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I was just labeling and filing some summer finds from the Solon member/ Cedar Valley Formation/ Devonian of central Iowa. These 4 items have me a little confused, so I am reaching out for knowledge! 1. . 2. 3. 4.

On Sunday, the Blackhawk Gem and Mineral Society was finally able to shake off Covid and get together. Please forgive me for joining a "non fossil club", but I do enjoy minerals. Not as much as fossils. But close!!!! Even with the excursion being primarily a mineral hunt, I did sneak a few fossils into my bucket. The quality leaves little to be desired, but since you all want to see fossils, here are some representative samples from the Solon Member (or maybe just above it) of the Devonian of Central Iowa. Poorly preserved cephalopods: Colonial corals: Gastropods (hard to see): The ever so common Atrypa independensis: Some fish remains, likely placoderm: With it being a Mineral Club trip, I must show some NON fossils. Actually, many of the calcite vugs began as fossils. So it must be ok to show my finds!!! For example, here is a calcite lined hollow that still shows the classic outline of Atrypa. Pyrite is relatively common: Calcite crystals come in many forms and color. From clear, to tan, to bluish, to root beer. But the dogtooth crystals are what most people are searching for: Hopefully all of you fossil hunters can put your prejudices away long enough to enjoy these crystals! Mike 2021-05-028.cxf 2021-05-029.cxf

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of hunting with my rock club in central Iowa. I found what I think is placoderm, though there was multiple opinions given to me. Nothing earth shattering, but exciting for me! Can you help clarify the ID of the specimens? The last piece broke revealing more "placoderm" inside.