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A year ago I was able to hook up with my field comrade for some time in the Lagerstatte of the Silurian Eramosa in Ontario (northern section). This was a place where land and sea scorpions were found by the ROM. We did not find any. We obtained permission to enter quarries on account of connections and complying by safety rules. They do not let casual collectors in, so it was on account of those connections that we gained access. These quarries specialize in flagstone. Much of it is blank. Our focus was on the rubbly upper portion of the Silurian. As stated, fossils are very sparse in this material. Gastropods are the dominant fauna in some horizons, but even then very sporadic. These are largely lagoonal facies.

This is another fossil that has me stumped. I think that there is a possibility of bryozoan, because of the pits, but I remain unconvinced. It is from the Leighton Formation, which is Pridoli. The pictures below are of the fossil under raking lighting, to show the pits, then of it under lighting from directly above, and finally with scale (mm). Thanks everyone!

Any ideas on this fragment from the Silurian Bisher Fm. Kentucky? Measures 1 cm.

I had the opportunity to collect in the Red Mountain Formation recently, and considering the seeming lack of accessible sites in the area (RIP Tibb's Bridge) I thought it'd be good to show some of my finds here and say there is some stuff out there. At first I thought the site was in the Mississippian Lavender or Floyd Shales, which was my initial reason for venturing out to it as I didn't have the opportunity to collect in marine Mississippian units closer to home. I can say now with almost 100% certainty it's actually within the Red Mountain Formation, an early Silurian unit that is also a prominent ridge former in northwestern Georgia. This is based on the trilobites I found. I am more familiar with the Rose Hill Formation of central Appalachia, which bears some similarities with the Red Mountain. Not only do the two begin with "R" (and consist of two words XD), but more importantly both represent roughly similar stratigraphic sections and depositional environments. This was something I instantly noticed at this site, as some of the fossils, their mode of preservation, and the rock lithology is strikingly similar to the Rose Hill further north. Both the Red Mountain and the Rose Hill consist primarily of clastic units, particularly iron-rich sandstones and silty-shales. They are both dominated by shelly invertebrate fauna, and contain many of the same genera. There are some differences, however, namely that the Rose Hill contains a much more diverse fauna, is more abundantly fossiliferous, has many ostracodes and some tentaculitids (which the Red Mountain lacked), and contains more limestone and calcareous layers, whereas the Red Mountain appears to be mostly coarser-grained clastics. Likewise the Red Mountain Formation has more abundant crinoid remains, is a ridge-forming unit, and does not appear to have a Rochester Shale equivalent, at least from what I've seen, which is interesting. Of course these are just some quick observations I noted from a couple of outcrops, so take all of that with a heavy grain of salt. I know the Red Mountain does contain limestone and calcareous shale layers in more complete sections at Birmingham, and the exposure I went to was obviously not complete. Elsewhere the Red Mountain has produced a more varied and abundant fauna, and conversely the Rose Hill is largely devoid of fossils in many sections. Anyways, here's what everyone's been waiting for: Calymene sp. (?) I've seen a couple of threads about the Red Mountain Formation in Georgia, but none mentioned trilobites from it. According to the Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology, the Red Mountain has a a few species of trilobites. This is a plate containing a pygidium and part of the lower thorax of an individual, and a possible fragmentary glabella/cephalon. These are likely molt fragments. This was also my very first find of the day, so a great way to start it off XD. There are probably more specimens at the site, as the exposure was actually fairly large (for what I've seen in this state) and exposed a decent section of the interbedded shales and siltstones, but it was very overgrown and I couldn't reach it. This was laying on the soil. I'm going to go on a limb and say Anoplotheca hemispherica ? A plate with a couple of brachiopod shells on it. The Red Mountain's shale layers are said to be more fossiliferous than the sandstones, which is what I found to be the case at this site. Even then fossils weren't that common in even the most fossiliferous layers. A well worn plate containing abundant crinoid columnals and brachiopod fragments. I'm going to go out on a limb again and say the larger shell fragment is a Dalmanella (?) sp. , but that is a guess. A plate with a Dalmanella (??) sp. and crinoid fragments. The report I'm basing this off of is old, so a lot of these names probably no longer apply. Lots of crinoid pieces in this rock. All in all fairly successful. Any day you find a trilobite (even fragmentary) is a good day in my opinion XD For those of you interested, the site is near Summerville, near an evidently popular swimming location. The fossils actually came from several different "exposures", albeit all within close proximity to one another. If you want to visit I would highly recommend going in winter, when the plants will all be dead and the snakes/spiders down to a minimum. Thankfully I didn't come across any snakes, but I did find an alarmingly large piece of shed skin.

