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Showing results for tags 'silurian'.
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An End-of-Year Fossil Hunt with Stromatolites Galore
Elasmohunter posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
What better way to celebrate the end of the year than with a little fossil hunting? And the hunt ended with some spectacular stromatolites; read on! ----- When I got an itch to hit the field last month, I reached out to a quarry in Perrysburg, Ohio to collect fossil and mineralogical samples for donation to academic institutions. The quarry was kind enough to grant me permission to collect on their property for several hours in late December, so when the time came, I suited up and headed out with a trusty assistant. The quarry exposed outcrops of the Lockport and Greenfield Dolomites separated by a thin lens of shale. We were permitted to collect from the outsides of the berm piles surrounding the walls, but I wasn't sure what to expect, as dolomites often exhibit poor fossil preservation, and I had never hunted these units before. Even so, we eagerly hit the berm piles with rock hammers in hand. The quarry wall. The Greenfield Dolomite (red line) sits on top of the Lockport Dolomite (blue arrow), which extends to much deeper than the shelf upon which the photo was taken. The shale horizon between them can be clearly seen as a dark line. Almost immediately, I found a small brachiopod, but then it was several more minutes before we found other fossils. We proceeded to find a variety of reef-building organisms. A small brachiopod (1) and . . . the underside of a Favositid coral (2)? A friend suggested that the larger of these two fossils (3) is a Favositid coral. I'm not sure about the smaller one (4); maybe a bryozoan? This find (5) confused me: it looked like a concretion, seemed to be covered in iron oxide, and had an odd, striped/fluted pattern inside. A friend suggested that it could be slickenslides. It was the only rock that I saw that looked anything like this, and it really stood out against the dolomite. The best finds of the day, however, were undoubtedly the stromatolites. The quarry exhibited them in abundance, and they were readily found throughout the berm piles. The rounded tops of a group of stromatolites. The mottled top of a stromatolite. More layers can be seen just above the left side of the rock hammer. Check out this stromatolite (6)! The coin on it is an American penny. It came from a stromatolite that seemed to be at least 60 or 70 cm in diameter. Not only did we find fossils, however; we also found several crystals, as the dolomites were scattered throughout with crystal-containing vugs. Here's the largest crystal that we found. I haven't tested it with acid, but I suspect that it's calcite. We collected a few other crystals too and even saw some purple ones hiding in a seam in a large boulder. Unfortunately, someone beat me in discovering stromatolites here by many decades, so I didn't make an groundbreaking discoveries, but the trip was nevertheless a wonderful way to round out the year, and all of these samples will end up in academic institutions. May you all have even better fossil hunts in the new year! Cheers, Elasmohunter
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I was wondering whether this belongs to a Eurypterid. The only recorded genus of Eurypterids at the locality is Truncatiramus. Formation: Bloomsburg-Williamsport Formation. Age: Silurian. Other recorded fossils: Tentaculites sp., Klodenella sp., and Stromatapora sp. Second photo:
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At first I thought this was the Trochurus pygidium. I've been looking for for a few years now, but since it appears to have 6 spines instead of 4, not so sure. Maybe Ceratocephala? Sugar Run. @piranha
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These three fossils in the upper left of the picture were found in central Pennsylvania. I am relatively new to the world of fossils so I'm hoping someone can help identify what I have found. Are these crinoids? Thanks in advance!
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A friend gave me this ... horn coral? collected somewhere in the vicinity of Springville, Iowa, just northeast of Cedar Rapids. Macrostrat has that entire area underlain by Silurian to Devonian marine carbonate rock. Would be nice to confirm it's a horn coral, and perhaps get a more specific identification. Ruler marks are cm. It will be difficult for me to get a deeper macro with the camera I have, unfortunately. (And, if seeing these didn't have you mentally hearing "budda budDa BUDDa budda" played by a heavy brass section, you obviously come from a different generation of geeks than mine.)
