Jim's Trips

[TNCollector]

Here is another from our trip this past weekend. This one is a tooth from a Cladodontid-type shark/fish. I finished most of the prep on it, with only one tiny cusp coming off, which I glued back.

[fossilized6s]

Those teeth are fantastic, guys. I love finding early vertebrate material! Kudos!

[JimB88]

Here is another from our trip this past weekend. This one is a tooth from a Cladodontid-type shark/fish. I finished most of the prep on it, with only one tiny cusp coming off, which I glued back.

caladodus1.jpg

yep, that would be a Symmorium..at least you didnt loose the piece!

[TNCollector]

Jim, did you draw that photo? I like it, I think I am going to print it out and display it next to the tooth.

I bought a handheld engraver from Sears (used for engraving wood, metal, etc.). It has a reciprocating carbide needle, similar to an air scribe. For $25, it worked great for prepping this tooth.

[JimB88]

no, thats an illustration from the 'Discovering Fossil Fishes" book by Dr. Maisey

thats cool, Im glad it works. Plus you dont need the compressor then.

[JimB88]

OK..get to add to this now. Things have been busy for me so I didnt have much prep or photo time; but I did manage to collect this Fri and the previous one. Went back to the area NW of me that Ive been collecting at. Its the New Providence Shale, and its Mississippian in age.

I'll start with the corals.

Zepherentis sp.

this has the end 'blown open' by a geode. It wasnt an attractive geode so I opted to glue it back together.

not all the corals there are huge, some are very small.

Amplexus sp.

this is how I typically find these..flattened in the shale..never in 3d. Possibly do to thinner use of calcium carbonate than other rugose corals.

And now for the Bryozoans.

Ive yet to positively ID these but they seem rather common in some layers of the shale.

these are the same genus, one has been flattened more than the other.

cont..next post

[JimB88]

and now for the brachiopods...

Athyris sp.

the second specimen has been flattened.

Brachythyris sp.

This one seem abundant here and it gets quite large. they are hard to find intact however. It was found free of the matrix.

unknown inarticulate..possibly Orbiculoidea.

And now the mollusks

Platyceras sp.

The second specimen is unusual...possibly a young one.

And now the Arthropods.

Australosutura georgiana

second one of these trilobite pygidiums Ive found. They are highly decorated!

And finally the echinoderms.

Agaricocrinus sp.

cont...

[JimB88]

Agaricocrinus sp.

both this and the previous specimen are partial, but with five specimen, it seems to have been common.

Alloprosallocrinus sp.

This was a strange find ..its just the bottom of the calyx, no tegumen remains.

Not sure what these are from (other than an echinoderm) but theyre the first spines Ive seen at this site.

The longer one is on the underside of the plate with the two stouter spines.

Thats it for now..lots more prepping to do....

[Ludwigia]

Nice cross-section you've got there. Interesting how some are flattened and some are not. Do they come from different layers, or do the layers themselves vary?

Edited October 18, 2015 by Ludwigia

[JimB88]

they come from different layers, from a cut further down the road (same formation though.)

[FossilHunter99]

Cool fossils!

[JimB88]

Cool fossils!

Thanks..I like them too!

[Fossildude19]

Great finds, Jim!

Glad you got out!

Regards,

[JimB88]

Great finds, Jim!

Glad you got out!

Regards,

Thanks Tim!

[JimB88]

and now some from last Friday's trip!

I started out at the Fort Payne site Ive been working. Its mid Mississippian.

I'll start with the corals again,

Amplexus sp.

this is the biggest (as far as girth) of these corals that Ive seen to date!

Here a rare find from here, a bivalve

Ive yet to find one of these complete. Not sure on the genus yet.

heres another big fat Platyceras sp. gastro.

This one shows the beginnings of being "blown up" by the formation of a geode.

I had picked up a large block of shale that had some more of these snails in it, but when working on reducing the block I found something more exciting! I had always wondered what crinoid these big platy's were attaching themselves to, as they are far too big for the calyxes Ive found at that site to date. These are the plates of a very large crinoid (the one is loose) and a large spine from it (I presume) as well.

Haven't figured out the Genus yet, Ive asked Archimedes if he recognizes it as he's an expert on the subject. In the top left corner of the pic is one of the four Platyceras in this block.

cont....

