Trilobite + ?

[fifbrindacier]

Hi everybody,

there's one month i bought that little Phacops (Eldredgeops) rana and on the plate, there is another fossil.

The sailor told me it was a kind of Hippurites, but on the card was written "solitary coral".

I'm in the Hippurites' camp, the more knowleagable ones might have a different opinion.

 

[Kane]

It is definitely a coral. This looks like it came from the Windom shale. I've had to wade through tons of those to get at the trilobites!  

[fifbrindacier]

I find it interesting when you find a fossil in the same plate than another one because it shows you a part of the bio-environment of your fossil, it's some kind of natural photo.

[Kane]

Absolutely... It is like a snapshot in time.  

 

If this is from the Windom, there was a lot of mudslide action going on which rapidly covered them over. 

[Fossildude19]

Probably Stereolasma rectum.

 

 

 

fossil_identification_devonian_new_york_c.pdf

[ynot]

33 minutes ago, fifbrindacier said:

find it interesting when you find a fossil in the same plate than another one

And a very nice one that You have. Congratulations on the wonderful acquisition.

[abyssunder]

Trilobites disappeared at the end of the Permian. The primitive rudists appeared at the end of the Jurassic. They don't lived together in the same period, so Hippuritids or other rudist can be ruled out with certainty.

[fifbrindacier]

You're right @abyssunder, i had forgotten that.

[fifbrindacier]

1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

Probably Stereolasma rectum.

 

 

 

fossil_identification_devonian_new_york_c.pdf

Thanks for that documentation Tim.

59 minutes ago, ynot said:

And a very nice one that You have. Congratulations on the wonderful acquisition.

Thank you very much for the compliment. It is well conserved, complete and not in a rolled position, so you can see it plainly.

[Kane]

I'm wondering if that coral is Amplexiphylum hamiltoniae, given its shape. It seems less conical. 

 

Image from Geology and Paleontology of Eighteen Mile Creek by Amadeus Grabau

[Fossildude19]

16 minutes ago, Kane said:

I'm wondering if that coral is Amplexiphylum hamiltoniae, given its shape. It seems less conical. 

 

Image from Geology and Paleontology of Eighteen Mile Creek by Amadeus Grabau

Probably this is more likely.  

Good catch, Kane!

 

[Kane]

Just now, Fossildude19 said:

Probably this is more likely.  

Good catch, Kane!

 

Lol, it could still be Stereolasma, too, but we know they are actually raptor teeth.  

[westcoast]

13 minutes ago, fifbrindacier said:

Thanks for that documentation Tim.

Thank you very much for the compliment. It is well conserved, complete and not in a rolled position, so you can see it plainly.

 

1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

Probably Stereolasma rectum.

 

 

 

fossil_identification_devonian_new_york_c.pdf

Is it rude to congratulate a member for their nice rectum?

[fifbrindacier]

31 minutes ago, westcoast said:

 

Is it rude to congratulate a member for their nice rectum?

32 minutes ago, Kane said:

Lol, it could still be Stereolasma, too, but we know they are actually raptor teeth.  

Raptor teeth ?

Did someone told they were that ?

[Fossildude19]

Come on, guys and gals - this is a Family friendly site.   

Lets keep to the topic. 

[GeschWhat]

4 hours ago, westcoast said:

Is it rude to congratulate a member for their nice rectum?

Not in my world  

 

Curious how it got its name...

[Nimravis]

Sophie, that is one pretty plate- nice addition for anyone's collection. Congrats.

[fifbrindacier]

Thanks @Nimravis. In Penn Dixie, at least, this Phacops is often found with Amplexiphylumae or with Stereolasmae. Is it right to conclude that they needed the presence of that coral (or the inverse) ? Or that the environment they needed for reproduction or feeding just happened to be the same ?

9 hours ago, GeschWhat said:

Not in my world  

 

Curious how it got its name...

Yes, i'm curious of that also. Rectum is a neutral latin adjective that can mean straight or what is right, what is good. It gave the words Rectitude or Rectification (idem in french). It's plurial is Recta.

The expression "Radicor in rectum" means to have a pivoting root, so i imagine that's why it is called like that.

 

What about the dejections of those kinds of animals ? Do you know what form they can take ?

[Kane]

5 minutes ago, fifbrindacier said:

Thanks @Nimravis. In Penn Dixie, at least, this Phacops is often found with Amplexiphylumae or with Stereolasmae. Is it right to conclude that they needed the presence of that coral (or the inverse) ? Or that the environment they needed for reproduction or feeding just happened to be the same ?

Yes, i'm curious of that also.

What about the dejections of those kinds of animals ? Do you know what form they can take ?

From what I've read, there were fairly extensive reefs that housed a diverse ecosystem. To what extent Eldredgeops rana "depended" on them is a good question. We have to keep in mind that not all of them were benthic (bottom-feeder) animals, as larger ones might have actually been predatory if they were large enough and had the right mix of features to permit it. That may go some length to explain why trilobites had developed such complex eyes, which would have provided a benefit for hunting. There wouldn't have been much use for schizocroal eyes with nearly 360 degree vision if all they were going to do was burrow in mud! The large glabella on the Eldredgeops served as a digestive chamber, allowing them to gobble up bigger morsels (either through predation or scavenging). Corals would have been a good feeding ground, be it for hunting prey, scavenging debris, or filtration-feeding. In a way, corals were a kind of eco-hub, if not a Paleozoic version of Facebook.