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Hello everyone! I'm so happy to find such a thriving community here, and I'm especially excited to explore and possibly contribute to the reference museum. Earlier this year I moved really close to Lake Michigan, and now find myself a newly avid beach rockhound and fossil collector. I still don't know a lot but I love learning. So far I do know that a great deal of what I find are stromatoporoids (hence the username), along with some favocites, syringopora, halycites, tetracoral, crinoids, and brachiopods. The area where I live is silurian rock I think, and the composition of most of the fossils I collect is chalcedony rather than limestone. So, "agatized." They're often very colorful, have sharply preserved details contrasting parts that are translucent and opaque, or contain pockets of crystal formations. I don't find a lot of images of similar things online, so like I said, I'm excited to share. Looking forward to future discussions and also learning from people around the world Just for fun, here's a photo of the beach l visit most often for collecting:
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Need help IDing this tiny trilobite. Racine Formation, IL. My guess is Cyphaspis (Otarion) intermedia. Is this correct? @piranha scale is .5mm
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Fossil Trip 11/2021 West VA Silurian ( Rose Hill Formation)
Rexofspades posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Hi everyone, went on a nice little expedition into West VA over thanksgiving break. tried my hand on checking out the rose hill formation in Waiteville. lovely time out with some beautiful scenery and farms. The sandstone was sparse fossil wise, but I did find three pieces with some interesting stuff to ponder. here are each of the three rocks, labeled Specimens A-C Specimen A looks like it has some simple fossil impression. on first inspection there's some nice Ostracods and a couple brachiopod impressions in the middle. but on closer inspection on the edges I noticed there is a possible mold of a trilobite pygidium. (Likely Calymene Cresapensis) ostracods and brachiopod impressions. Here are closeups of the trilobite impression. lastly here are a couple impressions that might be something. Specimen B Specimen B has the Faintest brachiopod impression (According to this book I read it looks like Cupulastrum Neglectum) there's a weird looking impression I have no idea what it is. other weird impressions on the side. Specimen C I think i found a hash plate of trilobite chunks here, although Im not familiar with the geology of this place so it could just be concretion. this piece also has a definite Trilobite in it on the side. Trilobite. I do not know which part of it this is, could be Pygidium or Thorax. Possible cephalon piece? Please let me know if I missed any ID's or am way off on my guesses here. as always, message if you want to see a different side/ angle of something.
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Can anyone tell me what this species of coral is? It's from the Thornloe Formation in Northern Ontario, and is of early Silurian age.
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Hi folks, would love help with a fossil ID. Specimens were found in one piece of loose rock, on the banks of the Otter Tail River, Fergus Falls, MN. I'm guessing it's a brachiopod of sorts. Not sure how to determine the period it came from as this is not from an outcrop here, and we're situated on glacial till and granite. It looks somewhat like pentamerus oblongus? Anyways, any help appreciated!
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The weather is turning here in Ontario Canada, leaves are raked, stuff is stored safely away, waiting for the lake effect snow. Went for a walk along the lake and well couldn’t resist this rock. Here is my question: In geological time, what do you all think is the top and what is the bottom? Is the limestone newer or older than the layered what I believe is silicate. Every rock tells me a story, I see the impact of multi cell animals, and what I believe is the heavy tidal action of the Silurian sea because of heavy gravity interaction of earth and moon, cephalopods, bivalves, …….!!
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This encrinurid occurs in the Temiskaming outlier of northern Ontario amidst a fauna that is similar to that of Anticosti Island (1,250 km away). The layers in which these are found represent a near-shore environment, containing an assortment of crinoids, coral, early plant material, brachiopods, and a variety of gastropods. The specimen plate shown here was painstakingly prepared by M. Thornley of Ontario during the late summer of 2021. The specimen plate contains up to 12 or more individuals in various states of completeness, and is housed in the private collection of K. Faucher.
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Hi, all. I collected this specimen in the New Point Stone quarry, near Napoleon, Ind. It's Silurian, and was found in the Massie Shale. But I can't seem to find any information about it, specifically, the genus or species. The experts to whom I reached out were stumped. Any ideas, ladies and gentlemen?
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The brachiopod fauna of the Leighton Formation is so small that I don't often find one that needs some help with identification. This individual does. The closest brachiopod that has the same characteristics is Eoplectodonta (=Plectambonites) transversalis, but it only occurs in the Dennys Formation. The Dennys Fm has quite a different fauna from the Leighton, but it is the closest thing I could find. My other option was some sort of small spiriferid. I will have to defer to @Tidgy's Dad for this one. Below are two pictures of it, first of the cast, and second of the external mold. Unfortunately, the fossil is rather damaged - the split did not cooperate with it. It is from the Leighton Fm, which is Silurian, Pridolian. Thanks in advance for your help!
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Paleozoic Adventures in Kentucky and Tennessee October 2021
Jeffrey P posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Hi Everyone, In the latter half of last month I took a two week trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. My sister, her husband, two of her adult children, and my parents all live in the Elizabethtown/Louisville area and I was able to spend some quality time with them. Fossil collecting was also part of my agenda. Herb, my primary fossil collecting partner in Kentucky and I had a three day trip down to Tennessee planned. Before I went on that expedition, I was out with my brother-in-law driving around central Kentucky. He dropped me off for 20 minutes at the Upper Mississippian site at Wax where the Glen Dean Formation is exposed in a roadcut. I picked these up:
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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!
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After a summer-long hiatus, I went out to look for some trilobites the other day. I wasn't finding much but the weather was just right: overcast, threatening rain clouds, periodic drizzle, a nice breeze, etc.. so I lost track of time. After a few hours and not finding much beyond the usual suspects,, I was getting ready to leave. I split one more and this block contained three Cerauromeros hydei cephali and upon taking a closer look seemed to show indications of being complete. Gravicalymenes, brachiopod 1 2 3. This one appears to be enrolled. Note the pygidial spine. This will be challenging to prep but I'm going to work on it today. Number 1 prep progress And..ta-da! A little rough, but the matrix wasn't cooperating. The pygidial and genal spines didn't break off during prep, they just weren't there. Dissolved in fossilization. Still happy with these rare finds. I will post results if the roller turns out ok.
