Monica Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Hi all! I decided to take the kids for a quick hunt at our local spot along Etobicoke Creek before going to see "Mary Poppins" in the afternoon - enjoy the photos (and enjoy the fact that you weren't out there with us - it was SO cold!!!). The rocks in this area are from the Georgian Bay Formation and are from the Upper Ordovician. Monica The kids spent more time breaking ice with rocks than actually fossil hunting (some of the chunks of ice were quite thick!!!): Viola did take some time away from her ice-breaking duties to check for fossils - she found a cute little orthoconic nautiloid: I also found a small chunk of orthoconic nautiloid with the siphuncle visible: I found two pretty nice crinoid stems for my area as well: Additionally, I found a nice chunk of rock with some ichnofossils in it - any ideas as to what made them? Perhaps @abyssunder and/or @piranha and/or @JUAN EMMANUEL can chime in... Finally, I found a rock with some interesting stuff going on within it such as some brachiopod imprints and what appears to be a tabulate coral. This is interesting because I don't think tabulate corals are found in the Georgian Bay Formation - I guess it's a traveler? Any ideas as to the identities of the specimens in the rock, or are they too water worn? Maybe @Tidgy's Dad and/or @Peat Burns can help... Photo of the interesting rock in situ: Brachiopod imprint photo #1: Brachiopod imprint photo #2: Tabulate coral photo: 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Great stuff, Monica. Your efforts were rewarded. Good luck with trace fossil ID. 1 "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Hi @Monica. How lucky you were able to get out and hunt this time of year! I'm not sure how much help I can be. I wish I was familiar with that formation. It looks like your brachiopod assemblage is rich in Rhynchonellids, but I can't narrow it down further than that from the molds and casts in your photos. Perhaps some of the more globular specimens are comparable to Hiscobeccus? This brachiopod is particularly interesting: I'm not sure if that is a deep sulcus or damage. Given what appears to be a very limited number of large plications, I think you have the best chance of assigning a name to this one. Hopefully @Tidgy's Dad and/or @FossilDAWG can help. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 I know that spot! Your coral looks like it could be a Favosites sp. Crinoids could be Glyptocrinus sp. Picked one of them up on my last visit. I was over there for a short week in October for my father's funeral and slipped down to the site for a couple of hours for some peace and quiet. Sorry I didn't get in touch, but there just wasn't enough time available. I also found this Endoceras proteiforme on that day. 5 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Nice finds! Looks like a nice place to hunt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Monica, looks like you had a lot of fun and hopefully got some popcorn later in the afternoon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 34 minutes ago, Ludwigia said: I know that spot! Your coral looks like it could be a Favosites sp. Crinoids could be Glyptocrinus sp. Picked one of them up on my last visit. I was over there for a short week in October for my father's funeral and slipped down to the site for a couple of hours for some peace and quiet. Sorry I didn't get in touch, but there just wasn't enough time available. I also found this Endoceras proteiforme on that day. Hi Roger! I'm sorry to hear about your dad's passing - it must not have been the happiest of visits, but I'm glad that you were able to find some peace fossil hunting while you were here. And no worries about not getting in touch - the past few months have been incredibly busy for me, so I probably wouldn't have been free for a meet-up, anyway. Perhaps if you come back in the spring/summer then we can arrange something... By the way - that's a beautiful cephalopod - wow!!! Did it need a lot of prep work or was it already exposed when you found it? Thanks for checking in Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 43 minutes ago, Peat Burns said: Hi @Monica. How lucky you were able to get out and hunt this time of year! I'm not sure how much help I can be. I wish I was familiar with that formation. It looks like your brachiopod assemblage is rich in Rhynchonellids, but I can't narrow it down further than that from the molds and casts in your photos. Perhaps some of the more globular specimens are comparable to Hiscobeccus? This brachiopod is particularly interesting: I'm not sure if that is a deep sulcus or damage. Given what appears to be a very limited number of large plications, I think you have the best chance of assigning a name to this one. Hopefully @Tidgy's Dad and/or @FossilDAWG can help. Thanks for the suggestions! I know that it's probably a long shot to try to get these imprints identified, but you never know... By the way - I just looked into Hiscobeccus and apparently it has been found in the Georgian Bay Formation (at least according to the following site: http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&taxon_no=103468&max_interval=Ordovician&country=Canada&state=Ontario&is_real_user=1&basic=yes&type=view&match_subgenera=1) so this is a possible candidate. Could Zygospira be another possibility? This same site lists a few different corals, too: Foerstephyllum sp., Calapoecia huronensis, and Favistina stellata - perhaps the coral on the same rock may be one of these?! Very exciting...!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Very nice Monica. I really like those two crinoid stems. I will say you guys sure are some troopers to be out in that kind of cold. Makes me cold just looking at the pictures. 1 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...
