Jim's Trips

[JimB88]

Alright, time to update!

Went out to the same spot as my previous post to look for more bug bits; ended up finding all kinds of neat things!

First up some tiny horn corals and a first for me from these sites ...a Blastoid!

This is the first blastoid Ive come across since I started my early - mid Mississippian explorations. It appears to be of the genus Pentremites, beyond that Im not sure. The horn corals are more than likely Zepherentis, but thats just a guess on my part.

For some reason bivalves are also scarce at these sites and even harder to find intact..though damaged (not by me) its complete enough to collect.

not sure on the genus yet..some type of razor clam.

Brachiopods were common and though they are usually flattened to some degree, they do make attractive fossils. They dont photograph well so bear with me.

a flattened productid. I liked the color and the preservation of it.

another productid, Pustula alternata, with a tiny horn coral nearby.

This is a common member of this formation Athyris sp. albeit flatted to a large degree.

cont...

[JimB88]

cont..

and another Athyris sp.

A large flattened productid. I thought it made for a neat pattern.

some of the bryos at this site have interesting preservation...

1. 2. 3.

1. Ive collected these at the first site I started exploring this spring. Not sure on the genus yet. 2. Fenestella sp..would love to find a complete fan of this or the next one. 3. Polypora sp...nice color on this one.

This site doesnt seem to have as many Platyceras as the other..but that makes sense since Ive yet to find a crinoid there.

Platyceras sp.

cont.

[JimB88]

cont...

I came seeking trilo bits (hoping for a complete one) and that was all I found..no complete one yet...

the positive and negative of one I was hoping was complete, the shale didnt split cleanly for some reason. I tries to probe around it to see if there was more to no avail.

I collected many of these pygidiums, and characteristically they were the most common bit found. I believe they are Griffithidella sp.

thats it for now!

[piranha]

...I collected many of these pygidiums, and characteristically they were the most common bit found. I believe they are Griffithidella sp....

These pygidia have too many axial rings and ribs for Griffithidella sp. If you check again the image from post number 145, you can clearly see it has approximately half the rings and ribs as the new ones you just posted. Brezinski also mentions a couple other unidentified trilobites from Fort Payne, so hopefully a new paper with updated info is in the works.

[JimB88]

These pygidia have too many axial rings and ribs for Griffithidella sp. If you check again the image from post number 145, you can clearly see it has approximately half the rings and ribs as the new ones you just posted. Brezinski also mentions a couple other unidentified trilobites from Fort Payne, so hopefully a new paper with updated info is in the works.

you are correct. Truthfully, I didnt count them. Maybe I should contact Brezinski.

[Fossildude19]

Excellent finds, Jim!

Glad to see you get what you are targeting.

A complete one can't be too far away!

Regards,

[JimB88]

Excellent finds, Jim!

Glad to see you get what you are targeting.

A complete one can't be too far away!

Regards,

Thanks Tim! Im hoping!

[JimB88]

Been a while since I updated so bear with me. Ive been out four or five times to collect this winter and early spring; mostly to the New Providence shale (except for the last trip with TNCollector.)

All the stops i made were in the Mississippian.

I'll get right to the finds... Starting with an excellent example of black shale with white fossils. I kept this first pic large as the detail on it is fascinating. It consists of mostly Bryozoans, but a brachiopod and trilobite pygidium are also present.

Im not sure what the white mineral is, but it does a beautiful job of preserving things. Fenestella and Polypora are present though the rest are unknown to me at this time.

I always like to find a large horn coral (especially free of the matrix) like this Zepherentis.

Bivalves seem scarce at these sites, so I grabbed this one despite it only being half a clam.

Not sure on the genus.

I now only pick up Platyceras snails if they have the "curly cue" intact or are unusual. All of these came from the same block of shale (one was visible, the rest pleasant surprises.)

The third one is over the somewhat dis-articulated remains of a crinoid tegumen! Was it attached? Possibly.

I liked the color on this spirifer...

Spirifer sp.

A rather unusual crinoid plate...

Not sure on the genus of crinoid though.

cont next post...

[JimB88]

This site keeps teasing me with trilobits, but has yet to yield a complete one.

Heres a good example...a cephalon and pygidium, but nothing in between!

This is the pos and the neg (which has the actual remains in it.) Im not sure if these go together or not.

I have twenty or so pygidiums from this location (too many to photograph all of them) they are quite common and often occur in multiples.

Another tease, thoracic segments, but the cephalon was no longer there.

Vertebrate remains from the New Providence have proven very elusive; and consist of on (very) partial Petalodus tooth and this mystery item. It may be part of a tooth or spine or even a bit of bone.

Its worth noting that neither of the vert remains occurred in the shale, rather they were in very hard limestone that caps the formation.

My latest trip found me back in the Bangor Limestone with TNCollector (also a fellow Jim) to look for Bradyodont teeth.

At this point I havent finished identifying and prepping my finds but I'll post what I have so far...

First up half of a large Psephodus...

I havent taken off the rubber cement that I use to stop "zingers" yet (I forgot.)

Next was exciting and heartbreaking at the same time..the Chimaeriforme Deltodopsis;

I was hoping for a complete one, but had to settle for a fragment.

It had popped of the rock (not enough glue) but Jim's keen eye helped me find it!

Heres an unusual one..the impression of the lower half of a Petalodus.

the growth ridges and root is visible as an impression. I have all of the growth ridges from the actual tooth as well.

Lastly is a raririty at this site..a bivalve, not sure on the type though.

Ill add more as I prep and id it..thanks for watching!

[Auspex]

Very nice, Jim; the detail in that shale is extraordinary!

[JimB88]

Very nice, Jim; the detail in that shale is extraordinary!

