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Central New York Coralpalooza


Brewcuse

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For a year, I've wanted to collect large rugose coral, sometimes known as horn coral. My girlfriend has one that was given to her by someone who lives on Skaneateles Lake, and in researching, I found that there is a lakeside exposure known as "Staghorn Point" because the plentiful coral resemble antlers, they are so large. This locale is accessible only via water, and unfortunately I am boatless and none of my boating friends are fossilers, so I put this dream away and dug into research.

Last summer I found one huge (5") horn coral in the Tully Limestone (Mid-Devonian/Hamilton Group), which was graciously ID'd by Rick Batt on the Devonian FB page as Heliophyllum halli. I did some research into the Bellona coral layer and found plenty of candy-sized corals, but the true bonanza of the "big ones" eluded me.

This winter we joined the Gem & Mineral Society of Syracuse and heard about a creek in the area with plentiful large horn corals. Unfortunately, we weren't able to pinpoint the location with the several feet of snow cover that overstayed its welcome (it's all just about gone now), so it wasn't until this month's meeting that we received more detailed directions. In the mean time, I researched more and found that the coral from Skaneateles and the coral from this location (some 9 miles northeast) are supposed to be part of the same horizon. It's hypothesized that at this point in the Devonian, the area abounded in huge coral reefs, based on the thousands/millions of extant specimens that have been found for the past 150 years.

What's interesting to me is that the elevation of Skaneateles Lake, with its shoreline exposure is several hundred feet lower than the locale we hunted. Of course, the couple million years of glacial cover (which only retreated 12,000 years ago) certainly messed with the strata...

So, here's a good selection of today's rugose & tabulate Mid-Devonian (all found loose in a creek) corals...

(inches)

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Edited by Brewcuse
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Hi brewcuse I live in the Syracuse area and am also a member of the same club. You can collect many of the same coral on the west shore of otisco lake. There is a parking area. You can find a lot right along the shore line. There are also spots in the wooded area that surrounds the lake with some exposures. I was actually planning on going in the near future if you are interested you can pm me. By the way,nice finds

  • I found this Informative 1

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Neat finds and great report!

Thanks for posting!

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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Really nice collection of rugose corals. Looks like your dream came true. Congrats. Thanks for posting.

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Sounds like you may have been collecting in part of the Centerfield member of the Ludlowville Formation. Very good for corals in certain horizons.

-Dave

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Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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nice horns. here's a 6.2 inches length by 2.3 inches diameter NY horn coral with a nice little curve in it:

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  • 4 years later...

Any thoughts on what this might be?  I pulled this out of a rock wall beside Skaneateles Lake.

EF944277-BD93-42D1-9F7A-F06C27E6A9ED.jpeg

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