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Hello, I don't usually make separate posts to show off individual fossils, but I had to make an exception because this one is very special. It is a near-complete crown of a crinoid known as Macrostylocrinus striatus from the Silurian Waldron Shale of Shelby Co. Indiana, USA. I didn't really know what it was until I had it prepped and identified by experienced collectors. Though small (2 cm) and seemingly unassuming, this fossil is exceptional because as far as I know and am told, no crown of this species has ever been found from the Waldron Shale. Until now this crinoid has only been found from this locality as armless calyxes, and even then fairly rarely. So this specimen would be the first and so far the only Waldron Shale Macrostylocrinus striatus crown in existence. I would call it a very rare fossil, but really a more appropriate descriptor might be "one-of-a-kind". Of course, one can never be 100% certain, as there is no telling what material is sitting in old collections. In any case, there is no doubt that this is an important specimen.

Hi, Any help identifying these please? 1st one : Top view : 2nd one (crinoïd? with stem?) : 3rd one (almost certain these are bones - Nothosaurus?) :

During a recent (Sept.16) fossil hunting adventure I was searching for the source of the concretions containing fossil ammonites to get a better understanding of the stratigraphy I was standing in. So I went to the top of the slope/cuesta to check out the current highest layer. It was tons of saltine cracker sized bits of shale/sandstone and slabs of the same protruding out of of the lip of the ledge. No fossils were visually evident so I pulled the nearest slab out and flipped it over. The slab was smooth on the top and when flipped had a loose coating of either white calcite or shaly bits like smashed potato chips/crisps on it. Brushing the chips off revealed what you see in the images. The period is Cretaceous and possibly Triassic. The fossil concretions had the appearance of a massive mortality...like the Ordovician extinction event. Any ideas, suggestions or correct ID of what I found and absentmindedly left behind at the end of my adventure? A closeup from the left corner of the above. My first thoughts were this is some kind of marine forest of sponges, corals, plants, with other fossils mixed in. Or trace fossils like burrowing animal trails or maybe crinoids. I'm stumped having never seen this and a big dose of rookie-itis. What say you? BTW- pay no attention to the rock on the card..it was just a paperweight to keep the wind from blowing the card away.

I havn't been fossil hunting a very long time....I've only been really serious about if for the last 6 years. And in Central Texas, there ARE a lot of fossils, but it is hard to find a new spot that has not already come under the hunting radar of the many fossil hunters in this state! And some of them have been at it for a LONG time so they've usually found all the really good spots! Which is one of the reasons I love the Paleo Society of Austin, because I learned of some of these good spots from them....they are typically still productive, if not over hunted, so I love finding stuff there. BUT.... I've been hoping to FIND A NEW SPOT. Somewhere no one has found, at least not that I know of in my limited engagement with fossil hunters in this area. New hunting grounds are far and few between unless you are near an area that is being built upon, and there are some of those, definitely. but not near me. However, I'd been finding interesting "potholes" of Del Rio Formation in a local river and the other day, I decided to go a little further upstream than I normally do and LO AND BEHOLD.....the motherload! A whole wall of the grey blue mud I'd been looking for! Now, whether it was productive or not was the next question. There were millions of Ram's Horn Oysters (Ilymatogyra arietina). Maybe a billion. It's hard to count that high. A lot, suffice it to say. So, was there anything other than oysters?? After a bit of trying to see past the oysters, I found a good sign: a little Plicatula bivalve. They are lovely little cat paw looking oysters. A little more searching and I found one of the things I was hoping to find - a heteromorph ammonite called Mariella worthensis. So that gave me a big clue that I had indeed found the Del Rio Formation that I had found chunks of further downstream. What's interesting is it is very similar in fauna to the Waco Research Pit stuff, but with more oysters and less of all the other stuff typically found there, so it is not quite as productive as the Waco site, but it's yielding some nice stuff. I havn't found any Cretolamna shark teeth or Goniophorus echinoids yet (but I have found plates and spines of Gonio, so they are there somewhere....). So I hauled home a bucket of dirt to look for the little stuff and I found some really lovely tiny things!! The next week I went again, trying to get a little hunting in before the REAL summer heat set in (we've had 45 days of over 100 degree temps. It's been brutal, even to use "used to hot summer" Texans). And Happy Day - I found a nice "large" ammonite Otoscaphites subevolutus and a very nice Mariella (the "biggest" I've collected so far), and something interesting, what I would not have known to look for except a friend clued me in that I might find tracks in this formation....and I did! An arthropod I'm assuming. And of course, I took home another bucket of matrix! 1/2 inch Otoscaphites subevolutus Mariella worthensis 3/4 inch Tracks Here are some of the nice micro matrix finds. Lots of tiny crab claws! And the floating Crinoid Roveocrinus.... Some neat little gastropods: but my favorite thing to find is the starfish stuff. In prior spots I have found more brittlestar stuff, but here, not so much. These I think are regular asteroidea fragments. Nothing so great as a whole one...YET! I did find one little shark tooth - possibly Leptostyrax? And one final nice find that is sadly only a section - an ammonite Engonoceras serpentinum - which in all honesty, I didn't even realize what it was till I go home and cleaned it up. I thought it was just a chunk of bivalve till I saw the sutures! Unfortunately, I am not going to post any pics of the area because I want to keep it to myself for a little while at least. I know there are people always searching for signs of a new spot...heck, I was one of them till I figured out how to read a geological map. Someday I'll post some pics of the river...it's quite pretty. Hopefully my honey hole will continue to surprise me!

