Break time fossils

[PRLE]

Good morning,

wanted to share a strange spot for collecting fossils that I discovered a few years ago.  It is a large pile of rocks and dirt right at my work.  Its been there for as long as anybody can remember so I have no way of knowing where the rocks came from unless somebody has seen something similar.  The general area is southwestern Ontario, Canada.

Every once in a while when it rains i will take a few minutes and walk by it to see if anything stands out for me.  Most of the fossils and fragments I found there are bluish in color so they stand out when wet.  One of these days I will come in on a Saturday and dig in, all the stuff i found has been right on the surface.  It ranges from coin to fist sized specimens.  

Any help identifying where they might come from would be appreciated.

 

The pile is in the pictures below.  I will also post some stuff I found in posts below.

 

Regards

 

Prle

[PRLE]

[PRLE]

[PRLE]

[PRLE]

[Kane]

Hi PRLE,

 

It's always a bit of a plus to find fossils at work. I have a similar benefit. In terms of situating these stones as to precise formation, that is a bit trickier since although it may appear that they "came with the place," the age of the building, the import of some materials, the digging up of on-site layers to pour foundations, etc., can make dating the rocks a bit trickier.

 

That being said, I am fairly confident these are all rugose corals from either the upper Ordovician or Devonian with the exception of the second item in the second batch of pictures of your second post, which is a piece of tabulate/colonial coral. When these rugose corals wear out, they sometimes show a nice cross section (as can be seen in the second picture of your 4th batch of pictures) that are "vuggy" - encrusted with calcite crystals. Nice finds.

[KCMOfossil]

I think Human Backhoe is right.  The rugose corals look much like those I find in Pennsylvanian strata.  Your photos bring out some of the beautiful details these fossils contain.

 

Russ

[PRLE]

Thanks guys.  Nobody remembers how old that pile is but its fun poking around it every once in a while.  

[Kane]

Without giving away where you work precisely, can you tell me the city/town? I could probably give you a more precise age as this pile looks less imported and more just "dug up" from that area.

[PRLE]

No problem Kane.  I am in Hamilton.  I figured the pile must have been left over from when we built an extension to that plant you see in the picture.  That would have been over 20 years ago way before my time here so ia not sure.  

Would be interesting though to think that it is something that is from here and not brought in.

 

Thanks

 

[Kane]

I was likely wrong in my previous guess. These would more likely be Silurian in age, and possibly of the Lockport Formation, ?Gasport Member. I know it outcrops is plenty of places in the Hamilton region.

[FossilDAWG]

These fossils all look like typical corals (both solitary rugosans and colonial tabulates) from the Edgecliff member of the Onondaga Formation (Middle Devonian).  The preservation (replaced by chert, and often colorful with tinges of blue) is characteristic.  These often originated in the quarries near Port Colbourne; material from that area was extensively used for construction fill, road metal, erosion control along railroad tracks, etc and so it can be found all around Southern Ontario.  I still have a bucket of such material I collected by walking along train tracks near Barrie back in the mid 1970s.

 

Don

[Kane]

7 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

These fossils all look like typical corals (both solitary rugosans and colonial tabulates) from the Edgecliff member of the Onondaga Formation (Middle Devonian).  The preservation (replaced by chert, and often colorful with tinges of blue) is characteristic.  These often originated in the quarries near Port Colbourne; material from that area was extensively used for construction fill, road metal, erosion control along railroad tracks, etc and so it can be found all around Southern Ontario.  I still have a bucket of such material I collected by walking along train tracks near Barrie back in the mid 1970s.

 

Don

And this is why I was going initially with Devonian as they seem identical to some of the vuggy rugose corals I've found closer to me (particularly the bluish colours that really pop when wet). I'm more than happy to go with my first instinct rather than rush to declare they are from the Silurian. I'd go with Don's explanation. I don't have enough Lockport specimens to go on anyway  

[Kane]

If you wanted a lot more detail about the Edgecliff member and bioherm development, referencing the abandoned quarry at Pt Colburne, this may be a good read: https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/bitstream/11375/19528/1/Johnston_Craig_T._1990Apr_Bachelors..pdf

 

[PRLE]

Thanks guys i will look into it.

 

[JohnBrewer]

How cool on a work lunchtime hunting fossils with a cup of coffee and a sandwich in hand.