minnbuckeye Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 (edited) Early in the summer, an attempt was made to hunt a different Ordovician formation than I normally collect in. It provided me with a learning experience and some new and neat fossils. Having enjoyed my finds so much, a return trip was made 2 weeks ago. Not to the same site but to a more extensive exposure of the Elgin Formation of the Maquoketa close by. The location is in NE Iowa in some beautiful farm country. Even if I found no fossils the view from here made the trip worthwhile. Now for the finds. I am a novice at identifying fossils from this formation and am open to any suggestions or changes to my identifications. Here is a sediment filled cephalopod with Dalmanella on it. Only one was truly part of the find. Which brachiopod belonged to the cephalopod? This one!! Cephalopods of all types and sizes abounded in this formation. This is one cephalopod I would love an ID of. The linear stripes are new to me. Epibionts were common on the brachiopods. Now on to the trilobites. First up is a picture of a u shaped structure just 5 mm long. Is it a hypostome. If so, what trilobite? Many pictures that I hope you enjoyed! Mike Edited August 27, 2021 by minnbuckeye 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Wow, neat finds! A lot more diversity than I personally have ever encountered in the Maquoketa. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Awesome finds on that hunt, Mike! Great pics and IDs! Looking forward to seeing the ID on that Unknown Cephalopod! :-D 1 The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 That unknown cephalopod looks like a tusk shell (a scaphopod). Are tusk shells known from this age rocks? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 +1 for Scaphopod 1 http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombk Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Dang! Did you find all of those in one day? Did they require much prep, or did weathering do most of the work? What a wonderful haul. I have read of Scaphopods in the Galena group, so it’s quite possible they are in the Maquoketa as well. I plan on collecting more often in north eastern Iowa, and I wonder what reference materials you use for your IDs. Thanks for sharing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Hi, Mike. First : etc. With that out of the way, I think : Crania laelia is now Philhedra laelia. I've never heard of Dalmanella macrior, but those are stunning. It's Dinorthis proavita. And Sowerbyella sericea. Scaphopods don't appear until the Carboniferous, a possible ancestral form is found in the Ordovician but only in Kentucky. I think the unknown roller is another Anataphrus vigilans. Zygospira modesta, I think. Rhynchotrema capax is now Hiscobeccus capax. Marvelous finds, Mike. 2 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 Scaphopods sure look similar but for now, I am sticking to cephalopod. If you look beyond the horizontal ornimentation that mimics scaphopods, there is evidence of septal divisions running perpendicular to the long axis. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_mnemonic Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 31 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said: Scaphopods sure look similar but for now, I am sticking to cephalopod. If you look beyond the horizontal ornimentation that mimics scaphopods, there is evidence of septal divisions running perpendicular to the long axis. Looks similar to Metaspyroceras from the Ordovician formations in the Twin Cities, MN. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Great finds Mike! Some very nice preservation there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Beautiful finds! Those brachiopods are absolutely stunning 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Great finds. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calli99 Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Beautiful brachiopods. Is it possible the unknown cephalopod is an echinoid spine? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Mike, with further research after you kindly sent me some lovely specimens from the Maquoketa, I think I can make one or two changes. I don't think Rafinesquina subquadrata is a valid taxon anymore, so this is likely to be Rafinesquina deltoidea. Dalmanella macrior is now Eremotrema emacerata, but Eremotrema emacerata is longer compared to its width than your specimens which I believe to be Plaesiomys occidentalis. Dinorthis proavitus is now Plaesiomys proavitus, but I think yours have too many ribs so they are probably Onniella quadrata. Your Hebertella sinuata is actually a Glyptorthis, I would say Glyptorthis bellarugosa for this one. I can't see the 'Sowerbyella sericea' clearly enough, but some are likely Sowerbyella minnesotensis and others perhaps Eochonetes recedens. I believe that you are now aware that the epibiont crinoid holdfasts, at least the smaller ones, are Lichenocrinus minutus, which could belong to a disparid such as an heterocrinid, but i don't think anyone knows which crinoids they belong to for certain. Again they are mostly growing on specimens of Glyptorthis, not Hebertella. The 'Strophomena amoena' are either Sowerbyella or Eochonetes, I'm not quite sure which. And I still say that's a very nice nautiloid. Thanks, Mike. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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