Hello guys! Please assist for dating of such rocks. I suspect it is Silurian, but it could be also later Devonian. I find plenty of these here like pieces of rocks. Gray-blue - in color, very hard. It is lile a cement, but harder than cement. And it has lot of organic materials inside - mostli marine plants or animal. The diameter of the stems is 3-4 cm and more. N.1 N.2 N.3 N.4 N.5 N.6 N.7 N.8 N.9 N.10 - here we see some small brachiopod N.11

Found between Montreal and Laval, Lac du Preries, on the south shore of it. Dating: late Ordovician or Silurian. possible: Phylactolaemata Plumatellida Please confirm if this is the case here ? I am withut experience in this field. N.1 - the stem N.2 - stem and branches N.3 - root and stems N.4 dimensions N.5 - bottom view N.6 - liphophore - and flowers around it N.7 - animal structure N.8 - animal details structure N.9

I have been following this site periodically for a few months and finally decided to join. My slow to-do project of the year is to better classify the fossils I have found over the years before I forget completely what they are. I have a geology background but am a bit out of practice when it comes to fossils. Stay tuned for some Devonian and Silurian questions, all help is greatly appreciated!

I found a few plates of sandstone that I really liked a few years back in Lockport, NY. I believe they are from the Silurian Grimsby formation. I don't remember nearly anything about trace fossils. My first guess from just googling before making this post was arthrophycus. Can anyone tell me what kind of trace fossil is present in these pieces? 1. 2. 3. 4.

Hello, I'd appreciate your help with this one. I found this one at a Lake Michigan beach in Illinois. Silurian from the Racine formation. I believe it's a sponge or demosponge. Thinking the white dots on the vertical growth are pores, and the admittedly terrible microscopic photo of a small area on top of the rock shows some of its openings. Some of these seem to be filled with minerals that make them look like bumps, many others aren't preserved well at all, just show as faded round dots. Am I way off on this? TIA, Pippa

I needed to get out of the house for a few hours and so went to try my luck at finding some local Silurian fossils. First outing of the year. My first best find was this crinoid which I believe is a Eucalyptocrinites crassus calyx. A good size. On the reverse side is a small Encrinurus egani. This next find I was pretty excited about. A large D. platycaudus cephalon. I took it home to prep... Unfortunately, the preservation was not ideal, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I placed a nicer example next to it that I found last year for comparison. 7cm across. Thanks for looking.

Fossil forum, I have just finished uncovering a gnathasome fish scale. It is from the Leighton Fm, Maine. I believe it to be in the genus Gomphoncus, maybe even Gomphoncus sandelenis, which was described as being in the Eastport Formation (https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/ageo/2018-v54-ageo04224/1055415ar.pdf). I am unsure of this id though, mainly because of the pit in the largest end of the scale. It is approximately 200 microns long by 250 microns wide by 200 microns deep. Any help on the id of the genus, or maybe even the species, would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of it:

Would anyone know if ADAM's SILURIAN collection is still available to view please on TFF.

I was working at my desk today when one of my fossils caught my eye. I picked it up and thought that looks like a Tully Monster, but a quick check on the internet and I realized too small and not my geological time period, the Tullimonstrum belongs in the Pennsylvanian period. 300 million years ago, too young, there you go Illinois US. So I’m thinking a part of Eurypterid, or sea scorpion, they were around during theSilurian. What do you all think?

Fossil forum, This is another specimen from the Leighton Fm. I had two possibilities, Lingula scobina and L. lewisii, which I found mentioned in this paper https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/14399/1/USNMP-45_1985_1913.pdf, and which I further researched. The main problems I have with these two species are that L. scobina has different surface sculpture, and L. lewisii is an English species. Any further guidance or suggestions? Here are some pictures of it (internal mold on the left, external on the right):

Fossil Forum, I recently found multiple brachiopods that I believe are in the genus Salopina, moved from Orthis, and of the same species. I found them in the Leighton Fm, Maine, which is Silurian. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the species was, and also if anyone had any literature on this genus. Here are some pictures of them (internal molds are on the left, external on the right):

I'm excited to get into fossil collecting, but before I spend money on gear, I'd like to be able to make an informed decision. The fossils I'd be collecting are from the Silurian age Racine Dolomite. I know that Estwing tools are generally considered the best, but other than that, I am completely unsure as to which hammers and chisels would be most appropriate for breaking these apparently very hard rocks, or even how to go about using them. I know a spot on a friend's property (by the Milwaukee River) where there are a bunch of Silurian rocks piled up, so I don't think access will be a huge problem. Still, info about good sites would be welcome. Thanks.

I found these, endocast impressions of dorsal shields of the jawless fish Americaspis americana, in the Silurian of Pennsylvania. There are 2 1/3 dorsal shields shown. A complete shield measures approximately 2.4 x 1.0 inches (6.10 x 2.54 cm).