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Showing results for tags 'gastropod'.
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A week ago I made the trip out to one of the roadcuts on loop 360. I realized that I had been neglecting visiting the west side of town which, although very different, is just as rich in fossil history as the younger east. I want to also thank @erose as he has posted lots of useful information on the cuts and what sorts of things can be found. I arrived in the afternoon and slowly climbed up the gravel to get to the first bench. I made the rare good decision to hunt on the side of the road that would shield me from the sun, making the temperature nice and cool, perfect for fossiling. Despite the proximity of the road, the area felt surprisingly secluded. All atop the bench were a variety of giant boulders that had fallen from the many formations overhead. I wasn't sure which ones were best to look through, so I ended up going mostly for the softest ones. They were absolutely packed with everything from gastropods and bivalves to the occasional tiny regular echinoid or algal fruiting body. I took occasional trips up the gravelly incline to the top of the cut, but really it was just more of the same stuff so I decided to focus on the easier-to-traverse ground below. It really didn't take long before my pockets were heavy. The day was periodically graced with more unusual finds like irregular echies and a large fragment of an ammonite (whole ones are very rare here). Before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set and it was time to head back to the car. Most of the stuff was pretty easy to clean at home. A lot of the limestone popped right off, though some was a bit harder to get. An interesting thing I noticed was that some of the fossils had distinct parallel engravings on them. It looked a bit similar to the damage I have caused using vinegar on limestone fossils in the past. I wonder if acid rain was the cause for these markings. Anyways, here are some pictures. Overview of the better finds: A). Irregular Echinoids Heteraster texanus B). Regular Echinoids. All Loriolia? C). Misc: Metengonoceras? ammonite on top. Below from left to right is a Porocystis globularis algal fruiting body, Neithea texana scallop, and Ceratostreon texanum oyster D). Gastropods. Back row: Anchura. Front row (L to R): Nerinea? (From Bull Creek Fm), Unknown, and Natica I will definitely be back in the future and might check out some of the other cuts nearby. Thanks for reading!
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Hello, I found this on a beach along Croatian coast and was unlike any of the surrounding rocks/geology. It's symmetrical and submarine-shaped. I'm wondering if it's a fossil v. a natural formation. Any information is greatly appreciated!
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Can anyone help me narrow down these maybe gastropods?
SilurianSalamander posted a topic in Fossil ID
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I recently came across a new locality that exposes a calcareous section of the Red Mountain Formation. After braving poison oak, wasp attacks, swarms of gnats, and spiders, I've come out with some spectacularly preserved brachiopods, especially for this formation. I believe Dolerorthis sp.? Resserella sp. Not quite sure, looks like some kind of orthid. Leptaena sp. Another unknown orthid. A really well preserved Lingula sp. Slabs like this are fairly common, but the rock is so fragile it's difficult to get any back in one piece. The one piece in the bottom right caught my eye since it looks superficially like a Bumastus sp. fragment. Could be a brachiopod, though exposures I've found in similar rocks (also in the Red Mountain Formation) have turned up abundant trilobite remains, including Bumastus sp. Besides brachiopods, I've found a few other things. An interesting bryozoan? I'm not the best with colonial animals like this. A plate with several Hormotoma subulata(?) Hope you all enjoyed the photos! Please let me know if you think you have any IDs, I'm not too confident on some of these.
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Found among loads of agates and quartzite in a gravel bed. Looks like a snail shell to me. Thoughts?
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Hi all, I found some snail fossils and was wondering if I could get them ID'd or even given a ball park age! Location Wollongong Australia. Driving home at the moment but can update with measurements if needed once I'm near a tape measure. Would estimate around 3-4cm or around 1.5inches at their widest part.
