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Hi all, See attached - most of these are 5-10mm in size (cm/mm ruler in background). Found at/near base of sandstone cliffs near Aireys Inlet, Victoria, Australia. I have previously found Lovenia fossils in the area (and found a couple more today), but these are much smaller and flatter - more like sand dollars? IDs appreciated, and also suggestions re further cleaning - I just soaked them in water (~30min) and tried to remove loose material, but haven't done anything further. Would it be worth soaking/cleaning them further to try to remove more matrix? Also, do you think the small spines/tripods in 2a/2b/23c are the original spines of the sea urchin? I think 4 is probably the top lid of a similar brachiopod to 3/3a - does that seem reasonable? Cheers & thanks in advance, Oli

Today I took a spur of the moment trip up to the Canyon Lake area for some hunting in the lower Glen Rose. My first venture into the region took place last year and was only a limited success in that I scored a measly two micro echinoids. The plan for today was to try some new spots in hopes of striking the perfect layer of echinoid diversity. The first site was a complete bust, but the second immediately showed promise when I noticed the ground was littered with broken bits of thin echinoid test. Because I had arrived so close after the recent rains, the ground was still a sticky slop of Glen Rose mud. The combination of running along the slopes and frequent crouching set my calves on fire, but the scent of urchins kept me on the chase. Very quickly I was lucky to encounter some really nice crab claws from Pagurus banderensis. A couple had both pincers still preserved. Surprisingly common was also the tiny crushing dentition of Pycnodont fish. They aren't all that interesting to look at, but the simple fact that vertebrate material was present gave me daydreams of finding an elusive Glen Rose shark tooth. I tried to shake away such a hopeless goal, but it continued to sit in my mind. After a couple hours, I found an Amiid fish tooth and some star-shaped Isocrinus annulatus columns. For whatever reason, I could not find a single echinoid spine, let alone a complete test. I was searching the ground very closely, so my thinking was it may be more to do with the site than myself. As I was doing the usual close inspection, I snuck up on a black figure nestled securely in a pile of Glen Rose matrix. It took a moment to register that I wasn't looking at just another chunk of black bug. I safely stashed the two pieces of Polyacrodus. Sadly, the third fragment was nowhere to be seen despite my best efforts. After finding some more crab claws it was time to head out. On the trek to the car, I spotted a Trigonia whitneyi? clam, maybe from the upper Glen Rose. I'm not sure what species this is. I see Polyacrodus aff. parvidens is described form the Texas Albian up north. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be much info. I've seen some discussion on Polyacrodus brevicostata being a possibility as well. Top L to R: Trigonia whitneyi? and Pagurus banderensis Bottom L to R: Amiid tooth, Pycnodont teeth, Isocrinus annulatus It seems my streak of urchin unluckiness has continued, but I'll take a Polyacrodus any day of the week!

Hello all! I was scrolling through my home state’s fossil page when I came across this post from someone claiming they had a “special spot“ in western Kentucky where they found all of these fossils. Someone in the comments inquired about the ID, and he told them they are fossilized jellyfish. Obviously, these are not fossilized jellyfish. My first thought was geodized crinoid calyces, but then I looked closer and counted the plates- six rather than five, which is not what I’m used to for a typical calyx. Any thoughts?

Does anyone know what fossil this is and if it is a fossil? Some people say it’s a crinoid fossil, Native American bead, or just a rock.

I haven't posted in quite a while, so I thought I would post pics of some of my 2023 prep jobs. I have done a lot more than these but these are the only ones I took a before pic. Zacanthoides idahoensis Cambrian Spence Shale Richmond, Utah Pseudogygites latimarginatus Ordovician Lindsay Formation Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada Ceraurus plattinensis Ordovician Bobcaygeon Fm. Brechin, Ontario, Canada Archimedes wortheni Mississippian Warsaw Fm. Fenton, Missouri Platycrinites bozemanensis Missisippian Lodgepole Fm. Bozeman, Montana Aphelecrinus okawensis Mississippian Bangor Fm. Lacon, Alabama Glyptocystites multiporus Ordovician Bobcaygeon Fm. Brechin, Ontario, Canada Eldredgeops crassituberculata Devonian Silica Shale Paulding, Ohio This is one I really wish I had a before prep pic. The specimen underneath was a complete surprise.

