Carboniferous Rhode Island

[Pagurus]

While visiting in Rhode Island recently, my wife and I spent a few hours on the beach at the end of Corys Lane in Portsmouth. While it isn't one of the most productive sites I've had the pleasure of mucking around in, I always feel at home at the edge of the sea. It's a bit of a challenge to find any reasonably well-preserved fossils here, but the challenge just makes it all the more enjoyable. While my wife wandered away, deserting me once again for the lure of an ocean beach, I spread out a square of 4-mil plastic in the always futile attempt to keep the graphite-infused beach gravel off yet another pair of too-good-to-throw-away jeans. The overburden of beach-tumbled shaly gravel and slipper shells (Crepidula) was only 6-inches (15cm) deep here, blanketing a promising layer of Pennsylvanian age shale. Thankfully the tide was low and I could dig without the need to drain water out of the excavation. Regretably, I left my phone/camera in the car and have no current photos to share today, but here's one I took a few years ago:

 

I've had mixed results here at this site, with nothing worth keeping on occasion. This day's finds were slightly above average, by my reckoning. Most of the shale I was uncovering was much too fragile to recover any recognizable plants, but after prying out and splitting a few solid slabs I did come home with some rather nice pieces, even if the preservation wasn't quite as good as I would prefer.

 

I haven't been able to identify these seed ferns. Maybe a species of Pecopteris? The details just aren't preserved very well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The preservation is better in this harder rock. I think these are Cordaites principalis leaves. 

 

 

 

 

And a couple additional unknowns:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best find of the day, a modern skull, was found, of course, by my wandering wife. I believe it was formerly put to use by a sea robin (Prionotus carolinus).

 

 

 

It was a good day.
 

[Fossildude19]

Congratulations on the neat finds, Mike!

Glad you had a chance to poke around there.
Regards,

[Pagurus]

Thanks, Tim. The site seems to be getting more popular with fossil people. I met two while I was down there that day. Neither had found much, but both enjoyed their time there.  One gentleman did come away with an attractive specimen of what I think were Cordaites leaves.

[jdp]

Any vertebrate-bearing horizons there?

[Fossildude19]

1 hour ago, jdp said:

Any vertebrate-bearing horizons there?

Unfortunately not.

[Pagurus]

1 hour ago, jdp said:

Any vertebrate-bearing horizons there?

 

I haven't yet heard of any. The strata we collect in is Rhode Island Formation, and I have seen references to amphibian tracks and skin at a mostly Rhode Island Formation quarry in Plainville Massachusetts. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Pagurus

[Fossildude19]

2 minutes ago, Pagurus said:

 

I haven't yet heard of any. The strata we collect in is Rhode Island Formation, and I have seen references to amphibian tracks and skin at a mostly Rhode Island Formation quarry in Plainville Massachusetts. 

 

Which, unfortunately, is closed to collecting. 

[KompsFossilsNMinerals]

On 11/2/2021 at 6:33 PM, Pagurus said:

The preservation is better in this harder rock. I think these are Cordaites principalis leaves. 

 

 

 

Very nice finds!  When I took a trip there a couple months ago I found a lot of partials that looked similar to this piece.