Search the Community

Well, it has been a while since a post on the Silurian Leighton Fm. Had to make a trip due to family matters, and once I got back had a lot of work to do. I finally got into a position to start splitting and prepping more shale, and found this new little guy. I am torn between an operculum of a gastropod, and an inarticulate brachiopod. My main argument for an operculum is because of the shape - the only inarticulate brachiopods in this formation are Orbiculoidea and Pholidops. Unfortunately, I cannot find any reliable papers on the brachiopod Pholidops, it looks very similar but there is quite a bit of variation. The gastropod Australonema (possibly Cyclonema) is found in this formation, and the operculum of the genus is very similar to my specimen. On the other hand, the rarity of such Paleozoic opercula make me think that this is a brachiopod. And now for the specimen itself. It was not found in association with any gastropods, but was next to numerous Nuculites bivalves, some ostracods, and a tentaculite. The pictures below first show the two opposite halves of the specimen - unfortunately one was damaged when the shale split. Thanks for reading!

Hi all, This has bugged me for over 30 years and I'd love to know what I might have found all those years ago. HINT: Its the thingy on the right, not the quid! In 1987, I was lucky enough to go and see my extended family in Perth, Western Australia. On one day we went to Scarborough Beach, near Perth, and not being one for sunbathing I went foraging on the shoreline. I found this, put it in my pocket and forgot about it until I got home. My geology teacher at school thought it might be Nummulites Laevigatus, but was he right? I've seen nothing like it since. From the photographs you can see that the 'lumpy' side is asymmetrical however what is harder to see is that the 'whorl' side is very slightly concave, moving in as it follows the curve to the centre. Is it fossil? Was my teacher correct? Could it even be man made? Any help would be greatly appreciated, Carl

I found four of these today in Sarasota, FL... They came from Pleistocene shell beds, and they were said to be 2.6-3 MYO. For size, please check the photos. Outside: Inside: More outside, Different set: More inside, different set: Anyone that knows anything about these, please let me know... Because I would love to learn more.

Has anyone seen or collected an ecphora operculum? This is bugging me because I think I've seen them and ignored them thinking they were something else. A small very thin shell that looks like a fossil jingle shell, but that has the reddish brown color of an ecphora. It's a long story about how I got to this eureka moment, but I was wondering why only the ecphora and this one other shell kept their color. Unless....Eureka! Collecting site is York River State Park in Virginia. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. If I'm right, I need to tell another collector that I gave them the wrong information.