Missourian Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 Some clusters appear to be jumbled masses: These may have resulted from cylinders merging together: This one has a heavy covering of algae: The algae does obscure details, but it prevented many pieces from breaking up. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 Ha. I didn't even think of that.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 (edited) Maeandrostia is a smaller, twig-like sponge that is often associated with Heliospongia: It isn't usually encountered, but it can be profusely abundant locally. The sponge's irregular canals makes it easy to identify in cross-section: It resembles swiss cheese inside and out. Like Heliospongia, Maeandrostia can form clusters: This one shows external and internal details: The smaller sponges may be Fissispongia. Here are a few more: The above were found in the Frisbie Limestone and Quindaro Shale in Miami County, Kansas This sponge remains unidentified. I currently have it labeled as Fissispongia: Argentine Limestone Clay County, Missouri Edited December 12, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Some of the twig-like sponges that I've been calling Fissispongia may actually be roots of Heliospongia. A number of Heliospongia specimens have nodes on the lower ends that resemble holdfasts: Quindaro Shale Miami County, Kansas As it turns out, the profusion of tiny 'sponges' among the Heliospongia may be nothing more than broken and scattered roots. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Another sponge is Amblysiphonella: Frisbie Limestone Miami County, Kansas These are common in the beds just below the shale containing the Heliospongia and Maeandrostia: They stand out in the little limestone beds: Amblysiphonella is abundant in some of the limestones of the Shawnee Group, such as the Hartford and Avoca. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Very nice sponge collection and one more diligent condribution here!!! Moreover, it's clearly shown why the perfect pics make the difference... Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Very nice sponge collection and one more diligent condribution here!!! Moreover, it's clearly shown why the perfect pics make the difference... Thanks much astron. There are more to come.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) Girtyocoelia resembles a string of pearls: A central canal links the spheres: Despite the similar name, Girtycoelia is quite different. It superficially resembles Amblysiphonella, but it lacks a central canal and has relatively large openings at the lobe junctures. This key should help sort it out: All but one were found in the Merriam Limestone and Hickory Creek Shale in Johnson County, Kansas. The Girtyocoelia in the top of the first image was found in the Paola Limestone in Clay County, Missouri. Edited December 13, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) Thanks for this post. The Porifera are one of my favorite invertebrate phylum. The sponges seem to be one of the most overlooked fossil collectables. They may not have the appearance Snap or Wow of a trilobite or ammonite but there is a beauty to their simplicity. Jim I agree.. Being an underappreciated group you'd think they're be more easily acquired but on (eg.) ebay it also makes them less available (except for European Cretaceous ones)... certainly none like this. There are some rare/expensive ones occasionally but where are the more common (non-Cretaceous) ones?! I must have missed this one first time around. I have to echo what Indy said about you Missourian, you could easily write a good guidebook to your local fossils and strata, but you're doing it for free here on the Forum! Makes me eager to go up my local hill again and look for more of the rare Hormathospongia. but it's winter. Edited December 13, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacialerratic Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Great post, very cool fossils. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) Yes, sponges are unloved. The variety in form and structure is unparalleled among fossil types. And speaking of Hormathospongia, a similar sponge, Stereodictyum, has been found in the Pennsylvanian of Texas. I'm sure it's around here too somewhere.... Edited December 14, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 Coelocladia is covered with distinctive, porthole-like openings: Coelocladia embedded in phylloid algae: At the Miami County site, this sponge occurs with Amblysiphonella. It is not common. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 (edited) A second, closer look at a Maeandrostia shown above: Edited December 14, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 =More nice ones... I have seen pics of sponges similar to Hormathospongia ranging all the way back to the Cambrian... I guess it was a well-adapted design. I'll have to look up Stereodictyum.... If you find one I'm sure I'll hear about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 =More nice ones... If you find one I'm sure I'll hear about it? You read my mind. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 One more Heliospongia: There is an odd marking on the side: Some type of organism seems to have attached itself to the sponge. It could be an encrustation, a scar on the sponge, or some leaf-like thing that happened to be draped over the sponge. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) Some of the first fossils I've ever collected were silicified sponges in the creek gravel close to home in Clay County, Missouri: These are Heliospongia (excavata?). They could have come from the Argentine, Spring Hill, or Captain Creek Limestones. Glaciers had worked the area, so it's impossible to know for sure. These can be easily spotted in the various limestones: This is in the Captain Creek. I collected a few of these from the top of the limestone and treated them in muriatic acid, with pleasing results (posted earlier in this thread at http://www.thefossil...as/#entry283450 ). This H. (excavata?) came from (I believe) the Spring Hill Limestone in Johnson County, Kansas: Not bad after using toilet bowl cleaner. Edited December 16, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Silicified Heliospongia (excavata?) Argentine Limestone Jackson County, Missouri I found these as float in the soil just above the deeply weathered limestone. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) These are quite different in appearance from the Heliospongia ramosa I've found in the Quindaro Shale: Unlike H. ramosa, the osculi of H. (excavata?) are variable in size and can occur anywhere on the sponge. Also, the growth habit of H. (excavata?) seems to be more irregular. Contortions appear to be common. There is a possibility, though, that the irregularities could be, in part, due to decomposition of the sponges and/or compression of the sediments. Edited December 17, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 I took a closer look at this Heliospongia: (Described at: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/25240-pennsylvanian-sponges-from-kansas/#entry283450 ) A microscope reveals a nice network of spicules: The 'cells' are ~1 mm across. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conostichus Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Wewokella contorta from the Finis Shale at Jacksboro Reservoir in Jack Co., Texas., looking truly contorted Had collected there many times before I noticed them Compare to the holotype http://invertebratep...types-king-1943 In this vein, holotypes are sometimes dissapointing compared to better material collected later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Wewokella contorta from the Finis Shale at Jacksboro Reservoir in Jack Co., Texas., looking truly contorted Had collected there many times before I noticed them Compare to the holotype http://invertebratep...types-king-1943 In this vein, holotypes are sometimes dissapointing compared to better material collected later Those are pretty cool. With such a variety of form, once you start collecting them, you can't stop.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Cross sections of sponges Fissispongia sp. Argentine Limestone, Pennsylvanian Clay County, Missouri The sponges are 3 mm across: Close-up: The white encrustation is probably Tubiphytes. According to one source, this problematic organism could be a sponge. It could also be cyanobacteria or a hydrozoan. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Maeandrostia sp. (kansasensis?) Quindaro Shale, Pennsylvanian Miami County, Kansas The sponge is 14 mm wide at the end. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evgeny Kotelevsky Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Maeandrostia sp. (kansasensis?) Quindaro Shale, Pennsylvanian Miami County, Kansas The sponge is 14 mm wide at the end. Nice little sponge! ))) It belongs to Calcarea or to Demospongia? http://evgenykotelevsky.wordpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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