I found the fossil attached a while ago in Tyrol, Austria. More preciselly, in the valley of Brandenberg in which many beautiful fossils can be found (mainly gastropods and ammonits). I am having a hard time to identify the fossil below and I am also not so experienced. Could i be a crown of a crinoid? The size of the fossil is around 8cm. Unfortunately, the stone is very porous and it almost falls apart.

Crows Feet? I’ve seen these in limestones but not in dolostones. Plenty of bits and pieces. I think Favosites and molds of crinoid columinals. More crinoid molds and both brachiopod molds and bits and pieces. Very very crystalized. But fun challenge.

This mold seems large to be from a Crinoid stem. It’s almost 1 cm in diameter. But I can see faint horizontal lines that the camera is not picking up. Any help or guidance appreciated.

What is the difference between crinoid and blastoid columnals. I know the difference between the calyx of a crinoid and the theca of a blastoid. I have a site I visit that has a mash up of both calyxes and thecas, but not with attached columnals. It is a Mississippian site, Warsaw formation.

In my Secret Santa gift last Christmas from @connorp I received (among other nice items) a very nice little hash plate from the Mifflin Member of the Platteville Formation (U/M Ordovician, Blackriverian, ~453 MY) from SW Wisconsin. The picture below is the plate as it was received and in my 12/20/22 post about getting it I said: “A great hash plate. I already see two or maybe three different trilobite types with a couple of them tantalizingly partially buried and an interesting gastropod that I am not familiar with. I think a little prep work will make this even more spectacular. As an added plus, it represents my first fossils from the state of Wisconsin.” I finally got around to doing the prep I talked about and spent a little time exposing some of the more prominent fossils and giving it a gentle going over with air abrasion to bring out some of the features. I think it looks even better than it already did and I was even more impressed with the wide variety of fossils on the small section of rock. Below is the cleaned up plate: Here is a collage of the plate just turned at different angles to the sunlight in case it helps to bring out any features: There are hundreds of fossil fragments on this one small piece of rock, but I want to highlight the top couple dozen specimens. With the help of some TFF members via previous posts and replies in a couple of ID threads I put out (thanks @Tidgy's Dad, @connorp, @piranha, @minnbuckeye and others), I have identified several trilobites, brachiopods, gastropods, ostracods, bryozoans, and a crinoid and want to show you this wonderful diversity in such a small space. If anyone sees changes to my ID's please feel free to chime in. Some will be very specific ID's and some will be a bit more general. The picture below is the key to where each of the numbered specimens is on the slab (see number in upper left of each specific picture). We will start with the trilobites. Although each is only a partial, there is enough present to get a pretty specific ID on most of them. All are new genera or species in my collection. Here are the brachiopods: Here are a couple of specimens of a really neat gastropod which was new to me. So often it seems Paleozoic gastropods are just internal molds or rather plain forms, but this first one is very nice. Here are a few bryozoans and one very small horn coral. There were several of these small corals, I'm not really sure of the ID, I didn't research them much yet. Just a couple of small crinoid columnals were found. And last but not least are the ostracods. I am used to small ostracods (which some of these are) but there is also this one form that is huge (by ostracod standards) coming in at about a centimeter long. At first I thought they were brachiopod fragments until I looked at them closer. These things are the size of a kidney bean! Note the scale difference between the Eoleperditia and all the others. Most of my ID's are questionable as I was using a reference that is for the immediately overlying Decorah Formation until I can find a listing for the Mifflin Member. OK that is everything for now. I hope you have enjoyed the wonderful diversity of this small slice in time. With a little more investigation, I may yet tease out a few more specimens worthy of an ID. Thanks for looking. Mike

A recent fossil exploration trip in North MIssissippi resulted in a new Mississippi Fossils YouTube "How to" playlist. I believe I found a horn coral (top) and a crinoid stalk piece (bottom). A small quartz rock is also pictured in the middle. I also think I spotted an embedded oyster shell. darrell barnes