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I found this in the bank of the Iowa River amongst a nice collection of brachiopods. I have been trying to visualize an ancient living creature at the center of this rock, but I suspect my great discovery is nothing more than some type of weird rock. Would really appreciate your expertise and opinions! I have included photos of Left outside Right outside Middle Left middle Right middle Closeup Fossils from reference layer. IMG_0976.HEIC IMG_0975.HEIC IMG_0972.HEIC IMG_0971.HEIC IMG_0970.HEIC IMG_0969.HEIC IMG_0968.HEIC
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Does anyone have any idea what kind of brachiopod this could be? I'm sure we can't identify the species, but maybe the family or even the genus? Carboniferous Serpukhovian Bear Gulch Montana
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I had some spare time this past weekend, and a fossil hunt sounded nice. Bad weather had made that impossible the previous month. The weather was great out finally, so I went out Sunday (3/7/2021) to good old Truman Lake to look for Burlington Formation crinoids. I mainly just wanted to find and keep nicer, intact crinoids that day. It's a good walk to the crinoid hunting grounds from my car, and there is fossiliferous chert material along the way. I decided to split one chunk of chert, which contained only one single platyceras gastropod steinkern. After finishing work on it, I hid the snail along the trail behind a tree because it was to delicate to carry along. I actually ended up forgetting it, and will have to retrieve it next weekend. Once I got done walking and hit the encrinite rock, I decided to hunker down and look for recently fallen debris. Within 5 minutes I found my nice first possible complete calyx. Only prep would tell if this was complete, but it was worth throwing in the backpack. Looking low was paying off, because 3 feet away and right where the water level dropped was another one. I could tell right off the bat it was an Azygocrinus rotundus. It looked complete, but being lodged upright and inbetween two more pieces of rock, it was almost guaranteed to either be missing plates or extremely weathered. It was weathered, but actually better than I had thought! As I kept going, I kept flipping rock. Its always good to look at the underside of fossiliferous rock, because I've found some nice pieces that way. The next find was found doing just that, and looked to be a complete Macrocrinus verneuilianus. This is what I saw before flipping it over. And the backside after some rinsing in the lake. After throwing that in the backpack, I kept scrounging. Macrocrinus was the most common find of the day, and I found another within minutes. This one was buried in some sediment on a bigger chunk of rock. Can you find it? It will definitely clean up well. I spent another hour or so looking around and also managed to find a nice Uperocrinus pyriformis crinoid and another partial Macrocrinus verneuilianus calyx, but I didn't get pictures of those in the field. I cleaned up everything with soap and water when I got home, but I only had time to prep one crinoid and partially prep another one. Well, heres the calyxs cleaned up. Uperocrinus pyriformis Macrocrinus verneuilianus #1 (first crinoid find after final prep) macrocrinus verneuilianus #2 Macrocrinus verneuilianus #3 Azygocrinus rotundus Macrocrinus verneuilianus #4 And why not end on a brachiopod! Thanks for reading.
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I found this fossil today in the Missouri Ozarks - we find fossils from the Mississippian period here. It is small: for scale I could probably just fit the tip of my pinky in it. We have lots of brachiopods, bryozoans and crinoid fossils around here but I have never seen this sort of interlocking "spine" (I know its not a spine). Does anybody know what this is a part of?
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Work and weather have kept me from doing much fossil collecting these last couple of months. But I was finally able to photograph finds from my last outing. I found some interesting stuff I think. We'll start with my favorite find.. This is the large blastoid Xyeleblastus magnificus. They're always found crushed to some extent (even the holotype.) This is only the second blastoid I've found in the Fort Payne! Did well with the crinoids that day A very nice Agaricocrinus sp. with the stem attachment point exposed (they usually have that area filled with matrix.) Also shows an unusual texture that I havent seen on other specimen in my collection. Another Agaricocrinus sp. calyx slightly damaged and with calcite coming out from between the plates. Agaricocrinus is one of the three most common genus from that formation. Another being..... Alloprosallocrinus conicus. I never find one with the anal tube intact, most likely from them being transported and deposited. Heres a slightly rarer one... Gaulocrinus veryi I normally don't collect stem sections anymore, but I did decide to grab this large section.... Its a Platycrinites sp. stem. They are distinctively twisted. This is my second favorite find of that trip.. Its and Auloporid coral (most likely Cladochonus sp.) wrapped around a crinoid stem section! More later...
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This little thingy was in Mississippian Redwall limestone in central Arizona. It was in a section of the Redwall with very few other fossils. It's about 10mm long and 7mm wide. What do you think?
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I run across these guys frequently in the Mississippian Redwall Limestones around Arizona's Verde Valley. They are generally accompanied by lots of Crinoids and solitary Rugose Corals. They're always this oval shape with segmented structure. They look like an isopod, to me, but could be some other crustacean. Any help out there for the identification of these "bugs?"