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On my eighth trip to the locality, I collected fossils at the famous St. Leon roadcut. Exposed were the Waynesville and Liberty formations, which date to the immense coral reefs of the upper Ordovician, or 450 ±5 MYA. The site was heavily picked, its erosive forces slowed during Indiana's summer heat. My drops of sweat evaporated on the sun-tempered limestone faster than I could count to ten. Despite the setbacks, acquisitions were generous. Best for last. Behold my brachiopods. The top row is Strophomena sp., the top-left sample demonstrating encrusting bryozoan. The second row is Vinlandostrophia ponderosa. The third and fourth rows are Lepidocyclus/Hiscobeccus, though I am of the opinion the genera are synonymous and are just sexual dimorphs given their identical ages, appearances, and regional occurrences. I am curious what other brachiopod enthusiasts think of this similarity. (Four boxes on the grid is 25 millimeters.) I continue with the bivalves. The top row is Caritodens sp, the top-left sample being a particularly well-preserved example. The bottom-left sample is Anomaladonta sp., and the bottom-right sample is a near-perfect Ambonychia sp. Life is incomplete without the gastropods! I didn't take French in high school for nothing! The top sample is unknown to me, despite being the second I have found of its type. The middle-left sample is too buried. The remaining four are all Paupospira sp., the middle sample being a good example. Interestingly, the bottommost Paupospira has a partial Flexicalymene sp. trilobite cephalon on it, which makes me question if the trilobite was consuming the calcium to augment its own development. However, considering the sample is a messy storm deposit, it is likely pure luck. I have to mention the numerous Isotelus maximus fragments at the site. When looking for fossils at St. Leon, one must wonder how many beautiful I. maximus lie under the surface, only to crumble down the slopes of the roadcut and into my hands. Of interest is the long, delicate genal spine on the top right. Now to the more interesting fossils. I follow with three of six total straight-shelled nautiloid cephalopods. The middle sample is a rare, (calcified) Anaspyroceras sp., and the right sample is also calcified. The beautiful, ancient calcite crystals within the dull-appearing right sample: Now to the next three. The left orthocone is all associated and is very large. The middle sample is also quite large. Species-level identification of orthocones can be difficult even with a clear cross-section of the siphuncle, so "straight-shelled nautiloid cephalopod" will have to suffice. However, I suspect these three samples are likely Treptoceras sp. Excellent samples to say the least. I kept saying "straight-shelled," so perhaps some of you guessed it: I found a coiled nautiloid cephalopod! These are very rare. I have found only a handful of these. Behold the curved Beloitoceras sp., a member of Oncocerida, to which the modern nautilus owes its existence to! It's unbelievable how this rock from half a billion years ago directly led to the existence of modern nautiloids! The continuity of life is incredible. The penultimate is a bryozoan fan. Yes, a fan! The bryozoan tapers off at the upper edges. I have never seen anything like it! It is 8x4 cm. And finally... ...a giant bryozoan! This is my biggest single fossil find ever! The caliper on the left is set all the way out to 15.00 cm! It is easily 15 inches in diameter and four inches thick! After crashing my bicycle a few weeks ago, this immense find could be my new wheel! Hear me out. In ten years of collecting, I have found many rare trilobites, behemoth cephalopods, and more, but this colony of tens of thousands of individual animals takes the cake for the most interesting fossil I've ever had the privilege to collect. On top of being huge and complete, it's riddled with trypanites (trace burrows for you bone hunters out there) from all a manner of creatures that used to reside in the Ordovician. I'm sure my fellow amateur paleontologists appreciate that this isn't just a fossil coral, it's an entire ecosystem! It's literally a window into life 450 million years ago! It's riddled with traces left by crinoid stems, scolecodonts (boring worms), parasitic encrusting bryozoans, brachiopods, bivalves, and so much else! I'm considering donating it to a museum. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed.
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Sorry I don’t have clearer photos or anything in here for scale. This is freshly pulled from a ditch in Alpena, Michigan and we’re still out in the field. I had no idea Michigan had spiked gastropods. Any help on an ID would be most appreciated.
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From the album: Upper Devonian
Palaeotrochus sp. Palaeotrochoid Gastropod (flattened imprint) Upper Devonian Catskill Formation Irish Valley Member Selingsgrove, PA-
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Found on a railroad track with other Paleozoic fossils
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I found this in Texas, near Lake Bridgeport, in the Jasper Creek Formation, Canyon Group, Missouri Series, Pennsylvanian Sub-period. The flared lip, think shell and absence of obvious sutures or septa tell me it is more likely to be a Bellerophontid gastropod than a cephalopod. The open umbilicus and the large size is making a firm ID difficult. Any ideas?
