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Please help identify Devonian brachiopods (and series in Ithaca Formation)


matgerke

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I'm not sure whether this is the right forum to ask this, but it's sort of a fossil ID question. I was hunting in a road cut in what I think is the ithaca formation (early upper Devonian), and there were almost no fossils at all -- except for a single very thin layer that was pretty much all fossil (see photo). There were a TON of these big death plates lying around, and absolutely no other fossils that I could find. Weird. I was wondering if anyone had seen this layer and could tell me when it was and how it happened. (Mud slide, maybe?). Alternatively, if someone can identify the brachiopods here, that might help pinpoint the series.

Thanks for your help,

Matt

post-20393-0-45587200-1471717589_thumb.jpg

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I actually found one very similar to this a few hours ago. Apart from the spirifers we both had, mine had some Leptaena. It was a very fissile layer, crumbly to the point that it was mostly shells. The rest of the stone, sparse to little else. There are a few possible explanations for this thin layered grouping, which may involve storms, anoxic conditions, and high turbidity, among others. These kinds of busy plates are always eye catching and very nice for deco!

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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What has happened can be investigated,e.g.by looking at the size/frequency distributions of the brachs .

If there are chonetids there,see if they have spines.

Check for differences in brachial/pedicle valves.

Look for signs of predation.

Are the shells,globose ,flat?etc..........

What's the matrix?Arenite,psammite?

Are the valves joined, convex up,or concave side up?

 

 

 

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