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Fossil Brachiopod Diaphragmus cestriensis EDIT: Updated pictures and stratigraphic information.
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Fossil brachiopod Schellwienella sp. EDIT: Updated pictures and stratigraphic information.
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I've had some difficulty narrowing down the identity on some assorted brachiopods. The diagnostic features may not be preserved but I figured I'd post them here to see if anyone knew. @Tidgy's Dad Any ideas? The first is a single large valve from the Warsaw Formation in Fenton, Missouri (The old Meramec Bridge site). I've been able to track down most species reported from here and identify everything else but this one is harder. The wear doesn't help. The second are a couple o Echinoconchidae valve casts in chert from a creek in Lincoln County, Missouri. It could be residual chert. The area is otherwise Ordovician. 2.8 cm width x 2.5 cm height. 3.8 cm x 3.2 cm
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It's been a long time since I've written a trip report. Not that I wasn't hiking, I was hiking like mad and finding stuff. Just didn't get around to documenting in the latter part of 2020. Too much craziness. A couple of days ago, I went in search of an extremely elusive shale formation, that contains some of the loveliest ferns I have seen. My records show I specifically planned 13 hikes last year trying to find another exposure. That was over 100 miles of fruitless searching. Zero. Zilch. Well, two days ago I found another small exposure. Scenic photos of the journey follow starting with walking uphill on an Ordovician rock bed The Ordovician transitioned into this Silurian bed with Devonian formations rising above it on the left Although fairly stumble-free walking this was relatively steep. That day I ascended 2,800 ft with my big pack full of tools, food and drinks. A nice shattered chert nodule in the Devonian. Just to show not everything has fierce thorns here, some 'Cushion Buckwheat'
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- new mexico
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Kaskia sp. pygidium.
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- animalia
- arthropoda
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Kaskia sp. pygidium.
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- animalia
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Archimedes sp. located at the center of the plate.
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Archimedes sp. located at the center of the plate.
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During my third trip to a Fern Glen outcropping, I came across this specimen. It doesn't really resemble anything else I've found there. Luckily the "spines" are pretty sturdy, and I didn't break any of them when digging it out. Any ideas?
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I found this coral several months ago in the Late Mississippian Mauch Chunk Group of West Virginia. I admit that it is a worn example, but it is the only Carboniferous tabulate coral that I have found so far. My initial guess is Michelinia sp. Is there enough there to make an identification? Any help is greatly appreciated!
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Every now and then I find something odd on the ground in the backcountry. Do not feel this is a fossil. At first glance I thought this was just some siliceous ooze with intricate folds. At second glance I noted the broken surfaces were not conchoidal as one would expect with silicate materials. It almost appears like extremely fine-grained basalt on the broken ends Specimen is 1.5" (38mm) long and 1.25" (32mm) wide. Thickness is 3/8" (8-9mm) I'll call this the top view. Primarily very dark black Bottom view has a decided reddish cast in places. Note the broken end on the left. Another broken section on the side. Small vesicles. Some strange inclusion on the left. Another exposed side section If it is igneous in origin that would be interesting because the closest igneous activity is about 70 miles away and would imply transported in by ancient peoples. Any geologic thoughts to send my way? Thank you, Kato
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When it comes to fossils, I am a generalist by nature. I haven't met a fossil that I didn't like! However, in an attempt to narrow my focus a bit, I have decided to take a cue from Adam ( @Tidgy's Dad ) and start this thread. I hope to showcase some of my collection, but more importantly have a central place to post IDed specimens, information I have found regarding them, and/or ask for help with IDs. Hopefully other's will get enjoyment from seeing the specimens and potentially learn a thing or two. So come along on my journey through the Carboniferous! If you haven't had the pleasure of getting lost in the Cambrian, Ordovician, or Silurian with Adam, you are doing yourself a disservice! I highly recommend his below threads. Adam's Ordovician Adam's Silurian Adam's Cambrian Now, let's go! Kentucky is known far and wide by fossil collectors for being within the Cincinnati Arch, and having wonderful Ordovician fossils, but what many fail to realize is that the Ordovician makes up a small percent of Kentucky's exposed strata. By far the most represented time period is the Carboniferous. With Central to Western Kentucky being mostly Mississippian in age, and Eastern Kentucky (and part of Western) being predominantly Pennsylvanian. There is a reason that coal is big business here! A simplified version of Kentucky's geological survey map, but it gives you a good idea of the distribution of what can be found. Image borrowed from: Bryson, Lindsey & Gomez-Gutierrez, I.C. & Hopkins, T.C.. (2012). Development of a new durability index for compacted shale. Engineering Geology. s 139–140. 66–75. 10.1016/j.enggeo.2012.04.011. An adaptation of the KGS map found here https://www.uky.edu/KGS/geoky/index.htm I'm lucky enough to be within an hours drive from most represented time periods. Excluding the Tertiary/Cretaceous and Quaternary, but I live in the Mississippian area and find myself hunting that time period more often than not. The Mississippian here is mostly marine in nature with brachiopods, corals, bryozoans, and the like, being the norm. While the Pennsylvanian is a mixed bag of marine and terrestrial life. More information regarding the geology of Kentucky can be found at the Kentucky Geological Survey website here. I would also recommend the open access papers below regarding the Carboniferous and it's invertebrate fauna. I have not studied terrestrial and vertebrate life much yet, but will showcase those finds and related research material as they come. Mississippian Fauna of Kentucky Pennsylvanian Invertebrate Fauna of Kentucky The fossils will come next, and I plan to post a new one regularly (Daily? Weekly? Monthly?) as time permits. So sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the adventure. Carboniferous here we come!
