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Bradenton Beach Fossil Shell Hunting


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A bit more of the bivalves. I'm particularly fascinated by the species I think I've correctly identified as Lirophora latilirata with the its very prominently grooved shell. The other species I think was distinctive enough for a novice like myself to identify is Arcinella cornuta with is numerous horn-like projections. I also was happy to collect some saltwater clams related to oysters and scallops that MikeR has tentatively identified as members of the Plicatula genus.

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And now on to some gastropods. The first is an interestingly shaped specimen it is widely conical and much resembles the hats I've seen the workers wear in the rice paddies in Bali. I believe the worm snail has already be identified by MikeR as Petaloconchus sculpturatus. I'm amazed at the amount of sheen still left on the olive shell--most I collected looked like they could have come directly from the beach. We found many small conch shells but I tried to only keep the ones where the lip was mostly intact as these seemed to be pretty beat-up in the shell pile despite conch shells being fairly thick (possibly they are not very dense and relatively brittle).

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Here are the last of the images for now. Also of interest, note in the three shells shown in the post above that the middle one is "left handed" a variation from the normal chirality of most gastropod shells. For those who have not thought about gastropod chirality recently (I think that covers the bulk of humanity) picture inserting your curled fingers into the opening of a gastropod sea shell so that your raised thumb points in the same direction as the pointed spiraled "top" of the shell. Most shells are "right handed" where you would have to do with with your dextral appendage. The odd "sinistral" species as pictured in the middle set of photos above would come natural to a left-hander like me.

I'm also amazed that, though it is likely a related species, shells like the Coffee Bean Trivia (Pusula pediculus) with its interestingly corrugated surface seem to have been around virtually unchanged for millions of years.Hope you enjoyed this update to this topic with some sea shell eye candy.

Cheers.

-Ken

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The left-handed shell might be from a Lightning Whelk (or one of its relatives). Lightning Whelks (Sinistrofulgur sinistrum) are just about always left handed - one of the few shells that regularly grow sinistrally.

Stephen

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Yup. That's pretty much what I'm assuming. Collected a few nice Lightning Whelks a few years back from Cayo Costa State Park (north of Sanibel and Captiva Islands on the Gulf Coast). I've always been intrigued that most shells show a virtually complete bias toward right-handed chirality with only a few species being the exception. I've heard that "reversed" specimens of other species not normally known for sinistral specimens can fetch a hefty sum from shell collectors.

Cheers.

-Ken

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Hi,

:wub::wub:

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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Hi,

I knew you'd enjoy these Coco.

Cheers.

-Ken

:goodjob:

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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I missed out on this thread the first time around, so I'm glad you've resurrected it for the new photos. What a wonderful opportunity for finding such a great cross-section of this beautiful fauna. The photos are really nice! Could the gastropod second from the left at the top of post #27 be a tube worm?

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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post-1906-0-84428700-1459692329_thumb.jpg

"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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Could the gastropod second from the left at the top of post #27 be a tube worm?

That's what I thought when I first saw these types of tubes as I'm familiar with the tube worms I see frequently while diving. Sabellid worms form a tube out of a parchment-like protein and sand. Serpulid worms form harder tubes out of calcium carbonate. These tubes, however, are made by molluscs and not polychaete tube worms. I initially misidentified my little find as Vermicularia recta but MikeR (who seems to have caught wind of this topic again) properly identified it as Petaloconchus sculpturatus. It's amazing that once you have the proper identification, finding photos that match your specimen is pretty simple: https://www.google.com/search?q=Petaloconchus+sculpturatus&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&biw=1191&bih=889&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm_ty6h_DLAhXHFx4KHfgBDTYQsAQIJQ

I look forward to any additional identifications that MikeR can provide as these are always a stepping-stone opportunity for some in-depth learning.

Cheers.

-Ken

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With proper names to direct the search, it is amazing how many of these seem to be extant species. It's interesting to see what these shells would have looked like with their life coloration. I did an internet search for the wickedly spiny Arcinella identified above and came full circle to a photo of an excellent specimen of a Spiny Jewel Box fossil by TFF member Foshuner. What a stunningly perfect example: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/gallery/image/23070-arcinella-arcinella-spiny-jewel-box/

Cheers.

-Ken

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post-1906-0-03322500-1459604506_thumb.jpg

"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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That's what I thought when I first saw these types of tubes as I'm familiar with the tube worms I see frequently while diving. Sabellid worms form a tube out of a parchment-like protein and sand. Serpulid worms form harder tubes out of calcium carbonate. These tubes, however, are made by molluscs and not polychaete tube worms. I initially misidentified my little find as Vermicularia recta but MikeR (who seems to have caught wind of this topic again) properly identified it as Petaloconchus sculpturatus. It's amazing that once you have the proper identification, finding photos that match your specimen is pretty simple: https://www.google.com/search?q=Petaloconchus+sculpturatus&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&biw=1191&bih=889&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm_ty6h_DLAhXHFx4KHfgBDTYQsAQIJQ

I look forward to any additional identifications that MikeR can provide as these are always a stepping-stone opportunity for some in-depth learning.

Cheers.

-Ken

I have to run and do some errands but I will try to finish them up later this afternoon.

Mike

"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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Sweet! Thanks for the effort. I think this will provide a useful resource to anybody collecting shells from this formation. I know that the Florida Paleontological Society is having their next meeting in the Bradenton/Sarasota area and the associated field trip before the meeting is to the SMG Aggregates quarry. I missed out on the field trip as I couldn't verify if I'd be in country for the meeting. Hopefully, those that make it out to SMR will find lots of interesting species and may be able to attach names to some after reading this topic.

Cheers.

-Ken

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I will be at the SMR trip in a few weeks. I think I will be selling the new safety t-shirts for FPS.

One correction on my ids. Chione latilirata is now called Lirophora latilirata.

"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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That's what I thought when I first saw these types of tubes as I'm familiar with the tube worms I see frequently while diving. Sabellid worms form a tube out of a parchment-like protein and sand. Serpulid worms form harder tubes out of calcium carbonate. These tubes, however, are made by molluscs and not polychaete tube worms. I initially misidentified my little find as Vermicularia recta but MikeR (who seems to have caught wind of this topic again) properly identified it as Petaloconchus sculpturatus. It's amazing that once you have the proper identification, finding photos that match your specimen is pretty simple: https://www.google.com/search?q=Petaloconchus+sculpturatus&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&biw=1191&bih=889&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm_ty6h_DLAhXHFx4KHfgBDTYQsAQIJQ

I look forward to any additional identifications that MikeR can provide as these are always a stepping-stone opportunity for some in-depth learning.

Cheers.

-Ken

Thanks Ken. Learned something new today :)

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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"A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington

"I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain

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Thanks Mike, I also will be at SMR and will thoroughly review this TFF thread before I get there.. SMR is always a treat, but this year I almost missed it !!! I had to be wait listed, but did get an alternate invite.. Jack

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Oh Man, I am way digging these beauties :wub:

"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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Yup. I way dug them too (while digging them).

This topic was really a collaboration of sorts from a variety of TFF members. Member 'Fossil Beach' started this chain of events by the announcement back at the beginning of February that there was a large mound of fill material up in Bradenton Beach. TFF member Khyssa (Kara) took this information and ran with it--that is to say she made a side trip in the pouring rain to inspect and collect this mound on her way to a fossil club meeting. I saw her post on the subject and showed it to my wife who thought the images Kara posted looked wonderful and that it would be good fun to have a go at the pile if we were in the area. My mother was in town visiting and at the end of her visit we needed to drop her in Sanibel Island at the tail end of her trip. She too was impressed at the interesting fossil shells that Kara found and so we justified a really roundabout route to Sanibel from Boca Raton that stopped in Bradenton Beach for a bit. Though we didn't spend much time collecting the shell pile, the diversity of shelled mollusks is so great that you can easily collect a number of species with minimal effort.

Phase 2 of the TFF tie-in was a suggestion by Auspex that the Helicon Focus software for photo stacking would be useful for photographing micro-fossils with a supernatural depth of field. I decided that this software could also be applied to larger objects like these shells to provide quality images with a robust depth of field which would hopefully allow them to be identified. Last, (but as is usually the case--not least) TFF member MikeR took up the mantle and, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Tamiami Formation shelled mollusks, provided identifications of my diverse assemblage of finds from my brief encounter with shell hash material from SMR Aggregates.

Like a connect-the-dots game, all I had to do was to leverage the resources of The Fossil Forum to provide a brief but fun diversion of a collecting trip that resulted in a (hopefully) useful topic that we know was at least enjoyed by shell aficionados like Coco and Plantguy.

Pretty sweet when something like this falls together so nicely. Lots of luck to those members of the Florida Paleontological Society (FPS) that are signed-up for the SMR Aggregates field trip in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, we'll be seeing some drool-worthy images of their finds in this very forum in the near future.

Cheers.

-Ken

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