JimB88 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 So this past Sunday, my dad decided to test out a dodge 4x4 he bought off a friend after fixing it up. I have long told him about the abandoned quarry I frequent and the road into it which is impassable by non four wheel drive vehicles. And I kind of figured thats where we were going. So the truck performed well and got into the pit. He didnt want to take the time to let me look around (there just a bunch of rocks ) but I managed to persuade him to let me grab a large chunk of red-crinoidal limestone that Ive always wanted to take but didnt want to carry it up the hill. This lime stone is very interesting; I call it crinoidal from all the stem sections in it, but it could also be called brachiopodal for all the 'baby' brachiopods in it. The thought struck me to record every type of fossil collected from the piece to get an understanding of the bio-mass of that time. As I work my way into it Ill post some of the finds Im making.. I started a work last night ( ) removing the most crumbly layers from the upper surface... Heres some of what Ive been finding: this is a small part of an Amplexis rugose coral...its 3/8ths of an inch dia. fragment of a Chomatodus shark like fish tooth... I think this gastro may be a Naticopsis (not sure yet) another as of yet ided gastro of the high-spired variety... not sure what this is.. unknown (tooth?) more to come so stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Awesome, Jim! Very fossiliferous stone there! Cant wait to see what else pops out! Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 The thought struck me to record every type of fossil collected from the piece to get an understanding of the bio-mass of that time. Cool idea! Keep track of the relative abundance, too. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Nice, Jim! Looking forward to what all it produces. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Removing the layers and finding the goodies.... Sounds like Christmas morning. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Cool stuff Jim! I believe your last 2 specimens belong to a ray, the last picture looks like a ray tooth and I believe the unknown is some fossilized cartilage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saki007 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Sweet! It is like Christmas! Jim, do you think your "ufo" could be a fenestrate bryozoan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Sweet! It is like Christmas! Jim, do you think your "ufo" could be a fenestrate bryozoan? Looking at the top corner shows you are correct! I dont know why I didnt notice it before.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Cool stuff Jim! I believe your last 2 specimens belong to a ray, the last picture looks like a ray tooth and I believe the unknown is some fossilized cartilage. oops forgot the age. Its Upper Mississippian (Chesterian) - Bangor Limestone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameenah Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Very cool Jim!!!!! :eat popcorn: cant wait to see the rest. Explore -> Dream -> Discover ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Cool story, Jim, I love 4x4 Dodge stuff Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Now that the sun has finally made an appearance I can photograph my finds from the last few days. Found some interesting stuff. For those not familiar with what Im doing Im still going through the 30lb piece of matrix and systematically recording identifiable fossils and quantities of fossils to get a better understanding of the biomass and diversity represented in that layer of the Bangor Limestone. first up a VERY RARE piece of a straight shelled nautiloid (?).. Ive never found any trace of cephalopods from this site before so I was excited! The second pic shows the siphuncle. A brach that Ive never found before..I think its Schuchertella... A small sample of the many baby Cliothyridina I find here..very common and very hard to tell apart from Composista when they're this small. A group of incredibly common Composista... Another group of common brachs..Eumetria sp. A plani-spiraled gastro of indeterminate genus. Only my second found... A few more of the high - spired gastros A group of the less common brach Girtytella... Intact echinoderms of any sort are rare in this matrix so this tiny, tiny little blastoid was a treat! more later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 oops, looks like an Eumetria got into my Composista... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saki007 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 What a bonanza! I love the nautiloid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 I believe the straight shelled Nautiloid is of the Genus Reticycloceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 I have been corrected, the cephalopod is most likely Spyroceras. I have noticed as I work down into the rock that it grades into a dun colored limestone that is much harder than the crumbly red material above it (or below it as the case may be.) In this material the individual crinoid stem sections disappear, replaced by fewer, but connected segments of stem. Also the amount of small brachiopods decreases dramatically as the number of larger 'adult' specimen increases. More productid type brachiopods are present as well. Gone too, are the tiny gastropods. As of yet I'm unsure as to what this represents from a paleo-ecology point of view. More observations later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) Jim, I wonder if the different types of matrix indicate some type of depositional difference, say between deep water to shallow water environments, or vice versa. Would be interesting if you could make some type of correlation, or come to some sort of conclusion one way or another, based upon the faunal differences in the differing matrices. I find the difference in fauna to be fascinating. Thanks for posting this Jim. Regards, Edited March 12, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Still working on the 'rock" Heres some interesting stuff from the last couple of days.... A small ammo or gastro. At first I thought it was just a crinoid stem section, then I looked at the negative and saw its plani-spiraled... a couple more of the mystery brachiopods.... a slightly larger version of the high - spired gastros Ive been finding..this one has the hint of decorations on it... the small bivalve Leda... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) A small plani - spiraled gastropod or cephalopod.... Edited March 14, 2012 by JimB88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 a couple more of the mystery brachiopods.... Those look a lot like the pectens we find in our Pennsylvanian rocks. The block, overall, reminds me of the molluscan oolites here in KC. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Those look a lot like the pectens we find in our Pennsylvanian rocks. The block, overall, reminds me of the molluscan oolites here in KC. thats something I never thought of, Ill have to look up Mississippian Pectens.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinoid1 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hey Jim, To me, that last unidentified tooth looks like a part of a Cladodus root. I've attached a picture of a complete one. Fantastic gastros as well. Generally, Gastropods aren't particularly common in the Bangor. Very nice stuff as usual. I like crinoids...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) just when you thought this post had died...... I believe Missourian is correct, these are a type of pecten... found this neat little cladodus tooth while examining another black bit...it had all three cusps but when it tried to delicately remove some matrix from one with a dental tool it just flew off.. I may try vinegar on the matrix to free it up some more. I know this will affect invert material but Im not sure if it will harm a tooth. Edited March 24, 2012 by JimB88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagurus Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 You've got a terrific project going, Jim. Thanks for sharing it. In your first post, 5th row of pictures, could that be a barnacle? It resembles one, but I don't know if they would be found there. Mike Start the day with a smile and get it over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 You've got a terrific project going, Jim. Thanks for sharing it. In your first post, 5th row of pictures, could that be a barnacle? It resembles one, but I don't know if they would be found there. Mike I dont think barnacles were around then..I could be wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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