digit Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Today a storm rolled through Dominica. Rough seas and blinding rain at times. Rained straight through the surface interval between our morning dives and was blowing in sideways under our canopy. Finally decided it would be warmer just to go back in the water again (and it was). If you've never heard an intense rainstorm from under the water's surface--it sounds like bacon frying (but through a megaphone). Weather got rougher throughout the day and the afternoon dive group went out but they couldn't come back due to the huge surf by the (and over the) dock. They were tooling around trying to find a place to land their divers for over an hour when I heard about it. Glad I was on land by that time. Don't know if we'll be able to dive tomorrow (still sounds rough out there). We'll default to a day of classroom sessions if we can't get out. I've both baked in wetsuits and been frozen solid (don't even get me started on my one experience ice diving). Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 7 hours ago, digit said: Today a storm rolled through Dominica. Rough seas and blinding rain at times. Rained straight through the surface interval between our morning dives and was blowing in sideways under our canopy. Finally decided it would be warmer just to go back in the water again (and it was). If you've never heard an intense rainstorm from under the water's surface--it sounds like bacon frying (but through a megaphone). Weather got rougher throughout the day and the afternoon dive group went out but they couldn't come back due to the huge surf by the (and over the) dock. They were tooling around trying to find a place to land their divers for over an hour when I heard about it. Glad I was on land by that time. Don't know if we'll be able to dive tomorrow (still sounds rough out there). We'll default to a day of classroom sessions if we can't get out. I've both baked in wetsuits and been frozen solid (don't even get me started on my one experience ice diving). Cheers. -Ken You know - I can't really think of a time when I dived (dove?) during a storm, so I must not have ever done so. Hopefully there wasn't any lightning while the divers were in the water...that would be pretty scary! And I assume the other group eventually got back on land...? I certainly hope so! Take care, and enjoy the rest of your time in Dominica (despite the rain)! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 On 2/21/2017 at 3:29 PM, MikeR said: Where is Cookiecutter Creek at least in a geographical sense? If I had to guess (which I am) I would say Middle Pleistocene Bermont Formation. Neverita duplicata, Cerithium muscarum, Sinistrofulgur contrarium, Melongena consors, Chione elevata, Stewartia floridana. Hi @MikeR Thanks so much for chiming in to identify the specimens that Ken sent me! I was just wondering about two things: 1. Do you have a suggestion regarding the identity of the large gastropod? I believe the genus is Strombus but I don't know about the species - any help would be much appreciated! Here are a couple of pictures: 2. The less-ornamented bivalve has bumps on the inside - can Stewartia floridana have this feature? I've zoomed in on my previous pictures so you can have a better look: Thanks again for all of your help!!! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 2 hours ago, Monica said: The less-ornamented bivalve has bumps on the inside The bumps look like bryozoans. 3 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 3 hours ago, Monica said: 1. Do you have a suggestion regarding the identity of the large gastropod? I believe the genus is Strombus but I don't know about the species - any help would be much appreciated! Here are a couple of pictures: 2. The less-ornamented bivalve has bumps on the inside - can Stewartia floridana have this feature? I've zoomed in on my previous pictures so you can have a better look: I was afraid you would ask about the Strombus. Strombus in the Bermont shows a lot of variation and I believe they are overly split. If I were pressed to put a name to it I probably would say Strombus lindae. The laminate interior of Stewartia floridana can flake and wear from weathering. LINK and LINK 3 "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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 small round holes reminiscent of Oichnus. Spherical to (sub)ovoid boreholes.They can coalesce into "keyhole" shapes. They don't look like ctenostome(bryozoan)borings to me 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 21 minutes ago, doushantuo said: small round holes reminiscent of Oichnus. Spherical to (sub)ovoid boreholes.They can coalesce into "keyhole" shapes. They don't look like ctenostome(bryozoan)borings to me Hi doushantuo! I think ynot was referring to the bumpy appearance on the "inside" of the bivalve as possibly being attributed to a bryozoan (4th image in my last post), whereas I believe you're referring to the two little, round holes in the gastropod as being Oichnus (2nd image in my last post). So, you might both be correct Thanks for chiming in! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I know my bivalve taphonomy,and that bumpy appearance i've not seen before,but that could just be me. some bivalve taphonomy: bitaphe-4.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 42 minutes ago, MikeR said: I was afraid you would ask about the Strombus. Strombus in the Bermont shows a lot of variation and I believe they are overly split. If I were pressed to put a name to it I probably would say Strombus lindae. The laminate interior of Stewartia floridana can flake and wear from weathering. LINK and LINK Hi MikeR! Thanks again for taking a look at my specimens! I think I'll label the Strombus as Strombus sp. (lindae?) - I'm happy with just being certain about the genus. And as for the Stewartia floridana - thanks for the links - I see that the "inside" of the valve can have some variation - I guess the one Ken sent me just happens to be a little more interesting-looking than other specimens of the same species. Enjoy your weekend! