TqB Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) I've just acquired this in a swap and couldn't wait to cut and polish it. It's a species I've had great difficulty in finding in North East England (two erratic specimens only). This one's from the Brigantian of North Wales where I'm told it's also not easy to find, especially with quarry access practically banned. Palastraea regia (Phillips) Corallites up to about 3cm in this specimen although they can reach a massive 7.5 cm or so. (I copied and pasted the images from my gallery as usual but it hasn't worked for some reason so I've uploaded with thumbnails instead...) Edited December 31, 2014 by TqB Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-tree Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Tarquin.....Beautiful Corals,beautifully photographed....are you still using your Cannon SX201S camera? John Be happy while you're living for you're a long time dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Thanks, John! That camera was pretty reasonable but I'm now using a Canon EOS600D with an EFS 60mm macro lens, mounted on a solid copy stand which makes all the difference. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) This is the only specimen I have of Dorlodotia pseudovermiculare (McCoy), from the Chadian stage low in the Carboniferous. It was found as an erratic on the North Yorkshire coast, its source rock being probably about 80 miles to the west on the far side of the Pennine hills. I plan to look for it in situ this year. It's probably the ancestor of Actinocyathus and Lonsdaleia which are widespread further up in the Carboniferous; the most obvious difference is that it has no axial structure, just simple horizontal tabulae. There's a lot of silica which makes hand grinding and polishing hard work! vertical section: Edited January 17, 2015 by TqB 1 Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 thanks for the terrific presentation "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Thanks, Xonenine, glad you like them. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 It was found as an erratic on the North Yorkshire coast, its source rock being probably about 80 miles to the east on the far side of the Pennine hills. Do you mean to the west? Wonderful specimens as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Do you mean to the west? Wonderful specimens as always. Doh! - thanks Wrangellian, edited... Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valh Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 A fine specimen,Tarquin! Longitudinal section is very useful in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thanks, Valerij! Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) I cut and polished this 5" cobble yesterday and was amazed by the preservation, including the crisply delineated fracture zones. The images are straight off the camera with no editing at all - I often tweak the contrast and lighting a bit but not here. Lithostrotion decipiens (McCoy), probably U. Visean, glacial erratic from Yorkshire coast. Corallites about 5mm Edited January 24, 2015 by TqB Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) EDIT: The centre is unusually complex but sections from along the corallite reveal a normal Heterophyllia structure. I'm hoping it may be something new. Possibly Post #44 on page 3 was a couple of specimens of Heterophyllia granulata. I've just found a much larger one (several in one block in fact) which shows the structure very well, including the external fluting. The external ridges correspond to septa whereas in rugosa it's the other way round, the septa corresponding to external furrows. Namurian, Great Limestone, Co. Durham, England. Weathered surface: 1cm behind weathered surface: Edited February 16, 2021 by TqB Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 On p.3, post #54, I showed the only Dorlodotia pseudovermiculare that I'd found. I've just found another glacial erratic specimen of it, on a different Yorkshire beach about 10 miles away from the first. The preservation looks somewhat different with some soft red-orange patches (haematitic?). Still plenty of silica (white and blue) and white calcite like the other one. The most likely source for these is about 80 miles to the west. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Beautiful corals! I've long had an inordinate fondness for corals, especially Paleozoic corals. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Great thread,Tarquin,congrats! " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Thanks, Don & Abyssunder! - I started collecting them to fill in the times when I couldn't get to the Jurassic and an inordinate fondness soon developed. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishGrace Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Tarquin and those who also love Carboniferous fossils; don't you think the Carboniferous Coast is totally overlooked in favour of the Jurassic Coast, or every other fossil place in the UK. I really think that hardly anyone has heard of the Carboniferous Coast, or have seen many Carboniferous fossils from the UK; even people who like collecting. There are many great fossil places further north of Whitby, which is the 'go to' place for fossil hunters venturing to the North East. But there's little or no publicity, or recognition, for fossil sites that are further up in Northumberland. Do you think that's good or bad? Personally it suits me as there's too many visitors coming here already and destroying the peace and our natural assets - but recognition of our Carboniferous Coast as something more than a big coal field with nothing else to offer would be a good thing to raise our profile as a place for fossil study and research. I have so many marine fossils. Below is my favourite treasure, because the 'cones' of the horn coral are still preserved and still have colour, which I think is fascinating. I'd love to be able to polish some of my specimens like Tarquin does and I've followed tips in the past, but I made a dog's dinner of it, a total hash, so I haven't tried since. I need someone to show me hands-on in a workshop - I know I can get help in Whitby and one day I'll holiday there to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Hi TqB You’ve got a nice and beautiful variety of carboniferous corals over there. Are you interested in carboniferous or Devonian corals from other countries? I have quite a few of them that I could trade, all of them from Belgium. Kevin growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) (Hi Kevin - haven't been here for a while so only just noticed your post! Thanks for the offer but I'm really just concentrating on UK material - and trying to reduce my collection as well. ) I haven't been collecting much of late but here's one from the backlog pile that I've just cut and polished. It's a storm shattered Actinocyathus laticlavia with crinoid debris, lower Namurian, Great Limestone, Co. Durham, UK. This genus is supposed to be cerioid (honeycomb). However, colonies often include patches of parallel but separated corallites (phaceloid) growing out of them which is what these are (based on all the more complete specimens that I've seen from the area). This makes it effectively indistinguishable from the phaceloid genus, Lonsdaleia. Edited February 26, 2016 by TqB Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Beautiful.... I have to ask myself why I dont collect these....Maybe one day when the ammonites get too heavy for me I will scour beaches for pebbles like these... Fantastic.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Another specimen of the strange heterocoral, Hexaphyllia marginata. Brigantian, Co. Durham. This one shows some of the characteristic spines which I haven't seen before. They usually break off to leave rows of tubercles. Reconstruction, from P.J. Cossey 1997 Palaeontology 40, part 4, pp.1031-1059 1 Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Great photos. An aside to the specimens. Many of us collect paleo books as well as fossils. One of my favourite books is a tome on British fossil corals from the 1850's. Like many science books of the time, it is as much a work of art as it is one of science. The plates are quite exquisite. I'll still reference it. Several fossil corals in Western N. America were originally assigned European genera...some have been retained and many revised. Anyways, this publication is a nice addition to any fossil coral collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 Great photos. An aside to the specimens. Many of us collect paleo books as well as fossils. One of my favourite books is a tome on British fossil corals from the 1850's. Like many science books of the time, it is as much a work of art as it is one of science. The plates are quite exquisite. I'll still reference it. Several fossil corals in Western N. America were originally assigned European genera...some have been retained and many revised. Anyways, this publication is a nice addition to any fossil coral collection. Thanks! I heartily concur with your remarks on the Edwards & Haime monograph. I was lucky to find an unbound set in very good condition which I had bound professionally, cost about a fifth of its finished value. Here's the plate for Palastraea regia (Phillips), along with a specimen from Wales (a swap from a friend, I don't find it like this in my area). Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 (edited) M.E.& H. i posted about,a while back,nobody noticed Tarq,beautiful thread,amazing pix and preparation. A lot of coral literature comes with black and white longitudinal and transverse sections,but this is a new ballgame altogether. Bang on,guv''. Edited August 17, 2016 by doushantuo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 M.E.& H. i posted about,a while back,nobody noticed Tarq,beautiful thread,amazing pix and preparation. A lot of coral literature comes with black and white longitudinal and transverse sections,but this is a new ballgame altogether. Bang on,guv''. Thanks, you're very kind! I'm sure I noticed your post. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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