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Pennsylvanian Sponges From Kansas & Missouri


Missourian

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Cross sections of sponges in limestone

Merriam Limestone, Pennsylvanian

Johnson County, Kansas

Girtyocoelia:

post-6808-0-62141500-1361230659_thumb.jpg
Girtycoelia:
post-6808-0-59059900-1361230653_thumb.jpg
Girtycoelia:
post-6808-0-70214900-1361230627_thumb.jpg

Context is critical.

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Nice findings!

You can get only imprints of Girtycoelia or complete specimen can also be found?

Both can be found at the same site. The ones shown above are embedded in the top of the limestone. The sponges 'continue' into the shale above, where they can be picked up. Here are a few:

post-6808-0-32707400-1361230438_thumb.jpg

Context is critical.

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Yes, and it's hard (for me at least) to tell the difference between the two genera except by those cross-sections.

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Yes, and it's hard (for me at least) to tell the difference between the two genera except by those cross-sections.

You can differ generas from each other by shape, sculpture of inner and outer surfaces and by type of dichotomy

Edited by Evgeny Kotelevsky
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Also, Girtyocoelia has 'porthole' like openings at the middle of the lobes, while Girtycoelia has them near the junctures.

Context is critical.

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Maybe I would learn to distinguish these features if I could collect them regularly myself, but not having that chance, they look very similar.

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I should start using Heterocoelia, the old name for Girtyocoelia. At least the names could be dissimilar. :)

Context is critical.

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  • 6 months later...

'Stings of pearls'....

Girtyocoelia sp.

Bonner Springs Shale (or basal Plattsburg Formation), Pennsylvanian (Edit: It is actually the Hickory Creek Shale. The stratigraphy in this spot is quite unusual....)

Wilson County, Kansas

post-6808-0-25325200-1379438600_thumb.jpg

post-6808-0-75155300-1379707091_thumb.jpg

Edited by Missourian

Context is critical.

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'Stings of pearls'....

Girtyocoelia sp.

Bonner Springs Shale (or basal Plattsburg Formation), Pennsylvanian

Wilson County, Kansas

attachicon.gif3554-Wilson-Girtyocoelia-1.jpg

attachicon.gif3565-Wilson-Girtyocoelia-3.jpg

Wow! It's great! You're going to prep them out of matrix?

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Wow! It's great! You're going to prep them out of matrix?

Probably not. They are in pretty tight.

Context is critical.

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Enjoying this thread and learning from it. I wonder how many times I've overlooked sponges by not looking at details.

Curious....what other fauna do you most usually find with sponges? Corals? Crinoids? Bryozoa? I might not be recognizing sponge specimens either in the matrix or loose.

Have seen isolated sponge spicules when viewing sediment under a microscope but not enough to know anything about them.

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Curious....what other fauna do you most usually find with sponges? Corals? Crinoids? Bryozoa? I might not be recognizing sponge specimens either in the matrix or loose.

Around here, sponges are usually sparse, but they can be quite abundant locally. They tend to be numerous around algal reef mounds. Associated fossils usually include crinoids (especially Erisocrinus, it seems), bryozoans, brachiopods and algae. The invertebrate fossils other than the sponges tend to be smaller in size.

Context is critical.

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I wonder how many times I've overlooked sponges by not looking at details.

Sponges are commonly tubular in form and have 'casual' detailing, i.e. the pores aren't quite as sharp as those seen on bryozoans. Spotting sponges can be as much an art as a science. :)

Context is critical.

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Those are great, Missourian!

Northstar, I could have easily overlooked my sponges if I hadn't caught sight of the netlike spicule pattern (Hexactinellid) - Didn't know what they were at first:

post-4372-0-07260700-1379551067_thumb.jpg

I also see various lumps and sticks and so on up there but I don't know if they are sponges if I don't see spicules (Could be calcareous algae.. still thinking about it)

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Those are great, Missourian!

Northstar, I could have easily overlooked my sponges if I hadn't caught sight of the netlike spicule pattern (Hexactinellid) - Didn't know what they were at first:

attachicon.gifTz93pos(1) sha.jpg

I also see various lumps and sticks and so on up there but I don't know if they are sponges if I don't see spicules (Could be calcareous algae.. still thinking about it)

I guess, it's a print of some Bryozoa

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Those are great, Missourian!

Northstar, I could have easily overlooked my sponges if I hadn't caught sight of the netlike spicule pattern (Hexactinellid) - Didn't know what they were at first:

attachicon.gifTz93pos(1) sha.jpg

I also see various lumps and sticks and so on up there but I don't know if they are sponges if I don't see spicules (Could be calcareous algae.. still thinking about it)

Some Bryozoa like this one

post-11087-0-08472000-1379575741_thumb.jpg

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Some chaetetid sponges from the Coal City Limestone of Johnson County, Missouri....

The sponge colonies can be seen as gray areas in the outcrop:

post-6808-0-93234800-1379790208_thumb.jpg

Two large mounds:

post-6808-0-46318300-1379790314_thumb.jpg

A cross section shows growth lines and radiating tubes:

post-6808-0-44279100-1379790348_thumb.jpg

This is the largest intact colony:

post-6808-0-47591600-1379790488_thumb.jpg

It resembles a large loaf of bread, complete with cracked crust:

post-6808-0-03799800-1379790529_thumb.jpg

Smooth areas are covered with pores:

post-6808-0-44147400-1379790587_thumb.jpg

Context is critical.

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Growth lines:

post-6808-0-80741300-1379790833_thumb.jpg

Chaetetid in matrix:

post-6808-0-26690700-1379790874_thumb.jpg

Fresh break:

post-6808-0-19877500-1379790926_thumb.jpg

Etched break:

post-6808-0-35532600-1379790956_thumb.jpg

Attached Syringopora coral:

post-6808-0-01331400-1379791279_thumb.jpg

Mineral concretions formed within the colonies in places:

post-6808-0-66862000-1379791130_thumb.jpg

Context is critical.

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