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Favosites from Hungry Hollow


Monica

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Hi there!

 

I'm currently writing labels for my Devonian fossils, and I was wondering if someone out there can identify the following Favosites coral down to species?  It's from the South Pit of Hungry Hollow near Arkona, Ontario, Canada, and it's mid-Devonian in age.  Thanks so much!

 

Monica

 

Top:

DSC00426.thumb.JPG.f9e8404a4f49a2ced7ba104b7da4f09f.JPG

 

Bottom:

DSC00427.thumb.JPG.c323996158e9eb64793002a1bc29b2c7.JPG

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1 hour ago, middevonian said:

If it were mine I'd label it Favosites billingsi.

 

Thank you!!!

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9 hours ago, Monica said:

DSC00427.thumb.JPG.c323996158e9eb64793002a1bc29b2c7.JPG

This looks more like Favostes, placenta argus.

Edited by Mark Kmiecik
edited misspelling
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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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6 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

This looks more like Favorites, placenta argus.

The discussion would be more informative if you gave your reasons for disagreeing with middevonian, who has made a particular study of the Hungry Hollow corals for several years.  What features are diagnostic of Favosites argus and exclude Favosites billingsi?  I trust you didn't really mean "Favorites".

 

Don

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50 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

The discussion would be more informative if you gave your reasons for disagreeing with middevonian, who has made a particular study of the Hungry Hollow corals for several years.  What features are diagnostic of Favosites argus and exclude Favosites billingsi?  I trust you didn't really mean "Favorites".

 

Don

Ventral structure is longitudinally oriented on billingsi,  versus transversely on argus. Specimen shows transverse structure. The only reason I questioned it is that I looked at images of billingsi and something didn't look right, so I looked at other species and argus just seems to be a better match and is found at that location.

 

I edited the misspelling. Good catch. I even chuckled myself. Of course, it is the coral I like best, so the mistake is natural and descriptive. :D

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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Sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "structure".  Neither septa nor tabulae fit with "longitudinal" or "transverse".  In my experience at least, favositid coral species are distinguished by corallite diameter and degree of variability, spacing and shape of tabulae, frequency and position of mural pores, and to some extent size/shape of the colony, though the latter trait can be variable depending on factors including sedimentation rate and crowding.

 

Don

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54 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

Sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "structure".  Neither septa nor tabulae fit with "longitudinal" or "transverse".  In my experience at least, favositid coral species are distinguished by corallite diameter and degree of variability, spacing and shape of tabulae, frequency and position of mural pores, and to some extent size/shape of the colony, though the latter trait can be variable depending on factors including sedimentation rate and crowding.

 

Don

I don't know the terminology, but I know when something looks different. Perhaps the difference I see is a variable trait within the species. I use the word structure in the dictionary definition sense: the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex. Perhaps radially versus concentrically compressed is better terminology.

 

It looks more like this

IMG_9284.JPG

 

than this, and I don't mean the color.

wbcor28a.jpg

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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Both F. billingsi and F. argus have considerable variation in corallite size.  However, in F. argus some corallites are conspicuously larger and are almost round; these are surrounded by smaller hexagonal corallites.  Also the colonies are plate-like, almost flat and thin in comparison to their diameter.  In contrast, obvious round large corallites are absent in F. billingsi, and the colony is not flat and plate-like.  I'd go with F. billingsi on this one.

 

Don

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2 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

Both F. billingsi and F. argus have considerable variation in corallite size.  However, in F. argus some corallites are conspicuously larger and are almost round; these are surrounded by smaller hexagonal corallites.  Also the colonies are plate-like, almost flat and thin in comparison to their diameter.  In contrast, obvious round large corallites are absent in F. billingsi, and the colony is not flat and plate-like.  I'd go with F. billingsi on this one.

 

Don

I understand now, and I do appreciate the clarification. It would have taken me hours to find what you've explained in minutes. Again, thank you. Hopefully through association on this site I will eventually learn the necessary terminology as it is used in context.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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No problem at all, this has been informative for me.  I learned something and now I get to go relabel some of my Arkona corals I had labeled as F. placenta (new/correct name F. argus).

 

Don

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1 hour ago, FossilDAWG said:

No problem at all, this has been informative for me.  I learned something and now I get to go relabel some of my Arkona corals I had labeled as F. placenta (new/correct name F. argus).

 

Don

We never stop learning. That's life.

I hate it when they change the nomenclature. Especially bad for museums with maybe thousands of the same specimen. That's a week's worth of work for two people.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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