Ordovician fossil

[Dimitar]

Hello guys, please assist to identify this fossil. 

 

 

N. 1

 

N.2

 

N.3

 

N.4

 

N.5

[Kane]

Conulariid.

[Myrmica]

That looks like a conularid.  Lovely.

[westcoast]

Really nice conulariid!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Really lovely specimen.

Nice find. 

[Dimitar]

I need to add more about this animal. It is really interesting and amazing type of Jellyfish.

It forms corals.   

It is similar to this picture:

 

[Dimitar]

Here are my new fossils with details on the top - there is a wide crown, similar to mushroom on the opposite side.

I am facinated with this jellyfish !   Here is the story:

 

Here is the fiew near the surface of the croun with the crossection:

N.1.1

 

Dimensions:

N.1.2

 

Here is the opposite side of picture N.1.1:

N.1.3

 

This is the most beautiful one:  here we can see the tentacles going out from the crown:

N1.3

 

 

 

Here we see the mouth:  - I did a mistake here, this is a view from the bottom side, from the stem:

N.1.4

 

And there is another one - on the surfaceof the crown:

N.1.5

Notice the color and the shape near our jellyfish polyp: it is all red.  Including some inside the bud (the first pictures that I shared at the very top. )

What that means this color? A lot of Iron.. And there should be lot of cyanobactieria that produce plancton and release iron.  There are 2 options - this Conularid created an area with lot of cyanobacteria to use it as it's own food, or it used this area with plancton as a pray for other small animals to use it as a pray and to catch them for food.  The Iron is red, but after 2-3 days all my specimens become brown - rusty.  Most likely it was at some deep in the water, otherwise the oxigen should made it rust.  All this iron has been accumulated and stayed there for very long time. 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Dimitar
Mistake on N.1.4.

[Dimitar]

I would like to share another example for the same Conularid type - corrals/ jellyfish / polyp. 

Today I looked at another "crown". 

 

 

N.4.1 -the place where I found it

 

N.4.2 - all pieces together

 

N.4.3 

 

N.4.4 - the crown or the flower

 

N.4.5 - the opposite side  ( here - the left side we see the top survace , here is the "head" ;  on the right side , the angle is different, we see it as cross section, both serfices are on X )

 

N. 4.6 The flower - from the reverse side.

 

N. 4.7

Edited April 30, 2021 by Dimitar

[Kane]

You can likely rule out jellyfish. The area is not a Lagerstatte. Not seeing much here but sedimentological processes and some tiny bits that might be remnants of fossils. 

[Dimitar]

13 minutes ago, Kane said:

You can likely rule out jellyfish. The area is not a Lagerstatte. Not seeing much here but sedimentological processes and some tiny bits that might be remnants of fossils. 

You helped me the first to identify it. Now I can tell you it is all from the same animal.  I can provide more examples if needed.

 

 

There is a good new information for the anathomy of this animal here:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00942.x

except - they don't seems to find the crown of it.. 

 

There is not much difference with développement of  polype, the only  difference is this polype  (my specimen) stay connected to the ground.

 I found only the parts connected directly to the ground but I don't see much signs for other parts above. The floor surfice seems to be very flat and clear - so we may see the "crown" or flower here was directly connected to the  ocean floor.

[ClearLake]

The conularid was very nice but, I’m sorry, after that I’m not seeing any of it. I think you are trying to force an interpretation on something that is not there.