Missourian Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) On Saturday afternoon, I returned to a favorite spot in the Pennsylvanian Wyandotte Formation:The exposure, south of the Kansas City metro, features sponges and certain enigmatic forms that may be phylloid algae, as well as small crinoid calices and various other things. I last visited in fall 2011. I wanted to return early enough in the season to check out the patches of ground that are usually covered with weeds. Would a lack of vegetation, as well as two and a half years of weathering, expose anything new? Lets find out.The Wyandotte is made up mostly of the Argentine Limestone:About twenty feet is exposed here. Just to the north, the limestone, combined with the overlying Farley Limestone, swells to as much as a hundred feet. This enhanced thickness is due to a reef-like build-up of lime mud bound by blades of phylloid algae. The interesting fossils found at this site may be due to them having grown in favorable conditions along the mound's southern margin.The Argentine is fossiliferous. Large productid brachiopods can be found. This is Echinaria: Edited March 19, 2014 by Missourian 1 Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Below the Argentine is the Quindaro Shale:Normally, this unit is unfossiliferous or sparsely fossiliferous. Here, there is a profusion of sponges, along with coral, bryozoans, brachiopods, crinoids, and a few mollusks including cephalopod, and shark teeth. Typically, only the sponges are well preserved. Most conspicuous are Heliospongia ramosa. I picked up several pieces:A few Heliospongia specimens....Budding branch:'Hand' specimen:Sectioned and etched: Edited March 18, 2014 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Some Heliospongia formed colonies:There were even larger colonies, but I didn't take them home:Other twig-like sponges, include Maeandrostia kansasense and possibly Fissispongia, cover the ground in places:A few Maeandrostia (along with one Amblysiphonella, lower right, from the underlying Frisbie Member): Edited March 18, 2014 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) At the base of the Quindaro is a thin packstone that may be the top of the Frisbie Limestone. This bed is made up of crinoid debris and various other fossils. This piece has a mold of a Petalodus tooth:The actual tooth was long gone.A few inches down, there are thin beds and lenses of limestone that contain certain smooth and segmented plant-like thalli. I was hoping to find some in situ. I found one fragment at the top of the slope and began to dig:A found a few fragments with good detail:I have many more pieces that I haven't washed off yet.I figure this is a highly unusual case of phylloid algae preserved in shale. These algae (red Archaeolithophyllum and green codiaceans), are almost always locked away in dense limestone where their morphology is difficult to determine. As mentioned above, the overlying Argentine Limestone is full of them. Edited March 18, 2014 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Below the Frisbie is the upper twenty feet of the Liberty Memorial Formation:This gray sandy shale contains trace fossils including Conostichus. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Nice report and very strange plant,thanks to share! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecable Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Very nice informative topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 These are a few of my favorite things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Wonderful report and specimens! Thanks for sharing your trip. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 thanks for the trip, the sponges and algae are fantastic. "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Great info, and well put. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks everyone for the comments. I cleaned off the remainder of the pieces, but nothing earth-shattering turned up (well, there was a bit of earth shattering to get to them. ). Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Excellent report! Your knowledge of the formations in that area is astounding..I still cant be certain of some of the formations I visit That brachiopod is amazing, Ive never seen one that big! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Excellent report! Your knowledge of the formations in that area is astounding..I still cant be certain of some of the formations I visit That brachiopod is amazing, Ive never seen one that big! Thanks. Fortunately, our Pennsylvanian units are thin and distinctive enough to make it fairly easy to get ones bearings -- most of the time. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 If interested, there is more on the sponges of this site here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/25240-pennsylvanian-sponges-from-kansas-missouri/ And phylloid algae/'pahoeids' here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/26021-mystery-fossils-pennsylvanian/ Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Did you fit any of the pieces together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Did you fit any of the pieces together? None so far. I guess I'll have to go back and dig some more. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now