glacialerratic Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 That jaw is excellent! Great pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Fine hash Kansas City Group, Pennsylvanian Excelsior Springs, Missouri Fossils include Osagia, fusulinids, bryozoans, brachiopods, and trilobites (at least one pygidium). Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 More fine hash.... The fragments are well worn. Ammovertellid forams are attached to some. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 More like scrapple than hash...awesome! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormoran2 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 These are amazing photos (at least for a newbie like me!) I wonder how those fossils would have gathered so cleanly,,, If they are a simple accumulation at the bottom of the sea, then why would the grains of sand between the organic matter also not become fossilised (and clutter the scene)...; BTW, I am just sharing my thoughts ''out loud''. No need to try to answer those questions !! We are leaving tomorrow morning for Florida. Am looking forward to the hills of Tennessee and maybe randomly pick-up rocks here and there. But we are supposed to have rain all the way, so that may be difficult. My wife may not be fussy about sharing a car with a soggy companion! But I don't want to give you the wrong impression...she is a very tolerant person and has been adjusting beautifully with my non-stop retirement passions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Fish mandible with teeth Muncie Creek Shale, Pennsylvanian Kansas City metro The jaw is 26 mm in length. I had to combine two images to fit it all in. Your experimentation with this technology is really paying off! This is a wonderful photo - fantastic fossil! Thanks for sharing this experiment here. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acryzona Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Missourian, My avatar is a self collected ostracod from the Wanakah Shale in upstate NY. Best photo I've taken to date. Regarding the microfossil addiction, it started back in high school years ago and I have no intention to admit that I have a problem! Collecting Microfossils - a hobby concerning much about many of the little paraphrased from Dr. Robert Kesling's book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Either of those last two photos would make a great puzzle! For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 On 1/11/2013 at 9:53 AM, Fossildude19 said: Your experimentation with this technology is really paying off! This is a wonderful photo - fantastic fossil! Thanks for sharing this experiment here. Regards, Thanks. For some reason, I hadn't placed that jaw under the scope until now. I was absolutely amazed by the intricate detail. I didn't expect that layering of the enamel within the teeth would be so distinct. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 On 1/11/2013 at 9:23 AM, Cormoran2 said: I wonder how those fossils would have gathered so cleanly,,, If they are a simple accumulation at the bottom of the sea, then why would the grains of sand between the organic matter also not become fossilised (and clutter the scene)...; We are leaving tomorrow morning for Florida. Am looking forward to the hills of Tennessee and maybe randomly pick-up rocks here and there. But we are supposed to have rain all the way, so that may be difficult. My wife may not be fussy about sharing a car with a soggy companion! But I don't want to give you the wrong impression...she is a very tolerant person and has been adjusting beautifully with my non-stop retirement passions. I think they must have accumulated above the wave base. Most of the fragments were beat to heck. Once you're in Florida, you may see similar deposits of shells on the beach and in the water. And a couple relaxing days on the beach should smooth out whatever happens in Tennessee. On 1/11/2013 at 10:08 AM, Acryzona said: Missourian, My avatar is a self collected ostracod from the Wanakah Shale in upstate NY. Best photo I've taken to date. Regarding the microfossil addiction, it started back in high school years ago and I have no intention to admit that I have a problem! With the frustration of not finding larger fossils, not to mention the headaches of determining which property is what, it's nice to get into types of fossils that can be collected in abundance in many different spots. On 1/11/2013 at 10:30 AM, Ramo said: Either of those last two photos would make a great puzzle! I've thought about that. That hash... I mean scrapple would be perfect. I need it to be 'busier' than the micro images above. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Crustacean in phosphatic nodule Muncie Creek Shale, Pennsylvanian Kansas City metro The little guy is 7 mm from arched back to tips. It would be perfect with a squeeze of lemon and served with rice pilaf. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Crustacean in phosphatic nodule Muncie Creek Shale, Pennsylvanian... Oh wow! