Devonian Coral

[Kane]

Just trying to nail down a species ID for this coral (part of a much larger chunk with some interesting epibionts) found in the Dundee Formation, Devonian. I know IDing corals is never all that easy without sometimes doing slices, but the corallites here are fairly distinct and matrix-free. Any help would certainly be appreciated so I can label this one for display.

[Kane]

And another angle.

[Rockwood]

My eyes aren't what they used to be. Could it be a Halysite ?

[Kane]

Not sure... From the halysites I've seen, the corallites tend to look more like chains. These ones seem a bit too close together - almost scleractinian in appearance. Here's a closeup of the corallite structure using the digital microscope.

[Al Dente]

Any chance this is modern?

[Kane]

I'm pretty far from any coral reef unless someone salted the area I found it in.

 

The density, mass, and the way it fractures seems to suggest rock. But I can't be 100% sure.

[Al Dente]

I would expect Devonian coral to be completely mineralized. The corallites in your specimen look like a good match for Siderastrea, a Neogene (and modern) coral.

 

 

[doushantuo]

an auloporid perhaps,or Disphyllum?

edit:Disphyllia,of course.Stupid mistake

Synaptophyllum?

Later on in the thread Tarq will come along and andprobably make me look like an idiot(again)

 

[TqB]

1 hour ago, doushantuo said:

an auloporid perhaps,or Disphyllum?

edit:Disphyllia,of course.Stupid mistake

Synaptophyllum?

Later on in the thread Tarq will come along and andprobably make me look like an idiot(again)

 

 

Never! - and what do you mean, "again"

 

I don't know much about Devonian corals but I think a disphyllid is probably right. It looks similar to Haplothecia from the UK but that's not listed in the Treatise from Canada or USA.

Try Kuangxiastraea as a Canadian possibility, it's been synonymised with some "Haplothecia" from Western Canada in this tasty looking book but I can't access pictures: 

Frasnian (Upper Devonian) Colonial Disphyllid Corals from Western Canada  (I know Dundee Formation is Middle Devonian but it might help.)

Here's a Haplothecia from Devon:

 

 

 

[piranha]

9 minutes ago, TqB said:

Try Kuangxiastraea as a Canadian possibility, it's been synonymised with some "Haplothecia" from Western Canada in this tasty looking book but I can't access pictures: 

Frasnian (Upper Devonian) Colonial Disphyllid Corals from Western Canada.

 

 

Please send me a PM with your email address and I will send the pdf. 

 

[TqB]

Thanks to piranha, I've seen the plates from the paper I mentioned. OK, it's just Upper Devonian material but I'm wondering if it's actually a species of Hexagonaria.

 

That's not the only possibility though so one or two sections and someone who knows what they're talking about are probably needed.  

 

Forgot to say it's a beautiful specimen - you could call it a disphyllid (family Disphyllidae) until someone narrows it down. (And I couldn't honestly tell it from a scleractinian if it wasn't a Devonian location.)

[Kane]

I generally perceive corals as somewhat dull findings, but this has generated a lot of discussion. I'm grateful to you all!

[doushantuo]

"dull findings"????

*kicks posterior dorsal side of Kane*

[TqB]

4 hours ago, doushantuo said:

"dull findings"????

*kicks posterior dorsal side of Kane*

 

Seconded.