First trip to DSR

[Misha]

Hello everyone,

Being from CT fossil sites tend to not be too close to my area, especially the Paleozoic ones I am most interested in.

As a result of this I don't get to go fossil hunting too often, and today was my first time going to the amazing DSR site after not having hunted for fossils for almost a year.

 

 

The site was incredible and completely loaded with fossils, the most common probably being Devonchonetes.

Unfortunately one of the people I was with couldn't handle the weather and we had to cut the hunt short.

Hopefully we will return tomorrow and get to hunt there a lot longer.

 

 

Here are some other photos from the site:

 

Greenops pygidium, Dipleura partial and a mostly complete Greenops.

 

 

And my favorite finds of the day:

 

this piece I initially picked up due to the nice little bivalve but now that I've been able to look it over better,

I found that it actually has a part of a Rhinocaris shell on the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This piece has a beautiful bivalve as well as a nice nautiloid behind it.

 

Partial Eldredgeops rana

 

Another bivalve similar to that second one both in shape and size

 

 

A very nice Spiriferid I broke while opening some shale but was able to quickly glue back together.

 

This wonderful little Orbiculoidea, love the inarticulate brachiopods!

 

 

 

 

An Orthid, Rhipidomella? Out of matrix with both valves present and completely intact

 

 

Some more beautiful Spiriferids

 

Two Spinocyrtia granulosa, I really like the look and size of these brachs.

 

Hopefully more to come tomorrow!

 

[Fossildude19]

Misha,

Thanks for the report.

It is a great site with wonderful faunal diversity.

 

The Rhipodomella's are quite common there - I have an entire growth series of them.

[minnbuckeye]

Excellent finds!!!! In fact, so good that it has caused me to have the dreaded fossil itch. The itch I get to go fossiling whenever someone posts "eye candy" like this. I may just have to put off a planned fishing trip tomorrow and go hunt fossils instead!!!!! 

 

 Mike

[connorp]

Always loved seeing the bivalves from DSR, so much diversity. Thanks for the report!

[ziggycardon]

Some lovely finds you made there, seems like a cool location to visit!   

[Misha]

Today in the morning we headed out to hunt at the spot again, the weather did get pretty hot again but it was a bit more bearable today and we got some good stuff.

These pictures aren't great I just quickly took them after cleaning and stabilizing these pieces, I'll eventually get better ones to get an ID topic for the pieces and maybe I'll even set up an album in my profile to post my mid Devonian fossils.

 

I really like the way that bivalves open up and preserve like this it makes for a really nice way to display them, too bad brachiopods usually just fall apart.

 

 

 

More Rhipidomella sp. these are smaller than the first. @Fossildude19 I might be getting my own little growth series together here.

 

 

 

Rhinocaris columbine, these are cool but I didn't find that many complete ones.

 

 

 

Two gorgeous bivalves, I really like this piece.

 

 

 

This species, I don't remember the name just that they are somewhat similar to razor clams in appearance.

This was one I was hoping to get and I did find it, even though this one isn't complete I'm still happy with that.

 

 

 

This hyolith was very nice, I like these fossils too, unfortunately it's free of any matrix and is rather thin, I was surprised it made it home in one piece and really hope it doesn't break now.

 

 

 

Possibly an edge of Tornoceras peeking out? I'm not sure I'll get this identified later.

 

 

 

These two bivalves have both valves and are free of matrix, lovely preservation.

 

 

 

Zoophycus, these were everywhere and this was one of the nicer few I got.

 

 

A cephalopod and pelycopod, lovely combination, the pelycopod is strange is the top of the shell is concave but near the bottom it's more convex, not sure what caused that.

 

 

 

A  few other bivalves, some I know the IDs to others I'm not sure about.

 

 

This one was actually from yesterday but I thought I'd include it here as I like this one, it's a tiny Greenops, the smallest I've seen from this genus.

 

 

 

Spinocyrtia granulosa.

 I have a question to others that are familiar with the site about these. From all of the ones I've found over the two days as well as some that @Fossildude19 has sent me, they have all had a beautifully inflated and preserved ventral valve but all have the dorsal one crushed, does anyone know what may cause this to happen?

 

 

 

Now this is probably my favorite find of the day, I love the brachiopods and bivalves at this site but this was also one of the top most interesting fossils for me I really wanted to get and at the very end of the trip I ended up finding it, it's a Dipleura dekayi cephalon! I don't know how common these are at the site but this is my favorite bug and I'm extremely happy with even a partial piece like this.

 

 

I also found a complete Greenops while surface collecting but forgot to photograph it, 

 

Overall DSR was super fun!

Probably my favorite location of the few I've been to so far. Great preservation and diversity, can't wait to go back some day!

Thanks for reading,

Misha

[Misha]

Here's the trilo I mentioned:

 

 

Also another, smaller Dipleura head I just noticed in a different piece of matrix

 

 

A really wide piece of thorax, this would've been a big bug.

 

 

And a bellerophontid, really like these guys.

 

[Fossildude19]

Nice finds, Misha!

I  really like the Retispira leda, and the Orthonata undulata. 

Your double valved Modiomorpha  bivalves are cool as well.

[Misha]

47 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Nice finds, Misha!

I  really like the Retispira leda, and the Orthonata undulata. 

Your double valved Modiomorpha  bivalves are cool as well.

Thanks for the IDs, I like them as well. I really like the appearance of Orthonata, I wish this one was complete, but I'll take this too.

[Jeffrey P]

Looks like you had a good introduction to a site that has given great pleasure to many TFF members. I really like your Orbiculoidea and Rhinocaris. Fine report and pics. I hope this kind of collecting will bring you back.  

[Misha]

14 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Looks like you had a good introduction to a site that has given great pleasure to many TFF members. I really like your Orbiculoidea and Rhinocaris. Fine report and pics. I hope this kind of collecting will bring you back.  

The site was absolutely fantastic and I am really looking forward to getting back there.

I quite like the Orbiculoidea as well, it was probably my favorite find, we didn't find that many of the phyllocarid but this one was one of the better pieces.

[Fossildude19]

On 8/8/2021 at 7:13 PM, Misha said:

This hyolith was very nice, I like these fossils too, unfortunately it's free of any matrix and is rather thin, I was surprised it made it home in one piece and really hope it doesn't break now.

 

Misha,

 

I don't think it's a Hyolith - looks more like an orthocone cephalopod to me.

 

I can see segmentation/camera at the base.

 

[Misha]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

Misha,

 

I don't think it's a Hyolith - looks more like an orthocone cephalopod to me.

 

I can see segmentation/camera at the base.

 

Tim,

From what I've seen I'm quite certain that it is a hyolith, but I'll definitely get some better pictures of the object to try and identify it.

[erose]

Great specimens! Revisiting my NY & PA Devonian fossils is on my list for the next year.  I collected quite a few when I lived back east.  This is inspiring me to get that underway sooner than later.

[Huntonia]

Wow awesome finds!! Especially the Greenops and Rhinocaris 

[fossilhunter21]

Nice finds!