Search the Community

Oklahoma 3 So far on my excursions around Oklahoma I have been greeted by goats and elk. The start of day 3 had me face to face with something I hadn’t anticipated! And it wasn’t another Oklahoma gate. No, it was a dazzle (what a herd of Zebras are termed) from the genus Equus. As I exited my vehicle, this particular Zebra was snorting. Thank goodness when Zebras snort, it is a sign of contentment. Zebras also stretch their necks out and put their ears forward when inquisitive. So this guy obviously wanted to greet me in a friendly way! So, a question for everyone reading this post. Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? This topic was discussed during a class on Zoo Veterinary Medicine years ago. The answer is at the end of this post. The owner of the quarry was on vacation, so it was just my striped friends and I enjoying the beautiful morning. Here is a photo of the site. My sledge had a good workout but unfortunately, little was exposed. This was all of my finds after 2 hours of collecting and most were already exposed. A suggestion given to me indicates this was the Ordovician, Bromide Formation. Since I do not know the formation for sure, identification has not been given to the fossils. #5 is very odd. I am not sure if it is a fossil or a mineral. Opinions welcomed! An opinion as to whether 6. is a bryozoan or a crinoid holdfast would be welcomed! 11. Initially, I assumed that this was a bryozoan or coral. But after cleaning it up and looking closer, I am wondering if this is a Floating Crinoid Bulb??? It was a specimen I hoped to find. The afternoon was to be spent exploring the Ordovician's Viola Formation. On the way, I photographed a typical scene of the area and of coarse, some more wildlife. The rains this past week with the resulting mud continued to make hunting difficult. But results from the Viola Formation pleased me. The brachiopods need a bit more prepping though. 1. Star shaped plates from the crinoid Colpodecrinus and a plate from a Rhombiferan cystoid 2. 3. 4. 5. This reminds me of Prasapora of the Decorah Shale but did not find Prasapora mentioned in the Viola Formation 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. Calyptaulax strasburgensis cephalon and Bumastoides billingsi pygidium. Hope everyone has enjoyed my trip reports. There may be one more after identifying my finds. a. So now to answer what color is a Zebra. Black! Black is color of a zebra. Beneath all that fur, zebras have black skin. Even under the white stripes!

Posts of my trip to Oklahoma this week had some unidentified fossils shown. Hope was that someone would mention the identity of the specimens. Since no one did, today I am attaching photos of unknowns from the Viola Formation, Ordovician found south of Sulphur, OK. Maybe @crinus is knowledgeable! Could they be something like Evactinopora?

Please help me identify this. Great find onboard Camp Pendleton CA.

One of the great things about hash plates is how much there is to see when you focus in close. I learned another great thing when I noticed a crack in this one from the marine, Viola formation of Pontotoc County Oklahoma. When I finally decided to bust it open it was like taking a whole new fossil hunt from the comfort of home. Most of it is the usual brachiopods and bryozoans but this caught my eye once I got a really close look. The scale is millimetres so this thing is tiny. I have no clue what it could be so help me out if you can.