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Fieldtrip in the Belgian Devonian deposits


Manticocerasman

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Fieldtrip in the Belgian Devonian deposits

Sunday 26/07: The objective of this day was to return with some friends to the quarry we visited last month. we found there previously some interesting spots that contained, apart from the traditional corals and brachiopods, some Cephalopod fossils.

I left home at 8.30AM with my pall Joris who isn’t really interested in fossils, but he is a photographer and wanted to make some photo album of a fossil field trip.

We left in the direction of Couvin where another friend awaited us with his son for their first fossil hunt ever, from there we left to the designated quarry.

At the quarry we had a meetup with a few other friends , three of them geologist, and one of them was a frequent visitor of this quarry.

With a few of his instructions about the stratigraphy of the deposits we started our search for fossils.

The first ones to pop out where of course the corals, followed with crinoid stems and brachiopods.

Some of the specific layers did indeed reveal multiple cephalopods, mostly fragments, but a few nice complete Goniatites where found.

We also collected a lot of limestone nodules that could contain cephalopods. (I am currently trying the freeze-thaw method on couple of nodules)

I managed to find an exceptional block containing an association of multiple Goniatites with an Orthoceras.

And a very nice single Goniatite specimen (Manticoceras sp.) from around 6 cm in diameter.

My friend’s son got tired and they both went home, but he was really happy with all the fossils he found on his first field trip.

After Lunch we had to left the quarry and make way for a group that went clay pigeon shooting at this location.

We then drove to a nearby road cut construction site for some more fossil prospection. The upper part delivered the usual Coral fauna.

In the lower part of the construction site we found large solitary corals and a few trilobite parts. I found a decent cephalon of phacopid trilobite and a large pice of crinoid stems. Anthonie found a rather unusual fossil that none of us could determine, he posted the specimen at the forum for determination:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/57990-id-requested-on-devonian-problematica/

After this we went to a rather isolated outcrop near a railroad track. At this location the outcrop was overgrown for a part, but the sediments where stuffed with crinoids. And an occasional Goniatite was found.

It was then already 5PM and I got really tired, this resulted in a distracted move where I whacked my thumb with my hammer.

At this part I Decided that it was best to call it a day. I left whit Joris back home, after a long but productive day.

The others stayed a while longer and ended with a visit to a local tavern for dinner and a drink.

Thanks to “Paleo Tony” (Anthonie) for the pictures:

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Up to the next location...

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Someone is looking back at us...

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the part that I missed ;)

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The best specimens I found that day:

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growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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Great nautiloids!

Very nice report and pictures, Kevin!

Thanks for posting this report.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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

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Great trip report and pics, Kevin. Looks like you folks had great weather and a wonderful time. Love the Manticoceras with the suture pattern by the living chamber. I like to compare your Devonian finds with those we find here.

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Hi Kevin,

Looks like you had a good trip and some good finds, thanks for the post a good report.

Regards

Mike

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Thanks for all the positive reactions guy’s.

I’m indeed very happy with the Goniatites.

I knew that some Goniatites where found in our regions, but I’ve never encountered them before.

I still have a whole bag of nodules to split from this location, some of them contain small Goniatites, Orthoceras and Bactrites.

If I can crack them open I’ll make sure to post some pictures.

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your report! I must take some pictures on my next collecting activity too…

That beer … Hups! The goniatite is very interesting also J

Regards,

Ricardo

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Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your report! I must take some pictures on my next collecting activity too…

That beer … Hups! The goniatite is very interesting also J

Regards,

Ricardo

I'm heading back there tomorrow. a new field trip report will be posted next week. I hope I can bring back an extra goniatite.

the nodulese that I opend up till now didnt reveal a lot except one with some goniatite shells, but it needs some prepping first.

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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Wonderful stuff.

Are we looking at a crinoid stem in the pic below the trilo eye?

Yes, It is a crinoid stem, I managed to take the hole length out of the bedrock, in fragments of course.

But I glued them all back together, it is a piece from around 20cm in length.

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Make sure to read my last report from my trip in that quarry ;) enjoy:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/58947-belgian-devonian-deposits-part-2/

Kevin

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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