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A packed rock from Mimico Creek in Toronto


Monica

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Hi all!

 

I ventured out to Mimico Creek in Toronto, Ontario today to look for fossils.  It was very cold and the rocks were frozen together, but I managed to pry out one large rock that has some interesting fossils on it.  The fossils are from the Georgian Bay Formation (Upper Ordovician).  The rock caught my eye because I could spot a few Cornulites flexuosus on one side, but after I brought it home and washed it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the other side had even more interesting items on it!  I'm not exactly sure of what I'm looking at, though, so I'm asking for your help.  I'll tag @FossilDAWG since he's quite knowledgeable about fossils in my area :D

 

Firstly, here's the whole rock so you can get an idea of the size of the fossils within the rock (i.e. they're generally quite small):

DSC01304.thumb.JPG.98fabcac486ad81f371093202f562f50.JPG

 

Now on to the fossils!

 

Here are some shiny black items that I've never seen before, but they look like scolecodont Oenonites sp. - what do you think?  (I only circled the items that look sharp enough to be identified - the other black items I'm very not sure about!)

DSC01307.JPG.924e04bf543e94e871ecf37b1b061a8e.JPGDSC01309.JPG.fe980950b08476ceb0554dda433f9560.JPGDSC01310.thumb.JPG.d325c2f2d24adb826a442bd1d0fbb60c.JPG

 

Here are a couple of long, thin, and delicate-looking crinoid stems - can they be identified at all?  Perhaps something like Ectenocrinus simplex (which does occur in the Georgian Bay Formation)? (The second one is located between the branching bryozoans which I think may be the bryozoan Homotrypa sp.)

DSC01314.JPG.17116d8eae2d37bffd2b26e15bbdc49b.JPGDSC01317.JPG.c3b7232389c7036da7a78c6157adafa9.JPG

 

More to come...

 

 

 

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A couple more branching bryozoans - also Homotrypa sp.?

DSC01313.JPG.d586409b661f58d0748c52f61d0a8649.JPGDSC01321.JPG.51d7516bdf4441991591d88ed3caf00a.JPG

 

Finally, some brachiopod imprints which may be too worn to identify, but I'll tag @Tidgy's Dad just in case he can do it!

DSC01325.JPG.1ef94750e0879d632c7258f543a0dd34.JPG

 

Thanks in advance for your help, everyone!

 

Monica

 

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Nice find!

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It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt

 

-Mark Twain

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Hi Monica. I'm no expert on Scolecodonts, but that's what you've got and they sure do look interesting. I'll have to keep my eyes out for those next time I'm down that way.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I think your black, shiny things are different species of conodonts. 

See : http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/76863-out-of-print-georgian-bay-formation-book-arrived/

 

I shouldn't be trying crinoid ids without the calyx being visible, really, but I will! I think Iocrinus might be a better match because of the sort of groove I think I can see running up part of your specimen, like this one from the Atlas of Ordovician Life.: 

image.jpeg.f8db982e0cd3d4151cc9e95532488f06.jpeg

Homotrypa is possible for the bryozoans and I think you may have part of a Mesotrypa distincta dome showing in one of those pics too. 

The brachiopods, if they're as tiny as they look, could be Zygospira or a very small species of orthid if they occur there. 

Wonderful hash, Monica, what a find! :wub::envy::drool:

 

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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Nice micro hash plate!!!!!! I have yet to look for scolecodonts in our local rock but would love to one day. Scolecodonts are typically found in the size range of 0.1–2 mm. Yours appear to be similar  but are larger???  

The crinoid pictured narrows down abruptly about 1/3 of the way from the left end. Is this real or a product of photo distortion? 

 

 Mike

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1 hour ago, Thecosmilia Trichitoma said:

Nice find!

 

Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

Hi Monica. I'm no expert on Scolecodonts, but that's what you've got and they sure do look interesting. I'll have to keep my eyes out for those next time I'm down that way.

 

They are interesting-looking!  I've never found them before - it's a first for me!

