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Probably coral, but not sure what type.


Icestar

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This fossil is also from the Michigan/Indiana border, and appears to be some type of coral. I have no idea what type, or from what time period, etc. Even if I (probably) know what type of fossil it is, is asking for clarification/details okay on this board? Thanks in advance.

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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About where along the Michigan/Illinois border was this collected?  If we knew that we could take a more secure stab at the age.

 

The preservation appears to be dolomitic, which would be consistent with Silurian formations in the general area, though of course that could change with better location data.  It appears to be a tabulate coral.  Although Favosites is a dominant tabulate in Silurian and Devonian rocks (and no doubt someone will jump in and offer Favosites as an ID), we can exclude this genus because of the closely spaced and highly crinkly or irregular tabulae (floor-like partitions within the individual corallites) and the apparently somewhat irregular cross-sectional shape of the corallites.  In Favosites the corallites have a consistently hexagonal cross-section, and the tabulae are flat and spaced at fairly regular intervals.  I can't clearly see whether or not the corallites have septa or spines, nor if there are pores connecting corallites located either in the walls or in the corners; these details are necessary for a good ID.  At any rate I am at this point inclined towards a tabulate coral genus such as maybe Angopora, though there are other possibilities.

 

Don

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Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I believe it was found on a steep riverbank, perhaps near the river between Bunker and La Grange lake. That was the general area I was working in. Looking closely at the fossil, I don't see any spines, but I'm not sure what to look for with the septa or pores.

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