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Vestavia Hills, AL (Ordovician to Mississippian) I found these very odd rocks exposed by recent flooding. i wondered about a tree root mold or burrow for the first one, but figured low chance of identifying. Just in case, I did a vinegar soak to remove more of the mud. Today, I saw a tiny little spiral shell. Is it a fossil? (vs a modern snail that got trapped in this sediment). Any thoughts about the overall shape of the rock? Since it was found nearby, I’m including a pic of the other weird rock. I considered part of a horseshoe crab or trilobite molt, but I can think of more arguments against than for these. Thanks for looking.
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I found these while on a trek uphill. I’ve posted it on different sites but no one can give a positive ID on my finds. Location is Cebu, Philippines by the way. Always been curious about how the ocean life was here millions of years ago as most studies indicate that the Philippine archipelago was submerged in water. For more angles, click on that imgur link as I have labelled those there.
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Found at fossil & prairie park in Rockford, IA. Any ideas about a species? Also am I correct that it looks like a coral or maybe an encrusting sponge was growing on top of it? Thanks in advance.
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Some finds from our most recent fossil finding expedition to Alpena Michigan. Anyone know species possibly of these two? One with spikes and one without?
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I stumbled onto this cute tiny gastropod from the Galena/Ordovician in Minnesota but am having difficulty with its identification. Strophostylus textiles is listed as a possiblity in Minnesota Fossils and Fossiliferous Rocks by Robert Sloan. What do you think?? Mike
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From the album: Miocene of Maryland
Ecphora Calvert Cliffs, Maryland-
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I made a trip to a different spot on the North Sulfur River this morning. I had been to this spot one time last year, but an unforecast rain shower showed up and turned the river into such a muddy mess that I turned around and left without finding anything. With a 100 degree high forecast for today, I didn't figure rain would be a problem. I found some of the usual things you expect to find at NSR, Hamulus worm tubes, a gastropod, a perfectly preserved complete bivalve, some interesting bones, and lots of bacculites. The only bacculite I brought home was the one in this photo, with the great suture lines.
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From the album: North Sulfur River - June 15th
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From the album: Mahantango Formation
Glyptomaria Juniata County, Pennsylvania -
They are from Isla Margarita, Venezuela. Anyone know what these are?
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Our 3rd grader found this on a beach in Coos County, OR. Her first impression is that this is a snail fossil. We’re wondering 1) what is this and 2) if this is an internal mold? There’s also an impression on one side of the matrix that looks like a separate cast. But we’re really not sure… we are having a difficult time visualizing what’s going on here. When you look closely at the spiral it does appear to have shell in there. We’ve googled a ton and compared pictures of different spiral fossils, but still aren’t sure. Thanks for any info!
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Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend a few hours collecting in a quarry in northern Illinois that exposes most of the Galena Group (Late Ordovician). There was lots of fresh rock to hunt through, and it was a good and productive trip. As usual, lots of gastropod molds were found. Hormotoma sp. Liospira sp. Sinuites sp. Lophospira sp. Subulites sp. Unknown gastropod. Looks like Liospira but appears to curl in the opposite direction. Brachiopods show up too. Most common are molds of what I believe are Rafinesquina (@Tidgy's Dad?). The inarticulate Pseudolingula iowensis is somewhat common. Specimens are almost always crushed and missing shell, but they usually have some shell preservation which contrasts nicely with the yellow matrix. Occasional bivalve molds are found. This one has calcite? crystals. Trilobite parts are uncommon, and the only species I've seen from this quarry is Thaleops, possibly Thaleops laurentiana. Here is a cephalon I found. Now for my favorite finds of the day. A partial specimen of the small receptaculitid Ischadites iowensis. Fisherites is very common at this site, but I had not come across Ischadites before. A partial conulariid. Judging by the visible cross section, the back side is present, so this should hopefully prep out nicely. And finally, what might end up being a complete trilobite. Not sure if there is any more buried, but it does look like at least some of the shell is preserved, so fingers crossed!
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Hey my dad just found this in borne Texas, it’s about 10 inches long!
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