More Lower Devonian Gastropods From The Glenerie Limestone, Kingston, Ny

[Jeffrey P]

Platyceras "spirale", a Lower Devonian gastropod from the Glenerie Limestone exposed in a roadcut along Route 9W between Kingston and Saugerties, NY. These three preserved in silica are the only examples I have.

[Fossildude19]

Don't know how I missed this post!

The preservation on those is pretty cool!

Were these just picked up from the ground having weathered out?

Thanks for posting these.

Regards,

[Jeffrey P]

Yes, they were found on the ground just beneath the limestone cliff they weathered from. The layer of limestone that's composed of shells (mostly broken) is almost ten feet thick, but generaly is way to hard to extract anything. Plus the fossils are extremely fragile and as soon as you start chiseling near them they shatter. If I haven't been to the site in a few months I might find dozens of brachiopods and gastropods weathered out lying on the ground or in crevices between the layers. Most are pretty small though there's an occasional larger shell. The coiled gastropods, Platystoma are ten times more common than these ones. Next time I go I plan to bring home some pieces of shell rock and dissolve the matrix in vinegar and see what comes out.