Edited October 29, 2015 by JimB88

[JimB88]

After about an hour and a half I decided to do some more exploring. I checked out four more spots with no luck until i came to another large roadcut on the top of a hill. According to the USGS map, its the Fort Payne Formation. It ended up being a very confusing site for me, as i found some stuff that made me go ..what the?!

My understanding has always been that trilobites in the Mississippian were small, usually very small. My first two finds at this new spot made me wonder if it wasnt an older formation.

I found both of these real close to each other and minutes apart. They're big for a late Paleozoic bug! I think they both are Proetids of some sort. I'm still not certain if they're not from the Ordovician; but the cut was at the top of a hill..which (in my area) are usually capped by Mississippian rock. Furthering the case for the later rock was the presence of the same bryozoans I had been finding in the Fort Payne. And this Brachiopod..

I believe its an Athyris which also occurs in the Fort Payne.

I may have to contact Piranha to see what he thinks they are.

I'll add more to this tomorrow....

Edited October 29, 2015 by JimB88

[TNCollector]

Those trilobites are really neat! Do you plan on prepping out the first one further? Looks like more of the bug might be in there.

[JimB88]

its not, I tried. Had to glue it back together There are some thoratic segments on the other side but they dont line up with the cephalon so I doubt its a roller.

[TNCollector]

its not, I tried. Had to glue it back together There are some thoratic segments on the other side but they dont line up with the cephalon so I doubt its a roller.

Bummer.

[piranha]

This Fort Payne proetid is similar to Griffithidella? sp. and Pudoproetus sp. Brezinski 2009 lists these from Fort Payne, but the figured examples are limited and neither have been named or described yet. I'm leaning toward Griffithidella? sp. because the eyes are approximately twice the length of the glabellar lobes as seen on your specimen. Pudoproetus has eyes and lobes that are nearly equal in length. Attached are representative examples, if you manage to find an associated pygidium that would help to confirm which one it is.

 

 

Brezinski, D.K. (2009)

Biostratigraphic Distribution of Appalachian Carboniferous Trilobites. pp.78-84

In: Greb, S.F., & Chesnut, D.R. (eds.)

Carboniferous Geology and Biostratigraphy of the Appalachian Basin.

Kentucky Geological Survey, Special Publication, 10:1-101

 

 

 

[PFOOLEY]

Dang, Jim...you've got one heck of a thread going!...interesting, intriguing and informative. What else could you ask for?

Nice work...I'll be watching.

[Fossildude19]

Great haul, Jim!

A complete trilobite cannot be too far behind!

Regards,

[JimB88]

This Fort Payne proetid is similar to Griffithidella? sp. and Pudoproetus sp. Brezinski 2009 lists these from Fort Payne, but the figured examples are limited and neither have been named or described yet. I'm leaning toward Griffithidella? sp. because the eyes are approximately twice the length of the glabellar lobes as seen on your specimen. Pudoproetus has eyes and lobes that are nearly equal in length. Attached are representative examples, if you manage to find an associated pygidium that would help to confirm which one it is.

IMG1.jpg

Brezinski, D.K. (2009)

Biostratigraphic Distribution of Appalachian Carboniferous Trilobites. pp.78-84

In: Greb, S.F., & Chesnut, D.R. (eds.)

Carboniferous Geology and Biostratigraphy of the Appalachian Basin.

Kentucky Geological Survey, Special Publication, 10:1-101

Thanks for the help! You sure know your bugs I did find a un-associated pygidium (which I'll post tomorrow.)

Dang, Jim...you've got one heck of a thread going!...interesting, intriguing and informative. What else could you ask for?

Nice work...I'll be watching.

Thanks, Im glad you like it..I update frequently.

Great haul, Jim!

A complete trilobite cannot be too far behind!

Regards,

Thanks Tim. I know where Im going next time and im going to sit and split shale until I find one!

[Plantguy]

Jim good luck with the trilo hunting. Was intrigued by that spine? with the crinoid plates...Regards, Chris

[JimB88]

Jim good luck with the trilo hunting. Was intrigued by that spine? with the crinoid plates...Regards, Chris

I think they go together, Im thinking about trying to remove the plates and re-assembling the crinoid. Not sure yet though.

Edited November 1, 2015 by JimB88