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I found this last year in north-central New York. It is from the Ordovician whetstone gulf formation and is about 1cm wide. I’m thinking it may be a crinoid calyx base but I may be wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Last fall I went on a fossil hunting trip to a creek in Adams, NY. Along this creek were exposures of the Whetstone Gulf and Pulaski formations. There were many different layers, each with different fauna. Some layers were barren, while others had many species. Some of the most common fossils were cryptolithus and triarthrus trilobites, as well as brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, ostracods, and straight shelled nautiloids. Some layers contained pyrite and some of the fossils in these layers were partially pyritized. (Including some of the trilobites!!).

Hey everyone, Haven’t posted much about my recent activities so this is a summary of a few things I’ve been up to the past month or so. I had a lot of goals in 2020 with regards to exploring more of the Ordovician rocks in New York. I am very interested in the Ordovician due to the formations and groups represented. The Trenton group, Lorraine group (has whetstone gulf fm and Pulaski fm) have been of great interest to me because I live in Central New York and these rocks are actually very close to me. Last year I did some exploring and it worked out pretty well. I found a great fishing stream with the Pulaski and whetstone exposed. I also found some exposures of Utica shale that I know are promising. I was also able to get permission from a land owner In November to visit a location with the Trenton exposed but I wasn’t able to actually go there till this year. I am going to share my experience with 2 different rock groups I visited recently on several different field days in April and May. The Trenton group and the Lorraine group. Lorraine group, Whetstone gulf exposures northwestern New York Beechers beds. Lorraine group, Frankfort shale Trenton group exposure. Recent permission. The Whetstone gulf formation is probably familiar to many people who are obsessed with New York trilobites, especially the pyritized trilobites. Other than pyritized Triarthrus some may not know about the other fauna found in the Whetstone. Also...nobody is really looking either. Reasons being difficulties getting to the exposures, proximity to state parks and state forests, nobody lives near there so travel is required, private property issues, and LOTS of walking is required. North of Rome, New York around the northern and eastern edges of the tug hill plateau are several enormous gorges with breathtaking exposures. Depending on how ambitious you want to be there seems to be plenty of exposure to see. The whetstone has been regarded as an impossibility complex system with 100s, even 1000s of faunal zones (perhaps a hyperbole or the musings of a frustrated paleontologist!). The fossils that have been found in the whetstone aren’t Fully documented and more work is needed. There are Eurypterids (parts only, super rare) and rare trilobites that have been recorded to be found that are not easy to find information about today. It’s like chasing a ghost trying to even find photos of these fossils. Rudolf Ruedemann wrote a magnificent publication on the Utica and Lorraine formations of New York (1925). Since then his work remains, to me, the best source regarding these formations. Here is a few plates from that. Interesting stuff. Some of the names have changed... Last year I found a calymenid pygidium in some Pulaski formation “drift”. I didn’t hike far enough to reach the whetstone that day so “seeing” the whetstone and exploring is a 2020 goal. Some of the possibilities.....I didn’t find these. These are just examples of a few nice arthropods from the Whetstone. A complete Homotelus stegops from the Whetstone gulf formation. I guess these are very rare A legitimate specimen of some Eurypterid body segments. Whetstone material. Exceedingly rare. Continued.....