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Last summer, I collected a bunch of limestone that contains well-preserved silicified gastropods. Once home, I dropped the chunks in muriatic acid. Many fossils remained after the matrix dissolved away: Just today, I finally got around to examining the residue with proper magnification: The gastropods here are Hypselentoma and Worthenia. The one with an operculum in the aperture is about 4 mm across. The white, tubular things are probably silica-filled root molds. Also present are several classic microfossils: Grouped here are four ostracods, two arenaceous forams (Ammovertella and undetermined), and several needle-like things that may be sponge spicules. The largest ostracod is probably about 0.5 mm long. I may spend weeks picking through this residue.... Oh yeah.... Winterset Limestone, Pennsylvanian Jackson County, Missouri Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Picking through the Winterset residue continues to bring surprises.... This 'gastropod' looks a bit different than the others: Is it a goniatite? Maybe. Does it have septa? Why, yes it does: This most likely is Glaphyrites. It is about 2 mm across. On the other hand, I have no idea what this is: It is a bit bigger than 1 mm. I thought it could the foram Polytaxis, but the 'rings' are wrong. It could also be calcareous algae, or something different altogether. I'll have to dig around in the books and see if anything comes up.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacialerratic Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 That Winterset residue looks like a lot of fun! Great find on the goniatite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 More Winterset residue.... The thing in the middle that resembles a donut with coconut sprinkles is possibly a burrow lined with various fragments of shell and other debris: Perhaps a small arthropod is the builder. More of the 'needles' are scattered around it. I thought these could be sponge spicules, but I now think many if not all are crystals of calcite that formed during early diagenesis and were later replaced with silica. A few star-like cluster of 'needles', like the one stuck to this goniatite, gave me my initial doubts: In the residue are several 'dust bunnies' that are made up of a mess of these needles along with various fossils and other detritus: A few more: Here are many more 'needles', including some 'bundled' together: Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Good stuff Missourian! Soon after you started this post i started looking closer at some of the stuff I have picked up in the past year or so and decided I better get me a microscope as well! I am waiting for it to come in the mail! Should be here in a day or two! Can't wait to investigate the micro world of the pennsylvanian! Thanks for this thread! Great pictures and great info! It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Arachnids from the Pennsylvanian Upper Cherokee Group of Knob Noster, Missouri.... Spider (16 mm): Scorpion tail? (~10 mm): Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 A couple more spiders.... 8 mm body: 10 mm body: Upper Cherokee Group, Pennsylvanian Knob Noster, Missouri 1 Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The scorpion tails definately something... Theres some great fossils on here...I think whats just as imprssive is the clarity of the images.... I wish I could match it although holding a camera on the microscope eyepiece you do get some quality fluctuations... Heres my contribution...after a polish and an examination showing many Foraminifora within the sediments... I spotted this section through an echinoid spine in the sediments that had washed inside a nautilus body chamber.... Always looking for big stuff all the time you sometimes overlook the small bits... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 PS... You just posted the 2 new spiders as I posted... Very nice.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 On 1/18/2013 at 2:15 AM, Terry Dactyll said: The scorpion tails definately something... Theres some great fossils on here...I think whats just as imprssive is the clarity of the images.... I wish I could match it although holding a camera on the microscope eyepiece you do get some quality fluctuations... Heres my contribution...after a polish and an examination showing many Foraminifora within the sediments... I spotted this section through an echinoid spine in the sediments that had washed inside a nautilus body chamber.... Always looking for big stuff all the time you sometimes overlook the small bits... Nice forams. I always love finding them in unexpected places. I originally identified the 'scorpion tail' as such because its details matched a specimen in an illustration. The tapering form of my 'tail' gave me some doubts. On the other hand, it seems to be somewhat decomposed, so it may have lost its original form. Regarding picture quality, I take lots of photos -- 10 to 15 in all cases. Most are more or less blurry, but usually at least one comes out sharp. I then throw away the rest. That's why I love digital photography. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Regarding picture quality, I take lots of photos -- 10 to 15 in all cases. Most are more or less blury, but usually at least one comes out sharp. I then throw away the rest. That's why I love digital photography. Noted... I need to take a leaf out of your book... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Eurypterid segment detail Adelophthalmus sp. Upper Cherokee Group, Pennsylvanian Knob Noster, Missouri Closer: Closer again: Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Coooooool! All new ground for these eyes: thanks! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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