found in sone limestone gravel

[Brishen1]

I found this in some gravel they had poured to backfill a slope near the white river. My amateur guess is horn coral but I was hoping for a more educated opinion. 

 

Thanks

Front side

back side

 

[Fossildude19]

Welcome to the Forum.  

You are correct, ... it is a Rugose coral, sometimes called "horn coral" due to the general horn-like shape they grow in.

[caldigger]

Hopefully one of our locals in that region will chime in to narrow down the species.

Not a bad looking piece from a gravel load. You may want to take another gander at your pile, there may be more to find. 

[FossilNerd]

I agree with the rugose (horn) coral assumption. Good job!

 

Hard to say. It's very weathered and has a lot of matrix coverage.  The calice is filled with matrix. Can you see any of the corallite (body) or is it all covered? 

 

You don’t have to tell me exactly where you are in Indiana, but do you know what color on the map you might be in?

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by FossilNerd
Viewed pictures on pc versus phone. More info wanted before ID.

[Brishen1]

Thanks @Fossildude19!  I'm pretty excited to have found this forum. 

@caldigger there were a bunch of pieces with bits of fools gold, but this rock was darker than the rest so it stuck out a bit, I'll definitely go back now that I've got a positive ID. 

@FossilNerd this specimen was found in Indianapolis so I'm guessing Devonian.

I can see a bit of the body but not much, I would be willing to try to take some of the limestone off of the outside but I haven't tried that before and don't know where to start. 

I'll post a side view picture when I get home

[Mark Kmiecik]

6 hours ago, Brishen1 said:

this specimen was found in Indianapolis so I'm guessing Devonian.

This is correct for Indianapolis, but you should know that the gravel they used could have come from anywhere. Usually it comes from the cheapest source, is purchased in huge quantities and stored in material yards until needed. It may be from out-of-state. You can only be certain of the fossil era if the specimen is found directly in the formation. Just something to keep in mind so you don't get confused by something that is too old or too young for where you are. For instance, if you find a T-Rex around Indianapolis it probably was brought in from somewhere else because the Devonian happened approximately 150 million years before dinosaurs existed. That's not even half of what makes this so much fun.

[FossilNerd]

I wouldn’t try taking any of the matrix off if you haven’t done it before. Maybe more pics would get a closer ID. All depends on what details we can see.  Do you know how big it is?

 

Mark is right in that it could be from someplace else and not Devonian, but I suspect that it is local. Maybe not directly from Indianapolis, but close by. No way for me to prove that statement, but there is no shortage of limestone in the Indiana area and no shortage of quarries mining it. I can’t see it being cheaper to ship in from somewhere else when you can get it local.

[Brishen1]

On 7/23/2019 at 9:32 PM, FossilNerd said:

I wouldn’t try taking any of the matrix off if you haven’t done it before. Maybe more pics would get a closer ID. All depends on what details we can see.  Do you know how big it is?

 

Mark is right in that it could be from someplace else and not Devonian, but I suspect that it is local. Maybe not directly from Indianapolis, but close by. No way for me to prove that statement, but there is no shortage of limestone in the Indiana area and no shortage of quarries mining it. I can’t see it being cheaper to ship in from somewhere else when you can get it local.

It's fairly small, 3" x 2".

I guessed Devonian because of the proximity to gravel pits. 

[FossilNerd]

There are a few possibilities for Devonian rugose corals in Indiana. We would need more pictures. The side if it’s visible . The shape and depth of the calice can tell a lot too. Still may not be able to get any further with the ID, but if you want something more than solitary rugose “horn” coral we would need more pics.