matgerke Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 So, I found this today in the Paleocene Aquia Formation of Maryland. Obviously it can't be an ammonite, because they were already extinct. It's a Nautilus steinkern, right, not some sort of gastropod? Thanks! Matt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heteromorph Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Definitely a nautilus. I can see the simple, slightly sinuous sutures of a nautilus that separate the chambers. Nice specimen! By the way, isn’t the Aquia Formation Paleocene? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 +1 for nautiloid, a really nice one too! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 +2 great nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Nice nautiloid fossil! 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...
Jazfossilator Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Wow, that’s a beauty! Nice find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 It looks similar to Cimomia marylandensis (=Hercoglossa tuomeyi) Very nice! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matgerke Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Amazing! 50 minutes from post to species-level identification! Thank you all, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Heteromorph said: By the way, isn’t the Aquia Formation Paleocene? Yes it is. Oh my! Invert fossil of the month material here! This is an incredible find! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matgerke Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Yikes, that's embarrassing. Post corrected to "Paleocene". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 I have made hundreds of trips to multiple Aquia exposures and never even seen a fragment of one. If you decide to get rid of it the Calvert Marine Museum would love to have it in their collection. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmo Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 I found a big one years ago in the Aquia formation near Central Avenue, I donated it to the Smithsonian. They're extremely rare. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 All the cliff falls must’ve exposed this one. Though it’s a great (once in a lifetime) find the risk to find it (and keep that life) was probably pretty high. I’d stay away from those unstable cliffs till they dry up a bit. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Congratulations on a once in a lifetime find! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matgerke Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 @PaleoRon, I left a message at the Calvert Marine Museum asking if they wanted it. Science comes first! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 On 5/26/2018 at 6:36 PM, PaleoRon said: I have made hundreds of trips to multiple Aquia exposures and never even seen a fragment of one. If you decide to get rid of it the Calvert Marine Museum would love to have it in their collection. I was wondering how rare that is because I've never seen one from the Aquia before. Nautiloids rebounded in diversity in the Paleocene but they aren't common finds anywhere from that time. There are occasional finds from the Midway Group in Texas and Arkansas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Congrats on the amazing and rare find. Also, kudos to you for contacting the Calvert Marine Museum and offering it to them. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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