FossilDAWG Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Hi Monica, The Streetsville member of the Georgian Bay Formation is rich in colonial corals including Foerstephyllum which could be a fit for your specimen. The member is exposed on the Credit River at Streetsville; I have not heard of it being exposed elsewhere but I suppose corals could show up sporadically. I don't recognize the matrix for the coral and the brachiopods but I never collected on Etobicoke Creek. A name for the brachiopods doesn't jump out at me but I'll see if I can find my copy of the publication on the Georgian Bay Formation fauna. I don't recall it being so green (well, brown) in Toronto in December; I guess that may be climate change for you. Don 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Hey Ludwigia, I'm sorry to hear about your father. You have my condolences. I'm pretty sure your nautiloid is not an Endoceras. The siphuncle is far too small; in Endoceras the siphuncle occupies over half the volume of the shell. I am not sure of the ID of your specimen but it could well be a michelinocerid, possibly a larger than normal Treptoceras. Don 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 @Monica Thanks for the report - looks like a really nice site, and quite a good haul you got out of it! I love the nautiloids and the crinoid stems -Christian 1 Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 9 hours ago, Monica said: Hi Roger! I'm sorry to hear about your dad's passing - it must not have been the happiest of visits, but I'm glad that you were able to find some peace fossil hunting while you were here. And no worries about not getting in touch - the past few months have been incredibly busy for me, so I probably wouldn't have been free for a meet-up, anyway. Perhaps if you come back in the spring/summer then we can arrange something... By the way - that's a beautiful cephalopod - wow!!! Did it need a lot of prep work or was it already exposed when you found it? Thanks for checking in Monica It was in the middle of the week, so I also figured you'd probably be busy. I'll be back over in June, so I'll get in touch. Please say hi to Viola and William and Derek for me. The prep was a bit tricky if I recall rightly. I think I had to work on 2 separate pieces and then glue them back together. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 6 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Hey Ludwigia, I'm sorry to hear about your father. You have my condolences. I'm pretty sure your nautiloid is not an Endoceras. The siphuncle is far too small; in Endoceras the siphuncle occupies over half the volume of the shell. I am not sure of the ID of your specimen but it could well be a michelinocerid, possibly a larger than normal Treptoceras. Don Thanks for your input, Don. I was just going by size and didn't realize that about the siphuncle. Then it's probably a Treptoceras as you're suggesting, since they are quite common at that site. And thanks for the condolences. He had a dignified exit and an appropriate and loving remembrance. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 11 hours ago, Nimravis said: Monica, looks like you had a lot of fun and hopefully got some popcorn later in the afternoon. Hi Ralph! I didn't get popcorn afterwards - I went for something much greasier: a sampler platter that included chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce, salty pretzel bites, and fried mac and cheese bites all washed down with a root beer - delicious!!! I figure that I should lay down an extra layer of fat to keep me warm when I do some fossil-hunting in the cold The kids did share a hot dog and some popcorn, though, so popcorn was enjoyed by some of us. Oh, and I did have fun being out with the kids - my hands were just frozen from being outside, but they warmed up in the movie theatre Monica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 10 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Hi Monica, The Streetsville member of the Georgian Bay Formation is rich in colonial corals including Foerstephyllum which could be a fit for your specimen. The member is exposed on the Credit River at Streetsville; I have not heard of it being exposed elsewhere but I suppose corals could show up sporadically. I don't recognize the matrix for the coral and the brachiopods but I never collected on Etobicoke Creek. A name for the brachiopods doesn't jump out at me but I'll see if I can find my copy of the publication on the Georgian Bay Formation fauna. I don't recall it being so green (well, brown) in Toronto in December; I guess that may be climate change for you. Don Hi Don! Thanks for the input! I'm pretty excited to be able to add another coral to my collection of local fossils - I've only ever found one other coral (a squashed horn coral) at Etobicoke Creek, so this is pretty exciting for me! As for the matrix that it's in - I know nothing about rocks (embarrassing, considering I enjoy fossil hunting so much ), but it's a sparkly kind of rock, and kind of reminds me of rocks containing a mash of crinoid bits that I sometimes find around here - those are lighter in colour but very sparkly, too. As for the lack of snow here - it has not been a white Christmas this year. We've had some very cold days, but only dustings of snow - nothing permanent. I finally put my snow tires on mid-December so I'm ready and waiting for a big snowfall (and so are the kids - they can't wait to go out and play in it!!!) Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, Monica said: As for the lack of snow here - it has not been a white Christmas this year. We've had some very cold days, but only dustings of snow - nothing permanent. I finally put my snow tires on mid-December so I'm ready and waiting for a big snowfall (and so are the kids - they can't wait to go out and play in it!!!) Monica I'll wish for the opposite. The commute is already bad as it is! But you'll likely get your wish in a few weeks: with the warmth and lack of freezing of the Great Lakes, that makes for a lot of available moisture, and the first cold snap will mean getting clobbered by lake effect snows -- at least for those of us down the 401 in the snow belt. 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 17 hours ago, Monica said: Additionally, I found a nice chunk of rock with some ichnofossils in it - any ideas as to what made them? If they are not ichnofossils, maybe they could be ancient mud cracks. 2 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Nice report,Monica! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 6 hours ago, Monica said: didn't get popcorn afterwards - I went for something much greasier: a sampler platter that included chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce, salty pretzel bites, and fried mac and cheese bites all washed down with a root beer - delicious!!! A woman after my own heart- I would have picked the same, and s lot of cardio afterwards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Lovely report with some great photos and finds, Monica. Also some great contributions and ids from members. Hiscobeccus capax looks good for some of those rhynchonellids. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 8 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Lovely report with some great photos and finds, Monica. Also some great contributions and ids from members. Hiscobeccus capax looks good for some of those rhynchonellids. Thanks for chiming in, Adam! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Very nice report Monica. It makes Me glad I am in a worm house. 1 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...
Monica Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 19 hours ago, abyssunder said: If they are not ichnofossils, maybe they could be ancient mud cracks. Hi there! I would love to have some ancient mudcracks, but I don't think that's what I have here because the tube-like structures are on both sides of the rock (sorry I didn't show/mention that), and one on the bottom is sliced longitudinally, showing that it is/was kind of empty inside. I think the ichnofossil Planolites occurs in my area - perhaps that's what these are? Thanks for responding to my call-out. I hope you're having a great holiday so far! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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