Recently found this rock on a trip to the Keasey formation near Mist Oregon. There are several crinoid stars visible on the outside of the stone and some segmented sections visible as well. Seems like they run throughout the rock. I found this on the ground by the stream and water erosion did a bit of work on the outside. Really curious and excited about what might be inside but no idea how to start and scared to ruin it. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, I suppose Crinoid head on the first picture, and stem segments o the second one?

I went to a park and found some fossils in a rock. Took the rock home to crack it open and found very impressive crinoid molds, as well as a crinoid itself! It looks almost crystallized on the inside (if you have any info about that please let me know) and i found some cool ammonite and shell imprints :)

The crinoid columnals i have found are usually round, pentagonal and star shaped, but today I found one that is square Among a thousand crinoids columnals, this is the only square one I have ever found, why? To which part of the crinoid does it belong to?

From an old collection, no data, may be from USA or Europe. The conical calyx has a two-inch diameter, a recessed attachment for the stem, and five very broad attachment points for arms. the calyx has a hole through the center which is surrounded by concentric layers of shell so that, except for the central hole, it is solid (unlike any other crinoid I have seen or read about.) The ovoid specimen is probably from the same locality. It apparently also is almost solid, has five bowl shaped arm attachment points and an irregular central bowl. The base is recessed but covered in limestone. The holdfast is about 3 1/2 inches tall with a very irregular growth pattern. All three have 'worm' tubes attached; the ovoid one has attached bivalve? shells and the holdfast and conical calyx have bore holes from exposure on the sea floor. I need to move pictures from my phone... archive (4).zip

Hi could this possibly be a fossilized leaf? Or is it just my imagination. Found it in a creekbed near the Mississippi in Northern Missouri. Thanks in advance!

Just some cool fossils I found ( broome county, New York)

Family and I took a trip to Beltzville State Park earlier this week. We stayed around the lake, looking along the shoreline and wading through water. Found some pretty cool Middle Devonian fossils. My wife lucked out with two Trilobite pieces, one of which is a really nice head imprint. I'm still working on identification, so please bare with me. Any help of course is appreciated. Coin is 22mm Shoreline Trilobite head (Phacops rana?) surrounded by Crinoid stems Trilobite (Phacops rana?) - lower abdomen Crinoid stems Crinoid stems Pleurodictyum tabulate coral (?) and brachiopod Crinoid stems Brachiopods and I'm not sure what the orange/black dotted impression is.

I collected this echinoderm part from Silurian Bainbridge Formation outcrops. There are two spike-like projections exposed, and two more that are buried in sediment. The rock unfortunately split in 2 pieces, and I noticed two other spike-like projections on the opposite side while glueing it. I thought it looked somewhat similar to an Ancyrocrinus holdfast, but the age is wrong and I haven't found them reported from here. I apologize for the poor quality photos, I will update with better quality ones when I relocate the specimen. Any clue if this is a holdfast indeed, and if so what crinoid it could belong to?

My name is Emeogta and I live in Southern Colorado. I have recently begun collecting fossils on public lands, which is permissible. I hope to share my finds and receive much appreciated help in identification, etc.

Age: Ordovician: Approx. 454-452 Mya Formation: Decorah Shale Location Grant County, Wi Amidst the frequent outcroppings of Platteville Limestone in Southern Wisconsin, you occasionally encounter the overlying Decorah Shale. From what I read this formation is more frequent north of Grant County, and in Minnesota as well. The outcrop itself is roughly 200 feet in length, and only extends about 6 feet from the ground. Its located in a very remote area, amongst a sea of corn fields. Here are a couple finds from my third trip to this locality. Here is a complete crinoid calyx with associated pinnule filtering appendages. Complete crinoids are much more common in Silurian/Devonian stratum. Next is a hashplate, with a few assorted brachiopods and crinoid fragments. There were also a handful of brachiopods to be found alone as well. All of these are very similar to the Ordovician Lepidocyclus perlamellosa/H. capax. Although these were much smaller in size. A single Lingula inarticulate brachiopod, which was a huge surprise since this was my first one ever. I found a mid sized orthoconic nautiloid. This one is 7 inches (17.7 cm) in length. The approximate width at its widest end is 2 3/4 (6.9 cm). Note the visible septa markings on the specimen. This is an internal mold, so structure is a little different from that of a normal mineralized specimen. Not the largest from this site, as others I've recovered push 25 inches (63.5 cm). The internal siphuncle is exhibited here in cross section: I marked the cross section and direction of the siphuncle here. Phragmocones from this locality only preserve as internal molds without any calcified structure. As a result of poor preservation they can be difficult to spot. With a trained eye, it becomes significantly easier. Here are some additional brachiopods that I dug out from this locality. A fennestellid bryozoan as well. There were a few, but none to write home about unfortunately. My favorite finds at this location are by far the large nautiloids, which have been consistently produced from here. (If only I could find one at 6 feet now ) If anyone has an i.d for that crinoid calyx, I'd be happy to post measurements or more detailed photos. Other than that I hope to run out to Indiana sometime within the month, maybe I'll see some of you out there. -Jonah

Found these last summer but just getting the energy to find somewhere to ID them. I'm not sure what the crystallized impression is, but I know at the very least that the others are probably crinoids of some kind. Thank y'all, even if nobody can ID at least others can enjoy.

Hi I found this in a creek bed in Missouri not far from the Mississippi River. Need help identifying please. If I were to guess, it's some piece of a crinoid? It's my best find since I started this new hobby. Thanks

Hello! I’m new to the forum and come across fossils and interesting rocks regularly. I would love to learn more about my findings from anyone here that has a keen interest in helping someone like me expand my knowledge! These photos are of my most recent finding, but I don’t know what it is/ where it’s from/ when I dates back to.