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ZiggieCie

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I was going through my fossils yesterday (7/24/2015) labeling them and adding them to my Database when this small shape caught my eye. Took out my magnifier and checked out a small shape, that at first glance, I thought was just a small Crinoid disk among the Carbonized Fern pieces. To my surprise, I had a Starfish staring back at me. Yes, I was very surprised! These are extremely rare in Northern Ohio’s, Meadville Shale, or anywhere else.

I knew of another Brittle Star find that was written about, and was a new species (Strataster ohioensis). I knew that I had a copy of the PDF describing this rare find, but did not think that I had one of these in my hand. The original find of these is only from 1970, along the Ohio Turnpike. They are described as of, Kinderhook and early Osage age and 391.9 to 388.1 MYA. (No Fossil hunting on the Turnpike).

Now excited about this very unlikely find, I study this 4x5 inch piece of slate and find not one Brittle Star but nine of them. I have the link to the PDF if anyone has the time to check and see if mine is very close to the described ones.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/48462/ID311.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

Here are some photos of my Strataster ohioensis?

There are 9 Brittle Stars on this piece.

post-13244-0-05380100-1437832438_thumb.jpg post-13244-0-15090400-1437832432_thumb.jpg

Size in mm

post-13244-0-13457500-1437832521_thumb.jpg

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Very cool! And to think you had them undiscovered all this while. They are beautiful things. :)

 
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WOW, very nice! Congrats :fistbump:

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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Very nice indeed, it is always cool to see a little starfish staring back at you.

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Glad you noticed it, the small wonders sometimes go undetected----Tom

Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!
"Don't Tread On Me"

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Very nice! I am more than a little jealous :)

"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!

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Super finds! Was it the ferns that prompted you to collect the rock initially?

:fistbump:

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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Super finds! Was it the ferns that prompted you to collect the rock initially?

:fistbump:

Yes, I have almost no plant material since almost all of my collecting is earlier Marine, before land plants. So when I start to find plant material it is nice for me,

But the Brittle Stars are a super thrill. I will check more, but as far as I know they have only been found at the one location that the research was done and that was only a concentrated 15 foot by 10 cm lens that only survived for about 30 years before it was killed off. The find was removed and no other finds are known of to my knowledge. Makes them rarer than T-Rex teeth.

Thank you everyone for the remarks.

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Very cool. :)

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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Wow!! If I had to give my input, I'd say it's the find of the decade here in Ohio! Congratulations Ziggie!

Got me all fired up to look around NE OH for something more than brachiopods and byrozoans!

So I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and door will be opened for you. -Jesus Christ

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Great find. I'm from NE Ohio and would love some feedback on the fossil possibilities here and the locations. Thanks.

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Congratulations on the rare find(s)! :)

Awesome fossils, Ziggie!!
Thanks for posting them.

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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Wow, nice! I take it these are from a different site than the original discovery? (not asking for directions, just if it is a new locality for the species). Brittle stars often occur with a very clumped distribution, so if you find one it's good to look closely for other specimens on the same bedding plane.

Don

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I don't think I have ever seen any starfish that aren't from Morocco. Congrats on the the great finds

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Wow, nice! I take it these are from a different site than the original discovery? (not asking for directions, just if it is a new locality for the species). Brittle stars often occur with a very clumped distribution, so if you find one it's good to look closely for other specimens on the same bedding plane.

Don

Yes, FossilDAWG these are from a different area than the original. It is over 20 miles away but still in the Meadville shale.

According to the research, paper by Robert V. Kesling and Douglas le Vasseur the Latin or Greek interpretations of the part of the name stratum can mean “layer or blanket”, and stratos can mean, “Encamped army”. As with the original find and mine, there are very concentrated assemblages of Brittle Stars together in a small area. My hand size specimen has 13 plus specimens, so it does match the massing habit of this species.

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