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Wanna know something REALLY interesting? Stewartia Floridana is a chemosymbiont! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 10 minutes ago, doushantuo said: I know my bivalve taphonomy,and that bumpy appearance i've not seen before,but that could just be me. some bivalve taphonomy: bitaphe-4.pdf Hi again, doushantuo! I definitely do not know any bivalve taphonomy (in fact, I had to look up the meaning of "taphonomy"!), but I very much enjoy reading the posts by individuals who are more knowledgeable than myself - I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions!!! Thanks so much! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 It's very simple:taphonomy investigates what happens to an animal between the time of its death and it's final destination in a a collection. And yes,that DOES include "collector bias". Stewartia is more prevalent in/on seagrass beds than bare sediment .it seems It means Stewartia harbours bacteria that use methane for breathing.They are in the epitheium of the gills of Stewartia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 3 minutes ago, doushantuo said: Wanna know something REALLY interesting? Stewartia Floridana is a chemosymbiont! That IS interesting! Does this mean that this particular species of bivalve lived during an "anoxic event" (i.e. when the oceans had a richer store of hydrogen sulfide (apparently termed "euxinia"), which the bacteria within the bivalve would have used)?! I wonder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Not necessarily ,because chemosymbiosis can be facultative as well,and/or a holdover. But is it possible:yes. Maybe,and this is very speculative,the decay of the seagrass it apparently likes (can) cause/(d) local anoxia.. opportunistic chemotrophy might then come in handy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I just realized that the algal/phytal photosynthesis itself can cause small,local anoxia .That might be relevant at the scale of such a reasonably small animal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 1 hour ago, doushantuo said: I know my bivalve taphonomy,and that bumpy appearance i've not seen before,but that could just be me. some bivalve taphonomy: bitaphe-4.pdf Hi again! By the way - that bumpy appearance gave me pause, as well - that's why I thought it might be Phacoides pectinatus (http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1611). However since I don't know Florida at all, including the fossils common to various locations in the state, I defer to the specialists - so Stewartia floridana it is! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 3 minutes ago, doushantuo said: I just realized that the algal/phytal photosynthesis itself can cause small,local anoxia .That might be relevant at the scale of suxh a reasonably small animal Interesting... I would have thought that the process of photosynthesis would generate oxygen, not use it up, but I suppose if a photosynthetic organism uses more of the oxygen for respiration than it produces through photosynthesis, then that might cause an anoxia-type environment? I definitely don't know, but it's interesting, nonetheless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Hi, Monica. You might like this site : http://www.fossilshells.nl, click on "collections", "geographical entry" and choose the period in front of "Florida". Regard, Sophie. 3 "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 @Monica, @fifbrindacier sent me the same link today. It was wonderful but took a little time to explore. The Florida shell illustrations were great, almost as informative as @MikeR himself!! Too bad age has created problems with the continuation of this couple's creation. This is why we should hunt while we can. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Hey Monica, looks like I missed this Florida thread the first go round a year ago. Good stuff! Regards, Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 On 1/12/2018 at 11:38 AM, minnbuckeye said: @Monica, @fifbrindacier sent me the same link today. It was wonderful but took a little time to explore. The Florida shell illustrations were great, almost as informative as @MikeR himself!! Too bad age has created problems with the continuation of this couple's creation. This is why we should hunt while we can. Fossilshells.nl is the website of Piet and Jeannette Hessel in Utrecht. They have an amazing collection much of which they have donated to the Rotterdam Museum of Natural History. I visited them in 2012 and a write up of that trip can be seen here LINK. 5 "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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I suppose the tiny borings visible on the surface of the gastropod are sponge borings, Entobia. Also, I think the inner side of the bivalve has sponge borings. Take a look at the comparative pictures below. excerpt from G. Breton et al. 2017. Parasitic gastropod bioerosion trace fossil on Cenomanian oysters from Le Mans, France and its ichnologic and taphonomic context. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62 (1): 45-57 3 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 17 hours ago, MikeR said: Fossilshells.nl is the website of Piet and Jeannette Hessel in Utrecht. They have an amazing collection much of which they have donated to the Rotterdam Museum of Natural History. I visited them in 2012 and a write up of that trip can be seen here LINK. You've been a very lucky man, their collection is amazing, and their website a real pleasure and very simple to use. When i have a shell to identify, the first thing i do is to visit their website in order to find it. I'm not at all expert in that matter, i know very little about shells, but sometimes it permit me to narrow the identification to the gender, and a very few times to the species 1 "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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