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This fossil(?) was found on the roof of a cave in the Renault or Ste. Genevieve Limestones in Kentucky. Mississipian period. I apologize for no scale. It is about 6 inches long I talked to some usgs fossil guys but they weren't sure. They thought it could be from an armored fish. It is unlike any fossil I've ever seen. I originally thought it was just chert, but on closer look, it appeared to have bilateral symmetry. It seems like whatever was in there was replaced by the chert. Although, I'm not really familiar with how fossils form. EDIT: the fossil was very much 3D. The part closest to my finger, facing perpendicular to the wall appears to be be concave.
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Could this be a sponge? Note the radial structure and the occasional branching rods. Collected in Missouri, but location and age are unknown. Also, the specimen is sawn to 3/4" thick and the fossil doesn't extend into the sawn area! There is a lot of tiny crinoidal hash in the matrix rock. The light blue grid is one inch.
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In September, the desire to collect the Burlington Formation, Mississippian of Iowa got the best of me, “forced” my truck to make a little road trip down that way. The trip was about 4 hours, necessitating an overnight stay. Covid was running rampant, compelling me to sleep in the back of my pickup and eat out of a cooler full of food instead of motels and restaurants. This left a 64 year old man a bit stiff in the morning. The nice thing about the Burlington, it did not tax my body too much, allowing me hunt my allotted 8 hours with ease. Normally the Burlington is searched for crinoid specimens, but on this trip, my goal was to find the fish layer and come home with shark specimens to prep out. Success was had and I even stumbled on a few nice crinoids too, as a forum member found out The stark contrast of the dark fish parts can be seen against the whitish matrix FULL of crinoidal debris in this chunk. Extracting the teeth was very difficult due to their fragile nature. Many nice specimens were ruined as a result of my inadequate techniques. But I am proud of what I salvaged! After completing my preps, I placed the teeth in some plastic sleeves. However, I developed such a liking to the teeth that I couldn’t just bag them and file them away in my barn. So I decided to make an Iowa tooth display out of them, something that I can hopefully use on occasion for educational purposes. The result of my project is shown in the next photo. I used a red blanket from under the Christmas tree as a background. Not sure I like the Santa red so included another without it. Plus, as always, I forgot a scale!! Now I will show closeups of most specimens and attempt a CRUDE ID on them. First Cladodus???
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The photo shows several nodules embedded in Redwall Limestone (Mississippian) along highway 89a west of Jerome, Arizona. Also in this layer are crinoids, brachiopods and solitary rugose corals. I think I've read about these in the dim, dusty past, and I seem to recall that they are not fossils, but some other geological phenomenon. Any help?
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The colder days of late has allowed me to work on the Burlington matrix that I brought home this summer. It has revealed some real treasures, at least for me. But I am stymied on a few finds and look for some opinions of forum members. 1. A few questions on the first piece. My goal was to clean up a large piece of ??? Shark spine? While cleaning, two teeth were uncovered. Here is the "backside" tooth. Now the "front side" tooth Initially just the tip of the tooth was showing, but as I progressed with cleaning, this "moustache" was exposed with the tooth at the very tip. I am very curious to understand this as well as what the long linear specimen is above it. 2. Looks like a trilobite eye but I will venture some type of shark tooth?? 3. The matrix where these specimens were found is white. So any time a dark spot is seen, a fossil exists, at least most of the time. Here is a dark item I assumed when I started its exposure was a tooth of some kind. But I concluded, just a "rock". After seeing it sit on the workbench for a few days, I kept thinking about the LACK of any matrix that wasn't white. So my thoughts went to the possibility of a coprolite. I will tag @GeschWhat for her opinion too. 4. Open to suggestions on this SMALL tubular structure. 5. I couldn't find a confident ID on this tooth. 6. Again, I have no clue on this one. It looks like Mickey Mouse ears, but I can't believe it since this was no where near Disneyland!
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It reminds me of a soccer ball but very small. I was thinking some sort of coral that I haven't seen yet in my research. (I am new to this but I did try to research)
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