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1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I think your black, shiny things are different species of conodonts. 

See : http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/76863-out-of-print-georgian-bay-formation-book-arrived/

 

I shouldn't be trying crinoid ids without the calyx being visible, really, but I will! I think Iocrinus might be a better match because of the sort of groove I think I can see running up part of your specimen, like this one from the Atlas of Ordovician Life.: 

image.jpeg.f8db982e0cd3d4151cc9e95532488f06.jpeg

Homotrypa is possible for the bryozoans and I think you may have part of a Mesotrypa distincta dome showing in one of those pics too. 

The brachiopods, if they're as tiny as they look, could be Zygospira or a very small species of orthid if they occur there. 

Wonderful hash, Monica, what a find! :wub::envy::drool:

 

 

Hi Adam!

 

RE: the mini jaws...I was basing my guess on the following photos from Bill Hessin's book:

DSC01327.thumb.JPG.3f9af64f1e35871ba0f5a9e135f03bd0.JPGDSC01326.thumb.JPG.e43d3de807ea43ac598fa5c14262fcdc.JPG

To me, mine look more like the scolecodont photo, but I really have no idea.  The most well-defined jaws on my plate are 5mm long in case that helps with IDs...

 

Re: the crinoids - I wonder if more of them (i.e. the calyces) can be found under the rock?  They both seem to dip under the rock on the righthand side of each.  Perhaps I'll have @Malcolmt have a look at it when we no longer have to self-isolate...

 

Thanks for chiming in with your identifications! :dinothumb:

 

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7 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

Coolest thing I've seen from the Ordovician - WOW! :default_clap2:

 

Thanks, Lori!

 

It's been a long time since I've seen you here - how've you been???  I hope that you and your family have been well!

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1 hour ago, Monica said:

 The most well-defined jaws on my plate are 5mm long in case that helps with IDs...

That's about twice the size of the biggest conodont and five times the size of the largest scolecodont, that I know of, much bigger than those shown in the pictures from your book. 

Hmmmm. 

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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@Monica Here's some info I just found: " Conodonts typically range in dimensions from 0.1 to 5 mm. Likewise, scolecodonts range in dimensions from 0.1 to 2 mm but have been found as large as 10 mm." And this one here sure does resemble the one on the top left in the 2nd photo. The size would fit too.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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20 minutes ago, Monica said:

 

Thanks, Lori!

 

It's been a long time since I've seen you here - how've you been???  I hope that you and your family have been well!

I'm doing great. So far, we are all well. Still too much snow to go fossil hunting, so I've been going through my poop piles. ;) I hope you all are doing well. Have they closed the schools in your area?

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Very nice hash plate Monica! Sorry I can’t assist much with the IDs. Adam contributed all I could have attempted and more. A lot of cool variety there. I’ll be watching for the conclusion of the conodont/scolecodont discussion. My curiosity is piqued. :) 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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2 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

I'm doing great. So far, we are all well. Still too much snow to go fossil hunting, so I've been going through my poop piles. ;) I hope you all are doing well. Have they closed the schools in your area?

 

I'm glad to hear you've been well!

 

Yes, they're keeping the schools closed here in Ontario for 2 weeks after March Break, so we're scheduled to go back on April 6th.  So far I've used my free time to finish organizing my fossil display (I'm waiting for the under-cabinet lights to arrive (hopefully next week) and then they'll be done - woohoo!), go through the kids' clothes and put aside the stuff that no longer fits in preparation to donate it, go on walks and bike rides and fossil hunts, cook/bake and do household chores, read, and nap - it's actually been quite relaxing, which is exactly what I needed!  Next I'll be tackling some marking and other work/teaching-related tasks - hopefully I'll be able to finish everything I hope to finish by the time we go back to school. :fingerscrossed:

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3 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

That's about twice the size of the biggest conodont and five times the size of the largest scolecodont, that I know of, much bigger than those shown in the pictures from your book. 

Hmmmm. 

