The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Hello everyone, I found these oysters while driving by in Utah along Cottonwood Canyon Road. I would really appreciate any help on the species and formation they came out of. The outcrop contained a lot of black sand. Thank you. General pic: “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Oyster 1: “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Oyster 2: “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Oyster 3: “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Oysters 4&5: “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 They all looks like badly worn Exogyra oyster except for 4 & 5. These are my finds at NSR - North Sulfur River back in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 36 minutes ago, Creek - Don said: They all looks like badly worn Exogyra oyster except for 4 & 5. These are my finds at NSR - North Sulfur River back in October. Thanks. I suspected they were Exogyra. Do you think 4&5 could be Exogyra upper valves? “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Looks like I found the formation I found them in. It’s the Tropic Shale. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 That formation is middle to lower cretaceous. It has lots of gryphea oyster, but not big as exogyra. Pic 4 appears to be a thin outer shell that has been eroded. Pic 5 is an interior shell piece. This is the biggest exogyra I have found so far in Texas. About 6 inches across (left to right) 3 1/2 inches from top to bottom. About a pound in weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Some of the oysters might be Pycnodonte newberryi http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=paleo/ut/ut_cret.html&menu=bin/menu_fauna-alt.html 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Creek - Don said: That formation is middle to lower cretaceous. It has lots of gryphea oyster, but not big as exogyra. Pic 4 appears to be a thin outer shell that has been eroded. Pic 5 is an interior shell piece. This is the biggest exogyra I have found so far in Texas. About 6 inches across (left to right) 3 1/2 inches from top to bottom. About a pound in weight. Is the Tropic shale a black color and kind of muddy? Just want to make sure I found the correct formation. The largest oyster pictured above is a little over 4”. Looks like Exogyra. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 14 minutes ago, The Jersey Devil said: Is the Tropic shale a black color and kind of muddy? Just want to make sure I found the correct formation. The largest oyster pictured above is a little over 4”. Looks like Exogyra. According to Nautiloid.net "The Tropic Shale is the dark grey layer which begins at the base of the hard rock composing the steep cliff faces. It extends downward and is extensively exposed in the eroded flats." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 I found some Pycnodonte newberryi in the Mancos shale outside of Capitol Reef National Park. My blog post: https://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/2012/06/pycnodonte-newberryi-from-utah.html 1 -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 9 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said: Some of the oysters might be Pycnodonte newberryi http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=paleo/ut/ut_cret.html&menu=bin/menu_fauna-alt.html What do you think about the formation they came out of? I remembered the shells technically came out of this harder brownish rock that was surrounded by that dark grey layer. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Well, I did a quick Wikipedia search and came up with this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_Shale Quote The Tropic Shale has been correlated temporally with the Tununk Member of the Mancos Shale in central Utah, the Allen Valley Shale of the western Wasatch Range in Utah,[4] the Mancos Shale exposed at Black Mesa, Arizona, and additionally the Bridge Creek Member of the Greenhorn Limestone at Pueblo, Colorado. Bentonite layers present in all these formations have been correlated throughout deposits associated with the Western Interior Seaway. So you are probably right but I can't find a good geological description of the formation at the moment. The Geological map of Utah does not go into formation names but shows Jurassic rocks to the west of Cottonwood Canyon Rd., and Cretaceous rocks to the East. The area around Grosvenor's Arch, which is off Cottonwood Canyon Rd. is known to have fossil oysters lying on the surface, according to some old collecting site info. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 51 minutes ago, Shamalama said: Well, I did a quick Wikipedia search and came up with this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_Shale So you are probably right but I can't find a good geological description of the formation at the moment. Are you saying that the hard brownish rock the oysters were found in might be part of the Tropic shale? I was thinking maybe they are actually from the formation that underlies the Tropic shale, the Dakota formation. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 10 minutes ago, The Jersey Devil said: Are you saying that the hard brownish rock the oysters were found in might be part of the Tropic shale? I was thinking maybe they are actually from the formation that underlies the Tropic shale, the Dakota formation. Without seeing it for myself, or a more detailed geologic map, I can't say for sure. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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