Baculite with "Nautiloid dinner"

[Ruger9a]

Good morning folks.  I have a strange Baculite that "appears" to have eaten a Nautiloid for it's last meal.  I dropped the Baculite and it broke.  Originally I was disappointed until I saw the contents.  The Baculite is from Belfush, Dakota.  Am I wrong or does the Baculite seem to have ingested a small Nautiloid?

[ricardo]

Protoconch?

[Fossildude19]

Looks more like a gastropod to me.

I think it is more likely that the gastropod found it's way into the empty baculite shell at some point after the baculite's death.

[TqB]

Small cephalopods and other shells often end up in the living chambers of larger ones - whether washed in or taking refuge is hard to say but it makes for some great specimens!

[Jeffrey P]

Great association piece. Congrats.

[Manticocerasman]

2 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks more like a gastropod to me.

I think it is more likely that the gastropod found it's way into the empty baculite shell at some point after the baculite's death.

I agree with Tim, often after falling in the seafloor larger shells tend to amass smaller shells in their cavities.

I see this often in the living chambers of cephalopods during prepwork, acummulations of smaller cephalopods, brachiopods and other fossils.

 

[jpc]

I agree, it is pretty common to find smaller shells that have randomly ended up inside the living chamber of baculites, and ammonites from the Pierre Shale.  This one is a snail, though, not a nautiloid.  A pretty cool find. 

 

And you say it is from Belfush, Dakota?  The Dakota Territory was split into North and South Dakota (and much of Wyoming and Montana) many decades ago.  Can we assume you mean Belle Fourche, SOUTH Dakota?  (Belle Fourche is indeed pronounced 'Belfoosh' in South Dakota).  As a native French speaker, I have had a tough time getting used to this, and the fact that the capital of SD, Pierre, is pronounced 'Peer', as is the late Cretaceous marine deposit this baculite probably came from.  Then I realized that we USAians pronounce Los Angeles in English, not in Spanish....

 

[ricardo]

3 hours ago, Ruger9a said:

seem to have ingested a small Nautiloid?

Just for my knowledge is it  in phragmocone or in living chamber?

Thanks.

[siteseer]

3 hours ago, Manticocerasman said:

I agree with Tim, often after falling in the seafloor larger shells tend to amass smaller shells in their cavities.

I see this often in the living chambers of cephalopods during prepwork, acummulations of smaller cephalopods, brachiopods and other fossils.

 

 

I agree with you, Tim, and TqB.  I have prepped large Pleistocene whelks from the Pleistocene of Florida for a friend and most of them had smaller mollusks in the matrix inside them.  I had to carefully clean them and not too much around them to expose them and yet still keep them secure inside, applying consolidant in two separate coatings later.  

 

Jess

[Norki]

I've seen similar situations with Bearpaw fm. baculites, all kinds of molluscs seem to have gotten inside those empty living chambers.

 

4 hours ago, jpc said:

As a native French speaker, I have had a tough time getting used to this, and the fact that the capital of SD, Pierre, is pronounced 'Peer', as is the late Cretaceous marine deposit this baculite probably came from.

 

Les canadiens anglophones sont aussi coupable de ça, mais ils essaiyent parfois...

[Ruger9a]

7 hours ago, ricardo said:

Just for my knowledge is it  in phragmocone or in living chamber?

Thanks.

ricardo, General consensus seems to be a dead, empty Baculite in which this cephalopod found a new home.   

[Ruger9a]

Everyone, Thank you for your responses and expertise.  I figured there was a slim chance the cephalopod was ingested when the Baculite was alive, but we can always dream...... 

[Ruger9a]

7 hours ago, jpc said:

I agree, it is pretty common to find smaller shells that have randomly ended up inside the living chamber of baculites, and ammonites from the Pierre Shale.  This one is a snail, though, not a nautiloid.  A pretty cool find. 

 

And you say it is from Belfush, Dakota?  The Dakota Territory was split into North and South Dakota (and much of Wyoming and Montana) many decades ago.  Can we assume you mean Belle Fourche, SOUTH Dakota?  (Belle Fourche is indeed pronounced 'Belfoosh' in South Dakota).  As a native French speaker, I have had a tough time getting used to this, and the fact that the capital of SD, Pierre, is pronounced 'Peer', as is the late Cretaceous marine deposit this baculite probably came from.  Then I realized that we USAians pronounce Los Angeles in English, not in Spanish....

 

jpc, That is the compete description marked on the specimen when I purchased it.  Since I purchased it in 2003, well after the split; I must assume the correct location and state is as you said "Belle Fourche, South Dakota".

[FossilNerd]

7 hours ago, jpc said:

As a native French speaker, I have had a tough time getting used to this, and the fact that the capital of SD, Pierre, is pronounced 'Peer', as is the late Cretaceous marine deposit this baculite probably came from. 

We have a similar situation in Kentucky. The town of Versailles is pronounced “Ver Sales” locally... 

 

@Ruger9a It stinks that you broke your baculite, but what a cool find inside! Unfortunately, I agree it’s probably not a last meal. I have a solitary rugose coral with a similar situation. A nice gastropod is nestled right inside the calice. It threw me for a loop at first as the coral is mostly buried in matrix and all I could see was a little of the end and a curly surprise! 

 

[Ruger9a]

Another "dream crusher"..... LOL  Thanks for the confirmation Wayne.

[jpc]

5 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

We have a similar situation in Kentucky. The town of Versailles is pronounced “Ver Sales” locally... 

 

@Ruger9a It stinks that you broke your baculite, but what a cool find inside! Unfortunately, I agree it’s probably not a last meal. I have a solitary rugose coral with a similar situation. A nice gastropod is nestled right inside the calice. It threw me for a loop at first as the coral is mostly buried in matrix and all I could see was a little of the end and a curly surprise! 

 

I know that one... I know a guy who used to live in Versailles, KY.  

[ricardo]

10 hours ago, Ruger9a said:

ricardo, General consensus seems to be a dead, empty Baculite in which this cephalopod found a new home.   

Hello Ruger9a,

I also agree, of course that is the logical answer. In these situations it is usually a horse and not a unicorn 

I also regularly find brachiopods in the living chambers of the Calovian ammonites. On the other hand, I don't know nothing about the baculite protoconch, but those are probably very small, in the order of millimeters.
The question was just a curiosity since as we do not have baculites around here I was not able to understand if the gastropode was in the living chamber or in the phragmocone.

Thank you and congratulations on the nice finding