 

I know that the size of mine doesn't fit - weird, eh? :zzzzscratchchin:

 

3 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

@Monica Here's some info I just found: " Conodonts typically range in dimensions from 0.1 to 5 mm. Likewise, scolecodonts range in dimensions from 0.1 to 2 mm but have been found as large as 10 mm." And this one here sure does resemble the one on the top left in the 2nd photo. The size would fit too.

 

Thanks for the link and information, Roger - I also think mine look more like scolecodonts, but I'm no specialist - hopefully someone will recognize what I found (i.e. if they've found something similar before) :popcorn:

 

2 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Very nice hash plate Monica! Sorry I can’t assist much with the IDs. Adam contributed all I could have attempted and more. A lot of cool variety there. I’ll be watching for the conclusion of the conodont/scolecodont discussion. My curiosity is piqued. :) 

 

My curiosity is piqued, too!  I'm also unsure as to which jaws I've found!  Hopefully we'll find out soon! 

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2 hours ago, DawnOfADream said:

Wow! That would make a great display piece! Congrats on the find :yay-smiley-1:

 

Thanks so much!

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11 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

Nice micro hash plate!!!!!! I have yet to look for scolecodonts in our local rock but would love to one day. Scolecodonts are typically found in the size range of 0.1–2 mm. Yours appear to be similar  but are larger???  

The crinoid pictured narrows down abruptly about 1/3 of the way from the left end. Is this real or a product of photo distortion? 

 

 Mike

 

Hey Mike!

 

I almost forgot to respond to your post - whoops!  Sorry about that! 

 

Yes, my little jaws are larger - the two most well-defined jaws are 5mm long each.

 

Re: the crinoid - the first one pictured does narrow for some reason - at the end of it on the lefthand side of the picture, I think it's been sliced longitudinally, but to me it doesn't look like it's been sliced at the point where it narrows (about 1/3 of the way from the left).  It's quite small, though, so perhaps I'm missing something...

 

Thanks for chiming in!

 

Monica

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  • 2 months later...
On 21/03/2020 at 5:33 PM, Monica said:

Hi all!

 

I ventured out to Mimico Creek in Toronto, Ontario today to look for fossils.  It was very cold and the rocks were frozen together, but I managed to pry out one large rock that has some interesting fossils on it.  The fossils are from the Georgian Bay Formation (Upper Ordovician).  The rock caught my eye because I could spot a few Cornulites flexuosus on one side, but after I brought it home and washed it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the other side had even more interesting items on it!  I'm not exactly sure of what I'm looking at, though, so I'm asking for your help.  I'll tag @FossilDAWG since he's quite knowledgeable about fossils in my area :D

 

Firstly, here's the whole rock so you can get an idea of the size of the fossils within the rock (i.e. they're generally quite small):

DSC01304.thumb.JPG.98fabcac486ad81f371093202f562f50.JPG

 

Now on to the fossils!

 

Here are some shiny black items that I've never seen before, but they look like scolecodont Oenonites sp. - what do you think?  (I only circled the items that look sharp enough to be identified - the other black items I'm very not sure about!)

DSC01307.JPG.924e04bf543e94e871ecf37b1b061a8e.JPGDSC01309.JPG.fe980950b08476ceb0554dda433f9560.JPGDSC01310.thumb.JPG.d325c2f2d24adb826a442bd1d0fbb60c.JPG

 

Here are a couple of long, thin, and delicate-looking crinoid stems - can they be identified at all?  Perhaps something like Ectenocrinus simplex (which does occur in the Georgian Bay Formation)? (The second one is located between the branching bryozoans which I think may be the bryozoan Homotrypa sp.)

DSC01314.JPG.17116d8eae2d37bffd2b26e15bbdc49b.JPGDSC01317.JPG.c3b7232389c7036da7a78c6157adafa9.JPG

 

More to come...

 

 

 

That is one interesting piece of rock

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6 hours ago, markjw said:

That is one interesting piece of rock

 

It is indeed :)

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