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Adventures In Microscopy


Missourian

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They can be distinguished from fins by their flat bases:

attachicon.gif8347-Stark-Listracanthus-2.jpg

These are fairly common in the Stark Shale. They are probably present in other black shales in the area as well. Oddly, as far as I can recall, they haven't turned up among the diverse fauna of the Muncie Creek Shale. Perhaps the mode of preservation of the concretions renders them unrecognizable.

I am especially glad you posted those images.. I thought some of my fish fins

were feather denticles but now I can see they are not.. Great shots as always!

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Orthocone does come to mind, but there isn't anything diagnostic to key on.

I am betting that you will find more.. :)

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Eocrinoid

Gogia spiralis

Wheeler Formation, Cambrian

House Range, Utah

 

I picked this up in a rock shop....

 

8608-Gogia-1.jpg

 

8611-Gogia-2.jpg

 

8621-Gogia-3.jpg

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On 7/19/2013 at 11:50 AM, Roz said:

WOW! I don't recall seeing one quite like that before!

 

They seem to be fairly common in the Wheeler. I don't remember what I paid for it years ago, but it wasn't that much. If you wish, you could probably pick one up for relatively little $$. I'd like to find one myself out in Utah. I wonder if they can be found at the pay-dig sites?

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Sponge

Wewokella sp.

Mound City Shale, Pennsylvanian

Linn County, Kansas

 

External surface (right), and interior (left):

 

8752-Wewokella-1.jpg

 

Wewokella resembles Heliospongia in appearance, but the structure is radically different.

 

External detail:

 

8740-Wewokella-2.jpg

 

8727-Wewokella-3.jpg

 

Internal detail:

 

8742-Wewokella-4.jpg

 

Looks like macaroni to me. :)

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Spore cone clusters

Calamostachys sp.

Bonner Springs Shale, Pennsylvanian

Platte County, Missouri

 

These almost seem to be still hanging from the branches:

 

8900-Bonner-cone-bundle-1.jpg

 

Point of attachment:

 

8893-Bonner-cone-bundle-2.jpg

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Spore cone clusters

Calamostachys sp.

Bonner Springs Shale, Pennsylvanian

Platte County, Missouri

These almost seem to be still hanging from the branches:

attachicon.gif8900-Bonner-cone-bundle-1.jpg

Point of attachment:

attachicon.gif8893-Bonner-cone-bundle-2.jpg

Ohmygosh! Wonderful plate! :wub:

"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!

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Thanks everyone. The site is one of the few that I managed to find all by my lonesome. :) It started out looking like a pile of dirt, but then these ferns were visible, and many more plants of many kinds rolled out when I handled the chunks. I'll poke through the collection and see if any more look good under the scope.

Edited by Missourian

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Cockroach wing

Bonner Springs Shale, Pennsylvanian

Platte County, Missouri

 

15-Bonner-Platte-wing.jpg

 

8917-Bpnner-wing-2.jpg

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Spore cone

Calamostachys sp.

Bonner Springs Shale, Pennsylvanian

Platte County, Missouri

 

On the right:

 

8996-Calamostachys-1.jpg

 

The thing on the left is probably immature foliage.... or is it a cone?

 

Calamostachys again, up close:

 

8969-Calamostachys-2.jpg

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Wow! Super details! :wub:

"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!

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That roach wing is a beauty!

"They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things."

-- Terry Pratchett

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Eurypterid

Adelophthalmus sp.

Upper Cherokee Group, Pennsylvanian

Knob Noster, Missouri

 

9255--Knob-Noster-eurypterid-1.jpg

 

Part:

 

9215-Knob-Noster-eurypterid-2.jpg

 

9224-Knob-Noster-eurypterid-3.jpg

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Counterpart:

 

9234-Knob-Noster-eurypterid-4.jpg

 

9238-Knob-Noster-eurypterid-5.jpg

 

This specimen is a dorsal view. For years, I assumed it was ventral. Parts of the head and first two segments are broken away to reveal ventral details, including the metastoma and some legs.

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  • 1 month later...

Micro hash

Hickory Creek Shale, Pennsylvanian

Wilson County, Kansas

 

The piece is a burrow or erosional scour that had been filled with very fine fossil debris:

 

3749-Hickory-micro-hash.jpg

 

Forams dominate the mix of various invertebrates and possibly algae:

 

3731-3736-Hickory-micro-hash.jpg

 

Can you spot the ostracod?

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On 9/22/2013 at 1:20 PM, lissa318 said:

Always a pleasure to look at them. :)

 

I'll have to agree. :)

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I've been finding an assortment of strange leaf-like fossils at a spot in the Pennsylvanian Quindaro Shale in Miami County, Kansas:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/26021-mystery-fossils-pennsylvanian/

 

I took the time to examine a couple under the microscope. Some branching forms:

 

4452-pahoeid-3.jpg

 

Up close, they don't reveal much fine detail:

 

4459-pahoeid-4.jpg

 

I haven't seen anything like these at any other site -- or anywhere in the literature, for that matter. I figure they are a form of red algae, similar to Mesophyllum or Peyssonnelia that can be found in modern reefs. I don't know if these Pennsylvanian forms are rare or uniquely preserved in shale. They very well could be the common Archaeolithophyllum, which are normally thoroughly locked in limestone.

 

The small, spaghetti-like strands are unusual as well. They are calcified and completely featureless. Possibilities include sponges, green algae, or traces.

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From the same site....

 

This simple, sheet-like form is similar to phylloid algae that is frequently encountered in limestone:

 

4451-pahoeid-1.jpg

 

The gray cylinder with the raised pores is the sponge Coelocladia. Sponge and sheet up close:

 

4435-pahoeid-2.jpg

 

The sheet is featureless except for a few furrows and some attached epifauna.

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