Tabulate Coral Specimen(s) Dig

[Titan]

A few days ago after searching our creek for fossil specimens I came across this sticking out of the leaves.

 

It turned out to be larger than I expected, but it was getting dark so without a second thought I hastily yanked it from the ground and ran home with it. I cleaned it up a bit - all smug and pleased with my find. Then that evening I had the good fortune to read Robert Boessenecker’s excellent post about field notes. 

 

I’ve always thought fossils were awesome, and have collected them casually since I was little. I never put any real effort into learning more though. In the last few weeks I’ve only just scratched the surface and found myself among you good people because I couldn’t stop wondering what a certain fossil I had found was. You all helped me ID it, and it really started me on this whole fossil thing.

 

Back to the fossil. I slapped myself upside the head and vowed to return to the site the following day. Luckily I knew exactly where it was located and there was the hole from where I had found the fossil so the lesson learned was much less painful than it could have been.

20 inches from the first hole I found this:

 

Then things got interesting...

 

 

After a few days of careful notes, digging, pictures, and some light prep:

 

In the above picture they are arranged exactly as found. With north straight left of the picture and south straight right. North is also downhill and south is uphill. They were about 7 yards from the creek and I think pieces 1 and 2 were originally exposed by flooding.

After some attempts at fitting them together here is the main base:

 

The following picture is what I believe goes on top of the base. However I can’t get it to line up perfectly yet. All the pieces that have fit together fit very well, but since piece 5 was found uphill and behind/south of piece 4 it makes me think pieces 1 and 2 were originally above the base pieces and erosion caused them to be downhill from the buried pieces. Pieces 1, 2, and 5 fit together exactly. 7 could fit on top of 6 but not as perfectly as I can get the others to fit together. 

 

A few more detail shots.

 

 

The only other thing in the excavation that was interesting so far was this specimen which I think may be a piece of Echinoid spine. It was underneath piece 4. 

 

I think it may be a species of Favosites, but further research on my part is needed. I’m still working on the stratigraphy of my area. I got lucky because the creek that I found it at is currently about to break its banks and flood the site. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some more pieces of the top section. I know it's a common fossil but I can’t wait to get back out there. I will update as I dig more!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Marvelous report and that's a beautiful and special find. 

But it isn't Favosites or it's ilk. 

That's a syringoporid type coral, methinks. 

[Titan]

@Tidgy's Dad Thanks! You're right that does look much closer to syringopora. I'm really looking forward to getting out there again. Here's the "bridge" to get to the site...

Edited March 11, 2020 by Titan

[Tidgy's Dad]

Good luck! 

Perfectly acceptable crossing point. 

Please post anything else you find as that syringoporid is really exceptional. 

 

[FossilNerd]

That is a beauty. 
 

It’s good that you read @Boesse posts. Excellent information there. 

[Monica]

Cool-looking coral!  Congrats on the great find!

[Shellseeker]

Excellent finds and great story!!! Welcome to the forum. I have not really liked that type of bridge construction since I was 12, but it does being back fond memories.

[digit]

It's a wonderful coral and probably more fun than you've had putting together a puzzle for years.

 

It really is a very nice specimen and if you can locate some information on the geologic formation exposed by this creek, I encourage you to enter this fine coral in this month's Fossil of the Month contest. Each month's entries form a terrific gallery of our member's finds and allow more members to see the finds who might miss them in posts like this one.

 

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/102906-march-2020-finds-of-the-month-entries/

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Titan]

@Tidgy's Dad After the first few days of excavation I crossed it with two buckets filled with the specimens weighing 100+ lbs (45+ kg). About halfway across I almost fell and heard a crunch. I was worried it was the fossils, luckily it was just my back  

 

@FossilNerd Thanks! Yeah, I got lucky with that. I only have so much time outside of work/family time so coming across solid information is really helpful. 

 

@Monica Thanks! 

 

@Shellseeker Thank you, its good to find like-minded people The bridge is quickly losing it's appeal! 

 

@digit Thanks Ken, and absolutely! It is extraordinarily fun, but somebody didn't put all the pieces back and I think there might be two puzzles mixed together!I will take a stab at getting the geological information figured out and see if I can find more of the specimens and get it entered before the deadline. Cheers! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yeah, the back's not a worry as long as the fossils are okay. 

[Titan]

I was able to get  to the site again and found two more pieces! Fit together they form one piece. 

 

Bottom view: Very interesting growth pattern as the individual corallites grew upward and outward. 

 

 

I'm heading back out so hopefully more to report soon. 

[Titan]

Found five more pieces.

 

Only two fit together so far.

