sander Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 Dear Fossilforum members, I was wondering if the echinoid on this piece of matrix is indeed a Gauthieria radiata and if so, does that appoint this fossil to the lower, middle or upper Turonian? The shark tooth is a Squalicorax falcatus and the piece was found in the Ardennes departement of France. I know the age of a few locations nearby, but the age of the location where this piece is from is nowhere to be found in literature. I also am not sure if I may say where it was (it took a lot of questioning to find out where it can from haha). Therefore I hope that the echinoid perhaps could be used to appoint a specific age to it. In anycase, thank you very much for your answers, Kind regards, Sander 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 (edited) I'd agree with it being identified as Gauthieria radiata. Lovely specimen, by the way! It wouldn't really be possible to determine what part of the Turonian it's from, as it's known from a number of geological stages. It's even known from the lower and upper Maastrichtian, for instance. Usually for determining the age of European chalk fossils, we use inoceramids or other bivalves, brachiopods, (sometimes) belemnites, nannofossils (e.g. coccoliths), and sometimes echinoids. But I haven't heard of phymosomatid echinoids (e.g. Gauthieria) being used to date specimens, at least in the European chalk. Hope I could help! -Christian Edited June 10, 2021 by The Amateur Paleontologist 1 1 Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 Nice association piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 As Christian said, Gauthieria radiata is not a fossil director. The best way is to know exactly the location of the outcrop and make research on geologic map 1 http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sander Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 Thank you guys for confirming that it is indeed Gauthieria radiata and not another species! I know the age is normally identified by other guidance fossils, but I thought perhaps this type of Echinoid is known from jsut a small section. However, I finally found a few good geological maps of the area (map of Rethel 1:50000) and I see there that the area of the location is supposed to be Upper Turonian, so that question is also solved haha. Kind regards, Sander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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