Chitinobelus, a strange and rare belemnite? from the Posidonienschiefer

[TqB]

Extremely rare, I never thought I'd get the chance to acquire one of these so I was very pleased when one came up for sale.

 

Chitinobelus acifer Fischer 1981, a belemnite (or possibly belemnotheutid) whose rostrum was originally composed of aragonite with organic material.

As a result, it's preserved as a compressed organic film with the aragonite lost to diagenesis.

 

Belemnites are nearly always mostly calcite (largely thought to be primary) and preserve 3D in all sorts of rock.

There is argument (quite complex) over whether this is an unusual aragonitic belemnite or something a bit different. There are prominent striations which are similar to those in the "normal" belemnite, Salpingoteuthis.

 

From the Jurassic, Lower Toarcian Posidonienschiefer of Zell (not far from Holzmaden, Germany).

As far as I know, this is the only locality it's been found. 

 

 

 

 

Phragmocone chambers just visible.

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

A terrific acquisition, Tarquin! 

I've never even heard of that one.

Congratulations! 

[indominus rex]

Really nice specimen, congratulations. I wonder if I will ever aquire or find one.

[ynot]

Cool!

Congrats on the acquisition!

[TqB]

On 08/03/2018 at 10:13 AM, Tidgy's Dad said:

A terrific acquisition, Tarquin! 

I've never even heard of that one.

Congratulations! 

Thanks! I'd only come across it in passing in specialist belemnite literature.

 

22 hours ago, indominus rex said:

Really nice specimen, congratulations. I wonder if I will ever aquire or find one.

Thank you, Holzmaden might be a possibility, I'm not sure if Zell is accessible any more. I'm going to keep my eyes open in the equivalent beds in Yorkshire.

 

19 hours ago, ynot said:

Cool!

Congrats on the acquisition!

Thank you!

[Bobby Rico]

Very nice Tarquin. It is fantastic to acquire a rere specimen. Great photos too new lens is working out well, lovely detail 

 

cheers bobby

[indominus rex]

50 minutes ago, TqB said:

Thanks! I'd only come across it in passing in specialist belemnite literature.

 

Thank you, Holzmaden might be a possibility, I'm not sure if Zell is accessible any more. I'm going to keep my eyes open in the equivalent beds in Yorkshire.

 

Thank you!

Well actually I have been to Holzmaden and collected somethings, but only ordinary Belemnites.

[doushantuo]

Nice "phragmocone-bearing coleoid"/belemnoteuthid ,Tarq!

 

[belemniten]

Oh thats a great one  Congrats !!

[Ludwigia]

Nice one. It could very well be from Zell unter Aichelberg, since local collectors are always aware of new exposures, but Holzmaden or Zell is like splitting hairs anyway since they're only a few miles apart.

[TqB]

3 hours ago, doushantuo said:

Nice "phragmocone-bearing coleoid"/belemnoteuthid ,Tarq!

 

Thanks, Ben, a safe attribution.  I quite favour it being an extreme epirostrum. (It is actually "belemnotheutid" due to Belemnotheutis Pearce 1842 having valid priority over Belemnoteuthis Pearce 1847. Annoying.)

 

1 hour ago, belemniten said:

Oh thats a great one  Congrats !!

Thanks, Sebastian! Keep an eye out for them at Holzmaden!

 

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

Nice one. It could very well be from Zell unter Aichelberg, since local collectors are always aware of new exposures, but Holzmaden or Zell is like splitting hairs anyway since they're only a few miles apart.

Thanks, Roger - that is indeed the locality on its label.  Interesting if it's just from one and not the other...

[Fossildude19]

Cool acquisition, Tarquin!   

Thanks for showing it to us.   

 

[doushantuo]

regarding aragonite & calcite:

3 & 4 showing intergrowths of both mineralogies

(Engeser & Reitner/1983)

[TqB]

7 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

Very nice Tarquin. It is fantastic to acquire a rere specimen. Great photos too new lens is working out well, lovely detail 

 

cheers bobby

Thanks, Bobby - the lens is only a Tamron SP AF90mm but it's a noticeable improvement for clarity on my Canon 60mm (which is still useful).

 

58 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Cool acquisition, Tarquin!   

Thanks for showing it to us.   

 

Thanks, Tim! I like the way it's already made it to the top line of Google images for Chitinobelus. 

[JohnBrewer]

That’s a fantastic specimen Tarquin. Great acquisition. 

[TqB]

14 hours ago, JohnBrewer said:

That’s a fantastic specimen Tarquin. Great acquisition. 

Thanks, John. Auctions are great when you can't get out for a while.