 

I am slowly trying to get an accurate understanding of the strata of rock these are coming out of. They are much more red than anything I'm used to seeing and have a sandstone like matrix. I am optimistic I can find a few more and hopefully complete more of the specimen(s). 

[Shamalama]

The "sandstone like matrix" could be an indicator of dolomite which often weathers sandy but it's just the grains are larger and more resistant to weathering.  This is a really cool find. I'm glad to see you are trying to find as much of the colony as you can. Possibly Siphonodendron sp.?

[Titan]

@Shamalama Thanks for the information on dolemite. I was able to do some research on the stratigraphy of my area and found representative layers to accurately place the specimen into the Bethany Falls limestone within the Swope Limestone member. It rests just below a layer called the Dodds creek sandstone member, which has a distinctive red color that I was able to identify. On the below graph its just below the 35 foot mark. This is a drill sample taken from within a mile or so of where I found the specimen:

 

It does look a bit like Siphonodendron but I don't think it's a Rugose Coral. My specimen has no distinct septa that I can see so far. However, I am no expert!

[Titan]

I've found another key piece, as well as two smaller pieces (not pictured). This is the one I was hoping for!!! 

 

It fits perfectly beneath piece #1 and perfectly on top #3 and #6 to combine both previous sections together! Here it is with the base piece.  

 

And here is a bottom view of piece 1 and 10. They fit like a glove. 

 

Here's where I am at with the puzzle. 

Top view: 

Side view: 

 

I am out of clean jeans, my boots and gloves are fully saturated in mud, and I am running out of sick days to use. The working conditions are...soggy  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[digit]

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Shamalama]

Great job finding that other piece and on the research!  So you are in the Pennsylvanian... ok. Do some searching for Bethany Falls Limestone and "fauna", or "coral".  In syringoporoid type corals the septa are hard to see on the openings in the corralites. Check on the breaks to see if they are present. There are some tabulate corals like Aulocystis that do not have obvious septa but I've never seen a colony that large. Then again, I am not very familiar with Pennsylvanian corals either.

[FranzBernhard]

17 hours ago, Titan said:

I am out of clean jeans, my boots and gloves are fully saturated in mud

That´s a good sign, you are doing something right!! 

Thanks for sharing your story and the story of this lovely fossil! Congrats to this very, very good find! Great report, too!

Franz Bernhard

[Titan]

@Shamalama Thanks! Correct, Upper Pennsylvanian with a high degree of certainty. I'm not low enough to be in the Pleasonton group, which is beneath the Kansas City group and I've found very little references to the size of colony that I've found, but I did find an interesting reference to the area from Russell M. Jeffords (1948) The Occurrence of Corals in Late Paleozoic Rocks of Kansas that gives some good info on identifying the different coral types for my area.

 

Even better was a 125 year old report from the Missouri Geological Survey (1894) that states, "Although the corallum of this species (syringopora sp.) usually forms more or less globular masses from three to six inches in diameter, large flattened expansions attaining a size of ten or more inches are occasionally met with. Owing to the peculiar fragile character, these masses are seldom found entire, yet the fragmentary pieces are not uncommon. Not unfrequently the corallites are so close together as to resemble certain forms of Favosites." It lists Kansas City as a common area for the species. I'm going to try to sand down the top, bottom, and side of one of the extra pieces and polish it up a bit and we'll see what it looks like! Maybe we'll be able to see something more definitive! 

 

@FranzBernhard I like to think so too , thank you for the kind words! 

[digit]

The overall structure of your piece from the side sure does resemble the Syringopora habit of separate columella tubes interconnected at points. The Chaetetes seems to have the individuals more directly attached to each other. The drawing above shows cross sectional views of the tubes perpendicular and along the length for the Syringopora and you might have a look at your piece with a magnifying glass to see if you see similar structures to those shown above.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[connorp]

These are pretty spectacular finds. Thanks for sharing.

[Ludwigia]

Excellent finds. And you're doing very well with your research.

[Titan]

@digit I think you are right, as there are definitely perpendicular tubes that I'd seen though a loupe at x20 magnification. I also looked at many of the corallites at the breaks and on the top of the specimen and they look like Syringopora. I still plan to polish some, but I spent too much time digging yesterday to have the drive to polish something. It took three more hours of digging but I finally found the last piece I was hoping for! It was buried feet from the creek, and completes the specimen nicely. I'll get some more preparation done and then take some quality pictures for you all hopefully today or tomorrow! 

 

@connorp Thank you, glad you're enjoying it also!

 

@Ludwigia Thank you! 

[Titan]

Final pictures here! Had some time to get it entered in the Fossil of the Month contest. Thank you all for all the support along the way! 

[digit]

Very nice! It's been fun following this as you gathered the various pieces (something video-game-like in that ). Can't wait to see what else you find in that creek.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken