Jac Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Hi, I was given this coral as a present and after much googling I can't identify it. All I know is it comes from Stara Planina Mountain in Serbia. any help would be greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 @TqB Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I believe the septal count indicates a scleractinian coral. Best to wait for further confirmation on that even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I am not aware that septal count can be used to distinguish scleractinian from tabulate corals. Of course, septal arrangement is important. At any rate, the fossil has a strong resemblance to some Devonian tabulate corals, such as Phillipsastrea. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jac Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 From what I know of the geology of the area the limestone formations are of Triassic, Jurassic and lower Cretaceous age if that helps any? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 10 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said: I am not aware that septal count can be used to distinguish scleractinian from tabulate corals. Huh! Hadn't thought of that. They are shorties though aren't they ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Chris Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 It would be very helpful to find out what age strata lies in those mountains - Paleozoic or Mesozoic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona Chris Paleo Web Site: http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 57 minutes ago, Jac said: From what I know of the geology of the area the limestone formations are of Triassic, Jurassic and lower Cretaceous age if that helps any? I missed it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 That age puts it back in the scleractinian realm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jac Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 Thanks, I will keep researching now I have somewhere to start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansTheLoser Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Septal counts alone cannot determine the order (Rugosa vs. Scleractinia), but the septal symmetry. The place name "Stara Planina" ("Old Mountain") exists in Bulgaria (Cretaceous; Aptian) and Serbia (Jurassic; Tithonian). Corals are only reported from the first locality, but this has no meaning since the Serbian locality is also a shallow marine facies with Nerineids and corals would not surprise me there. The coral looks like a Stylina (or related genus of the Stylinidae). A more detailed picture with a scale may give some more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Perhaps my memory was of a conversation to do with octocorallia ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jac Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Here are a couple of photos for scale. I don't have my good camera so relying on my phone which is awful when it comes to macro 10 hours ago, HansTheLoser said: Septal counts alone cannot determine the order (Rugosa vs. Scleractinia), but the septal symmetry. The place name "Stara Planina" ("Old Mountain") exists in Bulgaria (Cretaceous; Aptian) and Serbia (Jurassic; Tithonian). Corals are only reported from the first locality, but this has no meaning since the Serbian locality is also a shallow marine facies with Nerineids and corals would not surprise me there. The coral looks like a Stylina (or related genus of the Stylinidae). A more detailed picture with a scale may give some more information. Do you have a link to any papers about this area? I'm going to contact the faculty of mining and geology to see if they can provide me with any information before I leave Belgrade on the 24th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansTheLoser Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 @Rockwood Yes, (extant) octocorals have eight tentacles. The few members that form a calcified skeleton have no real septa (just spiny elongations of trabeculae-like elements) and these spines are mostly in a irregular symmetry. @Jac Veselinovic, D. 1965. Titonski Gastropodi Karpato-Balkana i jednog dela unutrasnjih Dinarida. - Acta Geologica, 5: 239-268, 6 pls. Zagreb. - Is the only paper I have but there is surely more. You could also ask at the Natural History Museum in Belgrade. Friendly staff, I was there about four years ago. I will have a look at the images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansTheLoser Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 OK, the small inner calicular diameter is 1.6-1.9 mm, the septal symmetry is - as far as I can see - octameral with 16 septa (but not an octocoral!). It shares this values with Stylina parviramosa Beauvais, 1964. This is a Jurassic species, but this has no meaning. The species was also found in the very Early Cretaceous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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