Thanks Chas! I thought it was neat.

[Terry Dactyll]

Well done Jim.... Your sure to drop on a complete specimen soon enough....

[Fossildude19]

Great finds, Jim!

Looking forward to seeing more in the near future, with the weather warming up.

Regards,

[JimB88]

Well done Jim.... Your sure to drop on a complete specimen soon enough....

thanks. I hope so. im new to the whole "sit and split" collecting style

Great finds, Jim!

Looking forward to seeing more in the near future, with the weather warming up.

Regards,

thanks Tim..looking forward to seeing yours too!

[JimB88]

heres a few other things...

First up a large productid from the Limestone layer that caps the New Providence shale

I believe its Pustula alternata

Heres a neat thing from my trip with Jim...

Its a Lyropora quincuncialis support structure. Which, like the Archimedes corkscrew support..is believed to be a symbiotic relation between a calciferous red algae (which makes the support) and fenestelid bryozoan colonies.

So I got the bug to go collect today, but didnt feel like driving too far. So I went down to a road cut I frequent a lot that exposes the Pennington Formation, Normally one finds "hash" plates on finely laminated silt stone here, along with some dolomite full of diaphragmus brachiopods. Ive found around four teeth at this locale in all my years of going there, as well as a few conularids. On this trip I nearly doubled the amount of teeth Ive found there! It was an exciting trip!

Right off the bat I found a tooth! Not in the silt stone or the dolostone, but on the argillaceous mudstone where Ive previously never found anything. In fact it seems teeth are the only fossils in this stuff.

I believe all are Deltodus sp. though the small one may be a Cochliodus sp.

Next up is a bit of a mystery for me, it maybe a halved spine; but I'm unsure at this point.

It was in the dolostone.

Lastly was common brach Composista sp.

I collected it as it shows the sockets for the teeth and the muscle scars.

Not bad for about an hour!

Edited March 12, 2016 by JimB88

[belemniten]

Wow great ! Lovely fossils...keep posting and thanks fpr sharing

[JimB88]

Wow great ! Lovely fossils...keep posting and thanks fpr sharing

no problem..i hope tp keep em' coming!

[PA Fossil Finder]

Awesome teeth! Paleozoic sharks are my favorite

[JimB88]

Awesome teeth! Paleozoic sharks are my favorite

Mine too!

[JimB88]

time to add to my thread again...

Went out twice since last time. First was the previous Sat, after helping my sister move I did some collecting on the way home. Though I was too tired to stay long, i did pick up a couple of things.

These are Upper Ordovician, Leipers Formation

First up is a rarity for me since I moved to TN..the gastropod Trochonema sp. They were abundant where I used to live in northern Illinois, but down here (in the Leipers at least) they are scarce.

Its an internal mold covered in crystals.

Next up was a section of a cephalopod that I wish I could find complete, the cyrtocone Beloitoceras sp.

This is from close to the end of the cone..the closer to the body chamber you get the more oblong the shape becomes.

Ive been hoping to find an Cyrtoceras with the body chamber for a while, and finally, i think I have! This is the before pick, Im currently working on it. It seems like it may be complete. Though it seems larger for a cyrtoceras...

I'll post a finished pic when its done. Cyrtoceras convidale.

Thats all I picked up from that stop (I said I was tired. )

This past Friday I decided to do some hunting in the New Providence shale. And despite being bothered by a few people I did pretty well.

The New Providence is middle Mississippian.

First thing I noticed was a crinoid calyx! And though its a little deformed Im happy with it.

This is the Camerate Agaricocrinus sp.

Thr crinoid kept coming..after that another Camerate..possibly Teleocrinus...

Then this fairly large cup...

Im not sure how I spotted this but I picked this little Camerate right off the rock face..its tiny...

Not sure if it represents a juvenile or an adult of a really small genus.

Next , this Zepherentis sp. decided to interrupt my crinoid parade

Not the biggest ive seen but a keeper..

This one is going to take some work..its a large Camerate of some kind. ill need to use the air abrader on this one as the shale can be tricky.

I didnt find a loy of brachs, but heres a couple i kept...

They are Athyris sp. and Productus sp. i believe.

I'll post more as I prep them..thanks for tuning in!

[Fossildude19]

Wow Jim!

You are the Crinoid King for the day!

Good luck on the prep with those.

Thanks for the ongoing, fantastic report - I enjoy seeing all of your varied finds.

Regards,

[Terry Dactyll]

Jim.... I like the look of the cyrtoceras.... Keep us posted....

[Ludwigia]

I like that Trochonema.

[JimB88]

Wow Jim!

You are the Crinoid King for the day!

Good luck on the prep with those.

Thanks for the ongoing, fantastic report - I enjoy seeing all of your varied finds.

Regards,

Thanks Tim! Yeah, I was lucky with those that day. Most of the calyxes get "blown up" with geodes growing in them.

Jim.... I like the look of the cyrtoceras.... Keep us posted....

Will do Terry, its in very hard limestone; but as long as no other fossils have intruded it should be all there.

I like that Trochonema.

Me too, it has a classic shape and the crystals make it sparkle.

[JimB88]

Update time!

Did some more prepping on the Cyrtoceras sp. cephalopod. Ive uncovered all Im going to; next is cleaning it up. Unfortunately, as its an internal mold the very end of the shell wasn't preserved. But its the largest and most complete of this specie Ive found! There ended up being three of them in the rock, but the other two were not as complete.

before:

and after:

Im thinking of shaping the remaining matrix so it makes a better display piece. I may remove the gastro too since its upside down anyway.

I keep forgetting a size reference. Its 2 1/2 inches long.

Edited April 9, 2016 by JimB88