Diploporitan, Devonian? Morocco

[TqB]

I bought this out of curiosity and because I think it's rather beautiful.  It was sold as a bryozoan which it clearly isn't though you can see why it was.

It seems to be a diploporitan echinoderm, showing internal structure of plates (humatipores) and a small area of the external layer with diplopores.

 

The location is given as Tafilalet region, Erfoud area, Anti-Atlas Mountains.

 

My questions are:

1) is it Devonian (as sold) or perhaps Ordovician? Both are possible for the area - I've read that Devonian diploporitans occur in Morocco. These would be sphaeronitidae - the only group to survive into the Devonian.

2) Has anyone come across anything similar from Morocco, or indeed elsewhere, and can you narrow down the ID? 

 

 

Back surface, showing that it consists of articulated plates (these are the same plates as the other side, it's not a compressed hollow specimen).

 

patch of diplopores:

 

Ramifying humatipore respiratory structures:

 

Closeup of plates showing pustular ornament:

 

[ricardo]

I believe you bought another jewel for your collection. Thank you for show it.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Blimey, that's a beautiful thing.

I've not seen one like this before that i can remember, could well be something new, I reckon.

 

[TqB]

14 hours ago, ricardo said:

I believe you bought another jewel for your collection. Thank you for show it.

Thank you! It has a special place in the Palaeozoic echinoderm drawer.

 

13 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Blimey, that's a beautiful thing.

I've not seen one like this before that i can remember, could well be something new, I reckon.

 

Thanks, Adam! I've learned quite a bit just working out what it might be - and have a tagged a specialist on FB.

This article is a good intro:

https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2019/fossil-focus-diploporitans/

[Tidgy's Dad]

5 hours ago, TqB said:

Thank you! It has a special place in the Palaeozoic echinoderm drawer.

 

Thanks, Adam! I've learned quite a bit just working out what it might be - and have a tagged a specialist on FB.

This article is a good intro:

https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2019/fossil-focus-diploporitans/

Yes, I've encountered diploporitans before in the literature and in taxonomy. 

I've seen several but nothing like the one you posted. 

It's quite beautiful and extraordinary. 

[TqB]

4 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Yes, I've encountered diploporitans before in the literature and in taxonomy. 

I've seen several but nothing like the one you posted. 

It's quite beautiful and extraordinary. 

 Thanks again, it actually came up when I was looking at bryozoans on the auction site, which I do from time to time.

 

A specialist has now told me that it's most likely both Ordovician and a sphaeronitid but there may not be enough of it to go further with ID.

 

I've a few conulariids from Morocco, definitely Ordovician, that were sold as Devonian (and one that may well be Devonian). Also, lots of the supposed Devonian corals seem to be Carboniferous - most dealers don't have the right information a lot of the time, down to the way the wholesale market works I suppose. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

7 minutes ago, TqB said:

 Thanks again, it actually came up when I was looking at bryozoans on the auction site, which I do from time to time.

 

A specialist has now told me that it's most likely both Ordovician and a sphaeronitid but there may not be enough of it to go further with ID.

 

I've a few conulariids from Morocco, definitely Ordovician, that were sold as Devonian (and one that may well be Devonian). Also, lots of the supposed Devonian corals seem to be Carboniferous - most dealers don't have the right information a lot of the time, down to the way the wholesale market works I suppose. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a large number of Moroccan fossils (unsurprisingly) that were gifted to me, or I bought in city markets or were labelled Erfoud. (prep centre, not necessarily where they're from, though some do come from there) A lot of these are confusing. A lot of the Devonian ones are actually probably Ordovician, Silurian, Carboniferous or even Jurassic, dealers just seem to say 'Devonian' for anything that's sort of grey.  

[TqB]

39 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I have a large number of Moroccan fossils (unsurprisingly) that were gifted to me, or I bought in city markets or were labelled Erfoud. (prep centre, not necessarily where they're from, though some do come from there) A lot of these are confusing. A lot of the Devonian ones are actually probably Ordovician, Silurian, Carboniferous or even Jurassic, dealers just seem to say 'Devonian' for anything that's sort of grey.  

Aha! That figures, a dustbin period then.