Periodic Paleo Posting - The Pie Cabinet

[bockryan]

On 10/29/2024 at 3:48 PM, Al Dente said:

 

I believe the shell bed in the creek is Yorktown. There are certainly plenty of Yorktown fossils in the creek but I'm not positive if they are coming from the shell bed or from the base of the shell bed. It's been years since I've collected there, and I don't think I've ever directly collected from the shell bed.

 

Thank you! I'll keep it as Yorktown for now then, that seems to make the most sense.

 

Staying on theme...

 

This one is a reasonably well-preserved vertebra from a cetacean from the spoil piles at the Aurora Fossil Museum in North Carolina. Everything in these piles has been churned around by the mining process and so most bone and even teeth that you find are damaged to varying degrees. The bone is particularly fragile here, so the chance of finding a pristine vertebra with intact processes is pretty low. I don’t know if what’s left of this one is enough to ID it further, but because of the size and the narrower shape I’ve labeled it as a toothed whale. Would it be fair to go further and label it Delphinoidea? It certainly looks closer to the pictures I’ve seen of dolphin vertebra. I am also not entirely certain what kind of vertebra it is, but it looks closest to pictures of caudal (towards the tail) vertebra. @Shellseeker what do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

For now, my label is:
Odontoceti (Caudal Vertebra)
Aurora Fossil Museum, NC
Pungo River and Yorktown Formations
Miocene

[bockryan]

Next is a fun piece of carbonized wood from the Middle Devonian exposures at Penn Dixie in New York. This site is extremely famous for trilobites, corals, and other classic marine life, but plant material from the coastal forests does pop up from time to time. This is the largest piece I’ve found and includes a fun “knot” in the wood that gives it a little more personality compared to smaller, more non-descript fragments.

 

 

 

 

My label is:

Carbonized Wood

Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Preserve, NY

Moscow Formation

Middle Devonian

[bockryan]

The next fossil is a fish from a Sannine Formation quarry in Hakel, Lebanon that preserves a huge diversity of well-preserved marine life from the Late Cretaceous. Gaudryella is apparently one of the more common finds, but I’ve seen large sharks, rays, shrimp, and tons of other kinds of fish. This genus lies within Euteleosteii along with salmon and related fish.

 

 

 

 

 

The label this one came with is:

Gaudryella sp.

Hakel, Lebanon

Sannine Formation

Late Cretaceous

[bockryan]

This is the very common (and still extant as a genus) Metasequoia occidentalis from the Oligocene Muddy Creek Formation of Beaverhead County, Montana. I purchased this one, but would love to get out West soon to do some plant collecting.

 

 

 

 

The label I got for this one is:

Metasequoia occidentalis

Beaverhead County, MT

Muddy Creek Formation

Oligocene

[bockryan]

Moving on, we have a nice example of Tornoceras sp. from the Early/Middle Devonian Lost River Quarry in West Virginia, which exposes the Needmore Formation. This one came from a layer of rocks high up on the slope that were covered in these guys, this one was the only one with nice preservation though. I have not found any others at the site, although I’m sure they pop up from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

The label for this one is:

Tornoceras sp.

Lost River Quarry, WV

Needmore Formation

Early/Middle Devonian

[bockryan]

Next is a fearsome creature that I wouldn’t want to meet if I was transported back to the Maryland Miocene – the “giant barnacle” Balanus concavus from the already mentioned Matoaka Beach Cabins. These are pretty common and are often associated with Chesapecten fossils, although clusters as large as this one are a nice find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label for this one is therefore:

Balanus concavus

Matoaka Beach Cabins

Choptank and St. Mary's Formations

Miocene

[bockryan]

Next is another find from ESCONI trip to Danville back in September - I believe this one is Lobatopteris tenuinervis. Most of the other material I collected was in the "baked" shale, but this one is obviously in blacker material, but is still pretty sturdy. The fossil itself has kind of a cool faded red color to it.

 

 

 

 

 

The label for this one is:

Lobatopteris tenuinervis

Catlin, IL

Carbondale Formation

Carboniferous (Middle Pennsylvanian)

[bockryan]

Haven't done an echinoid in a while, so here is Micraster sp. from Late Cretaceous rocks around Taouz, Morocco. Wikipedia lists 17 species within this genus, so I think this one will remain Micraster sp. for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label this one came with is:

Micraster sp.

Taouz, Morocco

Unknown Formation

Late Cretaceous

[bockryan]

Back to sharks - this is a nice example of Hemipristis serra from the Peace River in Florida. This genus is still around today but is pretty obscure (I've never heard of the snaggletooth shark). The upper and lower teeth are very different for this species - this one comes from the upper part of the jaw.

 

The Peace River includes material from most epochs throughout the Neogene, but I see Hemipristis serra is restricted to the Miocene or the Miocene and the Oligocene. I've included both on the label to be safe, but haven't looked closely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My label is:
Hemipristis serra
Peace River, Wauchula, FL
Peace River Formation
Oligocene/Miocene

[bockryan]

In anticipation of "Mollusk Monday" - we have what I think is the gastropod Platyceras spirale from Corriganville and Oriskany Formation rocks near Smoke Hole Canyon in West Virginia. I found a nice collection of internal molds preserved in a small pile of very crumbly, coarse-grained sandstone. I have not seen any of that same material in-situ, but that could be because the layer is from farther up in the cliff. I would certainly like to find some more as each chunk was producing multiple really nice fossils that popped right of the rock!

 

 

 

 

 

My label for this one is:

Platyceras spirale

Smoke Hole Canyon, WV

Corriganville and Oriskany Formations 

Early Devonian

[bockryan]

Unless I’ve missed one, I believe this is the first Eocene fossil in the thread: a vertebra from the famous whale Basilosaurus sp. from somewhere in the Western Sahara in Morocco. This was a gift from my wife and a very nice piece, although I’m not sure about the ID provided as I assume it’s pretty tempting for sellers to say Basilosaurus for any bits of whale they find. If we have any whale experts around, I’d be curious what you think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label I received for this one is:

Basilosaurus sp. (Cervical Vertebra)

Western Sahara, Morocco

Unknown Formation

Eocene

[Coco]

The recent species is Hemipristis elongatus.

 

Coco

[bockryan]

I believe this one is an example of the bryozoan Orthopora hexagona from an outcrop of the Middle Devonian Mahantango Formation around the town of Rio, West Virginia. This location is interesting for producing lots of horn corals, which are uncommon or unknown from most of the other Mahantango Formation spots I visit. The fossil itself has dissolved away, leaving an impression that still preserves some nice detail. To the left of the primary specimen is a much smaller, better preserved example that helped with ID.

 

 

 

 

 

My current label is:

Orthopora hexagona
Rio, WV
Mahantango Formation
Middle Devonian

[bockryan]

Next is another one that I'm a little uncertain on - I think this is another example of Neuropteris ovata from the roadcut near Tremont, Pennsylvania that exposes layers of rock from the Late Pennsylvanian Llewellyn Formation. This is a nice one because it is partially articulated and the color is really vibrant, although the preservation of the leaf venation is not great. I am not certain if N. ovata is the correct ID so let me know if it looks like something else. 

 

 

 

 

 

My current label is:

Neuropteris ovata

Tremont, PA

Llewellyn Formation

Carboniferous (Late Pennsylvanian)

[bockryan]

This is a fossilized claw from the crab Prehepatus harrisi from the Late Cretaceous Peedee Formation, found on Holden Beach in North Carolina. @old bones has a nice gallery from Holden Beach that includes some nice photos of this species: 

 

This element is the "manus" - basically the "palm" of the claw, with the two pincers being the "fingers."

 

 

 

And then my specimen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My label is:

Prehepatus harrisi
Holden Beach, NC
Peedee Formation
Late Cretaceous

[bockryan]

Next is the sponge Astraeospongium meniscus from the Late Silurian Brownsport Formation around Parsons, Tennessee. I really need to add more sponges to my collection, I really enjoy them. This one has some pretty cool "star shaped" spicules that photograph pretty well. I believe I found a few in Texas during my last trip so some of those may appear later in the thread. I got this one from one of the rolling auctions on the forum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label it came with is:

Astraeospongium meniscus

Parsons, TN

Brownsport Formation

Late Silurian

[bockryan]

Next is a small ammonite I got from the Forum's rolling auction - I believe this is Hoploscaphites sp. from the Late Cretaceous Pierre Shale in Montana. I was in Montana last year volunteering on a dig and had some time set aside to look for these guys, but ended up getting rained out that day. I was still pleased to add this one to my collection.

 

 

 

 

 

The label I got for this one is:

Hoploscaphites sp.

Unknown location, MT

Pierre Shale

Late Cretaceous

[bockryan]

Next is Mercenaria cuneata, a fossil clam from the Miocene exposures at Matoaka Beach Cabins in Maryland. This genus is still around today (which is good - they are delicious!) and seems to have originated in the Oligocene, so not a bad run.

 

 

 

 

The label for this one is:

Mercenaria cuneata

Matoaka Beach Cabins, MD

Choptank and St. Mary's Formations

Miocene

[bockryan]

Another one for today: an impression of a scale from the Devonian lobe-finned fish Hyneria lindae from the Red Hill Fossil Site in Pennsylvania. Thank you to @Fossildude19 for the original ID when I posted it as a trip report

 

 

 

 

My label for this one is:

Hyneria lindae (Lateral Scale)

Red Hill Fossil Site, PA

Catskill Formation

Late Devonian

[bockryan]

Next is one I have ID'd only as Pteridospermatophyta from the Middle Pennsylvanian Kanawha Formation, exposed somewhat near the town of Marlinton in West Virginia. The detail is really nice, which hopefully allows for a more specific ID than what I have so far. @connorp @paleoflor - what do you think? Connor you took a look before but hopefully these pictures are a bit better/more diagnostic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The current label is:

Pteridospermatophyta

Marlinton, WV    
Kanawha Formation
Carboniferous (Middle Pennsylvanian)

 

Some site pictures (who wouldn't want to spend some time in such a place collecting plant fossils?) as well:

 

 

 

 

 

[connorp]

Not one I recognize. But a pretty specimen!

[bockryan]

Next is one I have had labeled as Chilomycterus sp. (commonly known as burrfishes) from the Peace River in Florida. Looking at it more closely though, I'm now pretty sure the correct label should be Diodon sp. (commonly known as porcupine fishes). @Shellseeker @Balance curious if you agree and if you have any similar examples in your collections, I'm not sure if it is possible to ID them to the species level.

 

Neogene Proto-Caribbean porcupinefishes (Diodontidae) includes a great figure that I've included, and then it also looks really similar to this lovely specimen from Hawaii that got posted on the forum.

 

 

Fossil Diodontidae 1–3. †Chilomycterus tyleri n. sp., lower jaw, 99.8 mm in width, late Miocene Gatun Formation, Las Lomas, San Judas Tadeo, Colón, Panama, holotype, NMB P1208 (1, occlusal; 2, anterior; 3, posterior views). 4–6. †Chilomycterus ferreirai (Santos and Travassos 1960) [29], upper jaw, 24 mm in width, early Miocene Pirabas Formation, Praia de Atalaia, Salinópolis, Brazil, MPEG 2084-V (4, occlusal; 5, posterior; 6, anterior views). 7–9. †C. ferreirai, lower jaw, 16.2 mm in width, early Miocene Pirabas Formation, Praia do Castelo, Ilha de Fortaleza, São João de Pirabas, Brazil, holotype, MN 2649-V (7, occlusal; 8, posterior; 9, anterior views). 10–11. †C. ferreirai, upper jaw, 25.0 mm in width, early Miocene Cantaure Formation, San José de Cocodite, Venezuela, UNEFM-PF-270 (10, anterior; 11, occlusal views). 12. †C. exspectatus n. sp., upper tooth plate battery, 20.2 mm in width, late Miocene Gatun Formation, San Judas Tadeo, Colón, Panama, holotype, MNB P1205 (occlusal view). 13. †C. exspectatus n. sp., lower tooth plate battery, 16.64 mm in width, late Miocene Gatun Formation, San Judas Tadeo, Colón, Panama, paratype, MNB P1206 (occlusal view). 14. Chilomycterus sp. tooth plate battery, 28.8 mm in width, middle Miocene Tuira Formation, Rio Icuanati, small tributary from village Boca de Marraganti (loc. PPP 1593), Darien, Panama, MNB P1207 (occlusal view). 15. Chilomycterus sp., tooth plate battery, 13.0 mm in width, Jimol Formation, late early Miocene, Guajira Peninsula, Colombia, MUN-STRI- 41506 (occlusal view). 16. †Diodon serratus n. sp., tooth plate battery, 18.0 mm in width, middle Miocene Socorro Formation, Quebrada Honda, Urumaco, Venezuela, holotype, AMU-CURS-760 (occlusal view). Scale bar 10 mm.