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From the album: Fossildude's Purchased/Gift Fossils
Calymene celebra Silurian, Niagara Limestone Grafton Illinois.© 2021 Tim Jones
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From the album: Trilobites
Evidence of 15 individuals on this plate I collected from the Thornloe Fm, expertly prepared by the legendary MT.- 3 comments
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I found a new place to fossil hunt and it has many more fossils then the normal places I go. Lots and lots of coral, brachiopods, cephalopods, and crystallization. It honestly looks like a coral reef of some kind. I live in middle Tennessee and it's mostly Mississippian and ordovician in my area but there are some areas of Silurian-Devonian. I found this fossil first and thought it was some sort of larger cephalopod, but there were some strange things about it and I started to change my mind. It is a torpedo shaped fossil with crystallization. I will start with the pattern pictures first to show you what I mean and then I will post a picture of the whole thing with a size reference. There are spots distributed around it but they seem to be symmetrical on both "sides," some are clearer than others. There are scalloped edges on the "bottom" of it. There is also an upside down shaped V at the "front-bottom" of it that I think looks kind of like a fish jaw. I do realize that if this is a fish it is very rare for this time period, especially in this sort of shape. If you do believe it is a deteriorated cephalopod, if you could just explain the V shape and the spots, that would help me see it as well. Thanks
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Hello! I have been lurking on this Forum for a while because I was very busy lately and still is! I found few fossils and I thought it might be trilobits- pieces of trilobite and also something else that I thought it seems 'fishy' and somewhat resemble a fish spine. These fossils are not found in situ but the bedrocks are Silurian. If they are trilobites, it would be my first time found one! I found this on the beach of Lake Erie, just east of Toledo, Ohio two weeks ago. Approximately half centimeter. Yesterday, I found this fossil on the beach of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin - just north of Illinois state line. It looks like a cross section of a trilobite to me. Approximately a centimeter and half wide. Unknown and resembles a fish spine, approximately two centimeters long. Thank you in advance and I am looking forward to seeing the responses!
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This is a recent prep I undertook - a rather incomplete specimen of a Chonetes bastini, a species of brachiopod from the Leighton Formation. I picked this one as a practice piece to try some new techniques on, and was hoping for any tips on different finishes for the matrix. I have heard that beeswax was often used for the matrix to make it appear darker, but did not know the proper methods or appliance techniques. Any thoughts on the finished product are also appreciated! The specimen itself is missing the upper right left of its shell, and only has two spines present (upper right). Otherwise, it was a well preserved specimen. I applied a thin coating of paraloid to the shell, to make it stand out, as well as preserve it better. The pictures show the specimen before and after preparation. The first image is of it before prep, while the last two are of it after. Thanks for reading! @Ludwigia @Terry Dactyll
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Hello, everyone! This is my first post here (and I actually joined this forum for help with this, though you all seem like a fun bunch and I'd like to stick around). So, I found this thing on a Lake Michigan beach last Thursday (near the Point Betsie Lighthouse). I have never found anything like it, yet it seems so familiar... it's just asymmetrical enough to be throwing my guesses off. It has a little hole and was once hollow, and is now filled with tiny sand-grain-sized crystals. Honestly it reminds me of part of a crab claw, but I have no idea. Please share your knowledge!
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I am really puzzled on this new one, I have explored phyllocarids, trilobites, and many others, and can't seem to find a good match for it. I am not absolutely positive it is a fossil though, just the surface texture and way it prepped makes me think it is. It is from the Leighton Fm, which is Silurian, Pridoli. When I first started prepping this, I was under the impression that this was the internal mold of a Chonetes bastini, which is why I started on it. I soon discovered though that it couldn't be from a brachiopod, and now I am stumped on it. The first specimen is completely prepped out, it is labelled SA in the photo. In the process of prep, I also found a new piece that exhibited the same surface-texture (labelled SB in picture), and could be a part of the first specimen. Below are a few pictures of it. The first is of the specimen before prep - this is the only picture I have, and shows everything that was exposed. It was taken from the top of specimen SA. The next picture was taken from above, it shows the two specimens (SA and SB) and their relation to each other. The third picture shows the specimen that is on the upper left (SA), the fourth shows the specimen on the lower right (SB). Thanks in advance for your help!
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Hi guys! I found the attached Silurian and Devonian fish online and would appreciate your opinions on the specimens. The first is a Galeaspid, Polybranchiaspis, from Yunnan, China (43mm in size) and the second is an Osteostracan, Tremataspis schmidti, from the Rootsikula Formation, Island of Oesel, Estonia (28mm and 16mm headshields). They are dated to the Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian respectively. From some research it looks like the Tremataspis is genuine, however I’m not 100% on the Polybranchiaspis. Any input in terms of their authenticity would be greatly appreciated!
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