of the flat parts of the quarry into a muddy swamp. But the heavy wind blew the last dark clouds away and we started our prospection in the slag heaps on top of the quarry. The first corals where collected, mostly hexagoniaria and a worn goniatite . I made my find of the day in the first 30 minutes in the quarry: In one of those slag heaps I found a large boulder with a large orthocone on it. The specimen was deformed during fossilization, but after clearing the specimen out it proved to be a complete orthoceras of 25cm in length. This was a monster compared to the most specimens I found there before. The next stop was a level lower in the ancient part of the quarry, here they were dumping the rocks that where not suited for production, but luckily for us, lots of fossils could be found in them. This was the most productive part of the day. Although they were hard to find, each of us found at least a couple of decent goniatites. The rest of the day we spent in the back of the quarry where lots of corals can be found and sometimes a nicely preserved goniatite. Multiple mineral veins are also present with large barite and calcite crystals. Sadly with the expansion of the quarry the part with the corals was cleared with bulldozers and fossil finds where rare at that location. Still I managed to find an exquisite goniatite specimen, a little damaged, but with very clear suture markings. My two friends searched through the mineral veins and found multiple good quality barite and calcite crystals. Meanwhile I prospected other parts and collected a little bag full of small corals and crinoid stems. (Back to the car with heavy Calcite and Barite cristals...) Usually we end our day at a local tavern for a drink, but this time I was too tired and I still had an hour drive to home. I’m already looking forward to my next field trip on 21/02 Then we will be prospecting early carboniferous deposits. Kevin

Fieldtrip in the Belgian Devonian deposits Part 2 Saturday 07/11/2015,I had a new fieldtrip to the quarry that I visited last time. This time, we had a whole group of 25 people from the “BVP” (Belgian group of Paleontology) to guide around the quarry. But we also went to take some specific field notes, a friend of us is studying the stratigraphy of a new part of the quarry. He had marked the specific new layers with paint. The deposits are late Devonian (Frasnian) limestone and schists containing fossils from the ancient reefs nearby. So the most common fossils where corals, crinoid stems, bryozoan, gasteropods and brachiopods. But since the deposits are a little away from the reefs sometimes fossils of swimming predators can be found in the form of shells from Goniatites, Orthocereas or Bactrites. My goal for today was hopefully to find a nice looking cephalopod, I found a few last time so maybe I could find better specimens today. I got there early, so waiting for the group I prospected the debris next to the quarry, This proved to be an excellent start, I found 2 large goniatites and a part of an orthoceras. Although the specimens where very badly preserved and incomplete this was looking very promising. A friend of mine arrived there shortly after. I showed him the fossils and we went back to those piles hoping for more. The next fossils that where found where multiple corals “Hexagonaria” a few crinoid particles and brachiopods. Before we got ready to go down in the quarry to wait for the group , we each found an impressive fossil. I got a complete orthocone from an Orthoceras, I had found fragments of Orthoceras before, mostly not more than a few chambers, but I had never seen one like this. My friend got a complete and good preserved 3.5” goniatite with showed nicely the septa’s of the shell. This was an incredible way to start the trip. my orthocone: Kevin's goniatite: After this we went down to the meeting point where we waited for the group. This was in a trackway for the bulldozers next to a barite vein and before the deposits we were going to prospect. It was at this location that I was sitting next to my bag when I saw the group enter the quarry. At that moment my friend was already trying to dislodge some Barite crystals with a crow bar… I heard him scream, something had gone wrong… He had lost grip of his crowbar resulting in his finger smashed. I went down the track to see what was wrong and while watching my steps I saw some suture lines peering through the mud. I picked it up and realized I found perfectly preserved Goniatite. I then got to my friend with this awkward moment when I had to ask if he was all right while showing him the terrible fossil I just picked up. Only adding to his agony. (sorry Kev. ) the awesome Goniatite: After a litle cleanup at home: After this incident we met with the group and Anthonie the one who organized the field trip. Seeing a few familiar faces and a few new enthusiastic kids new to fossil hunting. Anthonie explained the stratigraphy and age of the deposits. We then passed around some of the fossils we picked up to show everyone what to look for. I then took time to take some of the starting collectors to spots that where easy to prospect and shared info about the specimens they found. I distributed the fossils I found at those spots among the Kids until we gathered for lunch. One of the members found an incredible fossil between the corals and crinoid parts. A perfectly preserved Crinoid calyx with his arms folded into itself. Apparently this kind of position is due to asphyxiation of the animal. But other spectacular specimens where found: During lunch another participant showed us a 2nd crinoid calyx, but this time with his arms unfolded. After lunch I went to another part of the quarry with Kevin and Anthonie that we hadn’t prospected before, this was the old part that they are starting to fill with debris from the new pit. Fossils where much rarer in this part but I managed to pull out 2 extra goniatites out the debris. Anthonie made another impressive find by cracking open a small nodule.: this rock revealed the head of a phacopid trilobite. He contacted an expert this weekend about this and apparently this is the first specimen found in this quarry. Yay, I found another Goniatite: After that the day got to an end, we went back to the group and started to gather all the participants, to head back to the cars and discuss al the great discoveries made that day. Everybody was pleased with their finds and a few of us went for a drink and dinner at a local tavern where we spent the rest of the evening. I hope you all enjoyed reading this report. Kevin Houben ( thanks to Anthonie for the pictures)

Orthocones are a very broad category. I have combed through a lot of information trying to properly identify this fossil. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, any specifics about the nautilus would be nice. Thanks in advance for the collective knowledge.

Hello. I'm new to this forum. So I hope I am posting this in the right place. For Christmas this year I am trying to put some ammonite and orthoceras fossils on a few necklaces for my nieces and nephews. I have cut shaped and polished the fossils. I know that a fossils density is harder than stone. so what do i need to use to drill it so it will not fracture. will try to post 2 photos but the fossils are common

Hey every body. Here is a question. Why aren't orthoceras 3d? I mean belemnites and baculites are things that you can take out of the matrix and hold in your hand, while orthoceras seems to be just an impresion or something. Pleases enlighten. Thanks,