Strange dalmanitid

[Kane]

While going through mostly Amherstburg/Lucas Fm material with some Dundee Fm today, I encountered this fairly large cephalon (~5 cm wide). Odontocephalus (n.sp?) pygidia have appeared in this material, along with Pseudodechenella and Crassiproetus (and just one tiny "Mystrocephala" pygidium). Overall, though, it is miserable, chalk-cherty, bituminous, generally low sedimentation material. 

 

It seems a match for Trypaulites, but it seems a bit on the large side (and the exaggerated anterior "prow" gives me pause). Apart from age of the material, I can likely rule out Anchiopsis given the absence of the occipital spine. If it is Trypaulites (making my first cephalon find of this genus), I am not entirely satisfied with making that call more certain on the basis of either images in Ludvigsen or Lespérance. I could be overthinking what could simply be an artifact of preservation or a natural in-genus morphological variation, but always best to get a second opinion.  

[Malcolmt]

Out getting in some last minute fossiling practice I see. Seems highly unfair....

[piranha]

There are two described dalmanitid species with a long anterior process from the lower Devonian of New York: Neoprobolium nasutus and Neoprobolium tridens. Considering the obvious difference in the length and the shape of the process, I would label it: Neoprobolium n. sp.

 

Congrats on finding this rare and bizarre dalmanitid!

 

 

Hall, J. 1859. Natural History of New York. Palaeontology. Volume III.
Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Organic Remains of the Lower Helderberg Group and the Oriskany Sandstone. Geological Survey of New York, 532 pp. 

[Kane]

Thanks, Scott! This is entirely unexpected! 

My shelf of Ontario Devonian "n.sp" is starting to get a bit crowded!  

[FossilDAWG]

It's great to see all that boulder bashing is yielding something more than enlarged biceps. 

Have you got someone interested in getting all these new finds into the literature?

 

Don

 

PS Next time I will have to bring a bigger sledge.  The one I had mostly just bounced off of those boulders.

[Kane]

6 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

It's great to see all that boulder bashing is yielding something more than enlarged biceps. 

Have you got someone interested in getting all these new finds into the literature?

 

Don

 

PS Next time I will have to bring a bigger sledge.  The one I had mostly just bounced off of those boulders.

No nibbles as of yet (but possibly one worker for a few of my local lichids ). 

In hindsight, I should have brought the second sledge for our visit. The site I found this cephalon is not too far away from my house, a farm ditch I had explored back in March. Viable yield there is quite low (and the material is very ugly); otherwise, I would have brought you there!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Well played, sir! 

Very interesting specimen. 

[Kane]

A followup on this post as I managed to go back to the same ditch with the Devonian salad today. I was able to spend more time today since I had to call it early yesterday due to rain. Most of my usual fragments were found -- Pseudodechenella sp., "Mystrocephala," Odontocephalus sp., and there were even a few scarce Bois Blanc Fm rocks to crack that had bits of the typical phacopidae (Burtonops, Viaphacops) in addition to a few small Anchiopsis anchiops pygidia.

 

But the trip-maker was this: a nicely inflated cephalon of what I am guessing would be Anchiopsis tuberculatus (on account of the obvious tubercles, naturally). This one measures 7.5 cm wide (~3") belonging to a specimen that would have been about 15 cm (6") long. The field photo does little justice to this lovely fragment. If it is indeed A. tuberculatus, that would be an exceptionally rare find up here, and only the second one I've heard of being found in the last 50+ years.  

[Fossildude19]

Congratulations, Kane! 

Well spotted, sir!

[FossilDAWG]

You are going to have to get a bigger house!

 

Don