 

My specimen:

 

 

 

 

 

My new label is:

Diodon sp.

Peace River, Wauchula, FL
Peace River Formation

Neogene

 

The living species Diodon nicthemerus from Australia:

 

[Balance]

A quote from one of Harry’s comments on the subject and a link to a thread that helped. 
 

😊

Jp

 

“These are diodontid (Family DIODONTIDAE, porcupinefish and burrfish) mouthparts.  The family includes (among Florida fossils):

Diodon sp. and

Chilomycterus sp.” Harry P

 

 

[bockryan]

Thank you Balance! Extremely helpful. 

 

Next is a small fragment of rock that I still really enjoy: a partial crinoid crown with wonderfully preserved "arms" from the Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation, exposed in Washington County, Maryland. Some folks are working on a new framework to organize the various species that can be found at this location, so for now the label for this one will have to simply be Crinoidea. Another piece in the collection that will hopefully be supplemented someday with a much more complete example.

 

The nicer fossils here are external molds where the inner material has dissolved away, leaving really detailed outlines that are "enhanced" with iron oxide. The effect is pretty cool, especially on bigger, more complete specimens. Even scraps like this are pretty uncommon though, this is the best I've come up with after several trips and hours of digging. Most of the rocks are totally blank. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label is:

Crinoidea

Washington County, Maryland

Marcellus Formation

Middle Devonian

[bockryan]

Next is another find from Holden Beach in North Carolina - a mosasaur tooth! We just got a new open-access paper describing the various species that can be found at Holden Beach: Mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) of North Carolina, USA by Trevor Rempert, Brennan Martens, and Alexander Vinkeles Melchers.

 

Based on that paper, I think this one (somewhat unsatisfyingly) has to be labeled as Prognathodontini indet. due to uncertainty about the genus and species. Still, I was very excited to find this one on my last trip to Holden Beach, I had spent all day looking and finally found it as we started to slowly walk back to the car. Here is the explanation from the paper:

 

Prognathodontini indet.

 

Locality and horizon: Holden Beach, Brunswick

County, North Carolina, USA. Peedee Formation

(upper Maastrichtian) (Stephenson 1923).

 

Description: The teeth consist of large crowns with subcircular basal cross-sections, near equal convex labial and lingual faces, two carinae, and heavy anastomosing enamel, especially near the blunt apical region. Enamel surfaces are smooth, without conspicuous prisms or fluting. The apical regions often bear fractures or wear facets indicative of heavy wear during life. When preserved, crown apices curve slightly posteromedially, especially in the more conical anterior teeth. Carinae pinch off the crown body and bear minute serrations. Tooth shape is generally short and conical, although teeth originating from the anterior portion of the jaws (PM.003; VANPS 13.0182) are less robust and proportionally taller.

 

Remarks: Unfluted prognathodontin teeth are the most abundant mosasaurid fossils recovered from Holden Beach. The teeth are robust, with stouter dimensions than Prognathodon saturator and Prognathodon overtoni, but comparable to Thalassotitan atrox from the Moroccan Phosphates (Longrich et al. 2022). Large prognathodontin teeth from Holden Beach bear a strong resemblance to teeth that amateur collectors informally attribute to “Prognathodon rapax/Ancylocentrum hungerfordi” from the Maastrichtian of New Jersey; however, a lack of diagnostic dental remains in the type material of these taxa prevents comparison.

 

Large prognathodontin mosasaur teeth were previously described from the Campanian of North Carolina as Mosasaurus crassidens Marsh, 1870 (nomen dubium) and Elliptonodon compressus Emmons, 1858 (nomen dubium) (Russell 1967). Schwimmer et al. (2015) reported a single posterior marginal tooth crown (SCSM 84.176.1) of probable Peedee Formation origin from the vicinity of Myrtle Beach in Horry County, South Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label for now would appear to be:

Prognathodontini indet.

Holden Beach, NC
Peedee Formation
Late Cretaceous