Is this an identifiable nautiloid (found in stone wall in Iowa)

[tombk]

A few years ago, I was at a wedding at a location that had some short, decorative stone walls. The stones were just piled on top of each other. In one of the top stones was a cool fossil of some sort. The stone was about 18 x 24 x 8 inches (very approximate as I've since broken it and hadn't ever measured the full stone) and weighed about 15 pounds (again approximate). I asked the owners whether I could take the stone, and they graciously said I could. Here's a picture of the fossil:

 

 

I can't say what geological strata it's from because I found it in a wall. I'm not good at identifying types of stone either (granite?). It's very heavy and hard, though. (Also, sorry about the imperial measurement. I'll get an inches/cm tape soon.) I'm interested to know whether anybody can identify it. Here are a few more pics from different angles. The last pic is more close-up and you can see some of the fossil texture that I think are from the original shell:

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

[BobWill]

I've never seen striations or ornamentation like that on any cephalopod. The are probably not natural. They change direction twice! If you could find out about the quarry the stone was mined from that might be the only way for a firm ID but someone may recognize a feature I missed.

[Fossildude19]

Looks like a gastropod to me. 

Maybe something like Maclurites?  

 

[FossilDAWG]

Hmmm.  The termination of the shell in the last photo looks sort of like a septum, which would seem to imply a nautiloid.  On the other hand as Bob Will said the ornament is very weird, especially for a cephalopod.  It is not a Maclurites, as that gastropod is flat on one side and the whorls are triangular in cross section. 

 

Don

[doushantuo]

Lituites,maybe?

Edited July 8, 2021 by doushantuo

[Tidgy's Dad]

Once upon a time, when I was young and naughty as opposed to being old and naughty, I went on a geology field trip with my college. 

I was walking along a village lane when I saw a lovely belemnite embedded in a stone block of someone's house. 

After a quick check to ensure nobody was about or no one home I vaulted the garden wall, nipped across the little garden and used Harry (my only friend and geological hammer) to remove said cephalopod. 

Having made good my escape, three minutes later a jam sandwich (police car of the time) arrived and I got nicked.

"Oh; my goodness!" thought I, "Phil is going to be furious with me." Phil was my geology teacher and leader of this excursion. 

When I arrived at the local police station, I was registered by the custody bloke and transferred to a cell. The only cell, actually, I won't mention the village's name but it wasn't very large.

To my surprise, Phil was waiting for me. He was a railway enthusiast and had been nicked for stealing a railway sign from a disused line. He actually got some of the other students to help him strap it to the top of our minibus. 

Hey ho.

Life's Good. 

 

P.S. I do not advocate for this sort of behaviour and, of course, would never do such a thing again, this is theft and criminal damage as well as invasion of privacy, trespass etc. 

 

But I still have the belemnite. 

[minnbuckeye]

I am going to eliminate Maclurites and Lituites based on the assumption, the stone came from the Iowa City area. The quarries mine Devonian material, not Ordovician.

[Fossildude19]

Is it possible that it could be Mississippian/Carboniferous in age? 

It could be some sort of Bellerophontid.

 

[tombk]

16 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Is it possible that it could be Mississippian/Carboniferous in age? 

It could be some sort of Bellerophontid.

 

There are Carboniferous, both early and late, deposits in parts of Iowa near to Iowa city. So it’s possible. @minnbuckeye pointed out that the quarry that’s actually in Iowa City is Devonian. But I don’t know where the stone for the wall I found the fossil in actually came from. 

[doushantuo]

Edited July 8, 2021 by doushantuo

[tombk]

Along with assistance at fossil ID, I wanted to post these pics because I’m thinking of breaking away a large chunk of stone behind the fossil to see whether there are any other finds concealed. As I’m very new to breaking stone, it’s quite possible I’ll damage the fossil. So I wanted a record of it just in case I end up ruining it. 

[doushantuo]

biogeography AND stratigraphy aside: Otomaroceras flexum is a slight possibility

[Kane]

There are a number of planispiral Devonian gastropods that might be a match, given the shape and ornamentation. 

[doushantuo]

Like Ibergia?

[Kane]

13 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

Like Ibergia?

I think there are a number of contenders (just leafing through my Linsley plates, and I see a few there). I encounter similar ones quite frequently in my local material, but just pass them off as "gastropod" as I motor through to find the trilobites.  

[minnbuckeye]

I have a large gastropod from the quarry in Iowa City that matches this fairly well. It was IDed for me and is an occasional find from this quarry. I do not remember the name though and am on my way to Ohio so can't go to the barn and find it now. I will revisit this thread when I return and see if the answer is given. Otherwise, the quarries in the area are known for many species of cephalopods so researching that may also be rewarding.

 

 Mike

[cngodles]

Sent this to a gastropod expert, he suggests perhaps from the superfamily Euomphaloidea. But with the photos as is, that’s as far as he is willing to go.

[tombk]

7 hours ago, cngodles said:

Sent this to a gastropod expert, he suggests perhaps from the superfamily Euomphaloidea. But with the photos as is, that’s as far as he is willing to go.

Would additional photos of some sort help him identify it further? If there are any angles or close-ups or what not that would help him, just let me know.