Lake Erie fossil id help

[thezenroom]

Found in lake erie ontario, 10 inches long. Any help would be super welcome. 

[TqB]

Welcome to the forum!

It's a fine longitudinal section of a rugose coral ("horn coral"). Looks like a cystiphyllid, such as this Silurian Cystiphyllum - someone who knows the area can probably say for sure.

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by TqB

[Rockwood]

50 minutes ago, TqB said:

("horn coral")

This, like specimens I've collected, seems more tubular than horn shaped. Is that just an individual variation related to local conditions ? 

[TqB]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

This, like specimens I've collected, seems more tubular than horn shaped. Is that just an individual variation related to local conditions ? 

"Horn corals" can get very long in, as you say, the right conditions. The huge Siphonophyllia specimens at Serpent Rock in Co. Sligo are a good example.

 

 

 

[Rockwood]

I wonder if they had the equivalent of ears and noses that did keep growing bigger.  

[FossilNerd]

I have seen solitary rugose “horn” coral at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Indiana that were about a meter long with calyx as big as my fist. They get even larger with some reports suggesting almost double that size.
 

Siphonophrentis and Scenophyllum are examples of genus found there that get rather large.

 

 

[Rockwood]

1 hour ago, FossilNerd said:

genus found there

Just a note for beginners: This implies that a selective pressure toward larger coralite size was in place for a considerable amount of time in human terms. As opposed to it being where specimens just happened to find a lot of food.

The elongated tube form I suspect is more the result of a coral animal that tended to have a long life span.

@TqB ?

[TqB]

23 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Just a note for beginners: This implies that a selective pressure toward larger coralite size was in place for a considerable amount of time in human terms. As opposed to it being where specimens just happened to find a lot of food.

The elongated tube form I suspect is more the result of a coral animal that tended to have a long life span.

@TqB ?

Unless conditions were poor, I think the large diameter (i.e. maturity) of a large species was reached quite quickly. Then a long, cylindrical section could develop if conditions remained equable. But I don't know if any studies have been done on rugose life span, although it should be possible from growth lines.

[Rockwood]

14 minutes ago, TqB said:

(i.e. maturity)

That's the key to understanding the cone - tube distinction. You need the early years.

A bad spell could appear as a reverse cone in an incomplete specimen.

There is still a discrete limit on size within taxonomic sets in some way ?  

[TqB]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

That's the key to understanding the cone - tube distinction. You need the early years.

A bad spell could appear as a reverse cone in an incomplete specimen.

There is still a discrete limit on size within taxonomic sets in some way ?  

Of course, as with virtually all organisms, mostly genetic presumably. Collections show this, but there's always the chance of a rare extra large find! And theoretical immortality is possible, as with the "immortal jellyfish", a not too distant relative of the corals.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_dohrnii

[Rockwood]

Sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going, but that's ridiculous.