2 Devonian Finds

[Brewcuse]

Found these two collecting at the well-known Briggs Rd quarry in Lebanon, NY (Middle Devonian, Upper Ludlowville Formation, Hamilton Group).

The first has the feel of an oyster shell without the dimensionality, it's nearly flat.

The second I thought when I saw it on the ground was a nautiloid based on it's length/width proportion and relative flattened state, but it's far more serpentine and feels more coral-like?

Thanks again to everyone on here who shares their geographic, geologic & paleontologic knowledge...

[Brewcuse]

additional photos

[Auspex]

The oystery-looking thing may be a section through a colonial coral (or similar).

Note the ends of the "tubes" that I've marked.

[piranha]

  

 

The first one looks like a burrow and the second one looks like a bivalve.

 

Check the Linsley bivalve plates for comparison:

 

Linsley, D.M. (1994)

Devonian Paleontology of New York.

Paleontological Research Institute, 472 pp.  PDF LINK

[Shamalama]

Second pic of the bivalve could be a Modimorpha or possibly a Goniophora IMHO.

[howard_l]

The one is a trace fossil, (burrow of some type), I would look at the very edges of the second rock under magnification to see if there are corallites on the end. If there is it is a tabulate coral, maybe Syringapora.

[Brewcuse]

The oystery-looking thing may be a section through a colonial coral (or similar).

Note the ends of the "tubes" that I've marked.

~.JPG

The first one looks like a burrow and the second one looks like a bivalve.

Check the Linsley bivalve plates for comparison:

Linsley, D.M. (1994)

Devonian Paleontology of New York.

Paleontological Research Institute, 472 pp.

LINK

Second pic of the bivalve could be a Modimorpha or possibly a Goniophora IMHO.

The one is a trace fossil, (burrow of some type), I would look at the very edges of the second rock under magnification to see if there are corallites on the end. If there is it is a tabulate coral, maybe Syringapora.

I'll re-examine it for corallites… I would have thought it a bivalve, but nothing in Linsley looks even close and the photos of Modimorpha/Goniomorpha I googled don't show the same patterning. I'll keep at it… thanks for all your help.

[Brewcuse]

I've been looking at strophodonta demissa based on another fossil I found and some of the similarities in patterning between the two are highly correlative.

Is this strophodonta demissa? size is approx 2.75" x 2.5"

thanks

[dabbler]

The first one looks like a burrow and the second one looks like a bivalve.

Check the Linsley bivalve plates for comparison:

Linsley, D.M. (1994)

Devonian Paleontology of New York.

Paleontological Research Institute, 472 pp.

LINK

Hi there,

Based on the clear scratch marks, I can say that the first picture shows a branching trace fossil; Spongeliomorpha (iberica? sp.). It is believed to be produced by thalassinid shrimps, but potentially there are more than a few animals that can produce this trace fossil. The scratch marks on the burrow wall also suggest that the substrate was firm, at the time it was burrowed. In other words, the trace makers had to excavate the substrate in order to be mobilized.

Cheers

[Brewcuse]

Hi there,

Based on the clear scratch marks, I can say that the first picture shows a branching trace fossil; Spongeliomorpha (iberica? sp.). It is believed to be produced by thalassinid shrimps, but potentially there are more than a few animals that can produce this trace fossil. The scratch marks on the burrow wall also suggest that the substrate was firm, at the time it was burrowed. In other words, the trace makers had to excavate the substrate in order to be mobilized.

Cheers

Dabbler-

Thanks for the insight. Looking at images on google, this is nearly exactly what I have- mine is in a collapsed/flattened state which makes sense in the sediment. I find these fairly often, though rarely as defined as this one. In some cases, the are straight enough (and weathered enough) to be confused with some sort of cephalopod.

It's amazing to me to have the collective resources of TFF members teach me about the seafloor environment over 300mya. I look differently at the stratification around me as I learn more and I'm just awed at the scale of natural forces over time...