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Chew On This Maquoketa Mystery


Caleb

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It's not often I come across something in my stomping grounds that I can't at least ID down to a common name, but this one has me stumped.

Maquoketa Formation

Upper Ordovician (Richmondian)

Northeast Iowa

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The first thing that pops up on my radar is the upper Ordovician sponge: Brachiospongia. The Treatise details a geographical range of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and up north as far as Ontario. In any event my vote is sponge with radially arranged blade-like expansions emanating from a funnel edge (central cone).

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Huh, very interesting I shall have to research Brachiospongia. I was thinking something like sponge or some wierd algae colony. I'm not sure if it will have any detail in cross section as it has been replaced by chert.

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I'm inclined to agree with the ID Brachiospongia. After a quick google search I found a 50min. lecture about Brachiospongia on YouTube.

. At first I was a bit hesitant to go with a sponge due to it's very large size, but according to the specimens in the lecture it's now a very compelling ID.
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The first thing that pops up on my radar is the upper Ordovician sponge: Brachiospongia. The Treatise details a geographical range of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and up north as far as Ontario.

Yep. They are one of the more rare fossils from the Ord of Ky. IIRC, they all come from one member of one formation. I've seen some get up to about 15 inches in diameter.

2012 NCAA Collegiate Round Ball Champs; and in '98, '96, '78, 58, '51, '49, and '48, too.

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I agree also with the sponge.

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen

No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go.

" I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes

"can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks

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