Unknown invert fossil

[Mainefossils]

I have been going through my collection, and came across this fossil. It is from the Leighton Formation, Maine, which is Pridoli. It is preserved in a gray shale. I was thinking that it might be a Receptaculid, but that did not seem to quite fit. In the pictures below, the top is of the cast of it, and the middle photo is the external mold, and the furthest down is it with scale (millimeters). Thanks everyone for your help!

 

 

 

[FossilDAWG]

I am really not at all sure what it is, but I'll mention that crescent-shaped ridges like that are found on some eurypterids.  Maybe a small piece of eurypterid cuticle?

 

Don

[Mainefossils]

6 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

I am really not at all sure what it is, but I'll mention that crescent-shaped ridges like that are found on some eurypterids.  Maybe a small piece of eurypterid cuticle?

 

Don

That would be really interesting!!! Thanks for your time!

[piranha]

Don nailed it. The scalelike ornamentation belongs to a pterygotid eurypterid. Erettopterus or Pterygotus are two likely possibilities.

 

 

Waterston, C.D. 1964
Observations on Pterygotid Eurypterids.
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 66(2):9-33

 

Miller, R.F. 2007

Pterygotus anglicus Agassiz (Chelicerata: Eurypterida) from Atholville,

Lower Devonian Campbellton Formation, New Brunswick, Canada.

Palaeontology, 50(4):981-999

[Mainefossils]

Wow! Thanks @FossilDAWG and @piranha. 

 

@piranha

I was wondering two things. First, is there a way to identify this to a genus reliably, or does it lack diagnostic features; and second, are there any records of eurypterids in Maine that you know of?

Edited May 31, 2021 by Mainefossils

[piranha]

Additional info from Miller & Tetlie 2007:

 

"Although Devonian pterygotids have been described from New Brunswick (Miller, 1996) and eastern Quebec (Russell, 1954), the only Silurian pterygotids from the region are from the Eastport Formation of Maine (Churchill-Dickson, 2004)."

 

Miller, R.F., Tetlie, O.E. 2007. The Presumed Synziphosuran Bunodella horrida Matthew, 1889

(Silurian; Cunningham Creek Formation, New Brunswick, Canada) is a Eurypterid. Journal of Paleontology, 8(3):588-590

 

Churchill-Dickson, L. 2004. A Late Silurian (Pridolian) age for the Eastport Formation, Maine:

A Review of the Fossil, Stratigraphic and Radiometric-Age Data. Atlantic Geology, 40:189–195  PDF LINK

[Mainefossils]

20 minutes ago, piranha said:

Additional info from Miller & Tetlie 2007:

 

"Although Devonian pterygotids have been described from New Brunswick (Miller, 1996) and eastern Quebec (Russell, 1954), the only Silurian pterygotids from the region are from the Eastport Formation of Maine (Churchill-Dickson, 2004)."

 

Miller, R.F., Tetlie, O.E. 2007. The Presumed Synziphosuran Bunodella horrida Matthew, 1889

(Silurian; Cunningham Creek Formation, New Brunswick, Canada) is a Eurypterid. Journal of Paleontology, 8(3):588-590

 

Churchill-Dickson, L. 2004. A Late Silurian (Pridolian) age for the Eastport Formation, Maine:

A Review of the Fossil, Stratigraphic and Radiometric-Age Data. Atlantic Geology, 40:189–195  PDF LINK

Thanks! Those papers are very excellent - I really did not realize that Eurypterids had been, and could be, found in Maine. I particularly enjoyed the second paper, where it said: 

"...indicated the possible presence of Eurymyella within collections from the Pridolian age Leighton Formation, Maine. However, additional study is needed to confirm this. At this point, the stratigraphic significance of the eurymyellid fauna cannot be judged."

Edited May 31, 2021 by Mainefossils

[ScottBlooded]

Gotta say I consistently enjoy your finds, the kinds of things you post are right up my alley. Very jealous of your locality. Please keep finding/posting awesome stuff as I am (especially for the moment) living vicariously through you

[Mainefossils]

24 minutes ago, ScottBlooded said:

Gotta say I consistently enjoy your finds, the kinds of things you post are right up my alley. Very jealous of your locality. Please keep finding/posting awesome stuff as I am (especially for the moment) living vicariously through you

Thank you very much! I hope to continue to post my finds - I really enjoy learning and sharing Maine fossils. Thanks again!