Beautifully Articulated Ordovician Crinoid

[Bev]

Ordovician

SE MN

Prosser member of the Galena Formation

For Scale:

In Context:

Closeup:

Thoughts on specie?

[ynot]

Very nice find!! Looks like You had a good trip recently.

Congratulations on the cool finds!

Tony

[Fossildude19]

That's a beauty Bev!

Sorry I can't help with an ID.
Regards,

[dalmayshun]

beautiful piece, for help with things like this in our area, mich, wis, mn, I go to the university of michigan paleontology museum. Lots of helpful info there, and even if it doesn't add any information to your great find, the museums site is great to look through. they also have a 3-d mammoth, where you can look at it bone by bone, and separate the bones and rotate them on the computer to look at them from any angle. Great site. Great find. Congratulations. ( http://lsa.umich.edu/paleontology/collections.html )

[Bev]

beautiful piece, for help with things like this in our area, mich, wis, mn, I go to the university of michigan paleontology museum. Lots of helpful info there, and even if it doesn't add any information to your great find, the museums site is great to look through. they also have a 3-d mammoth, where you can look at it bone by bone, and separate the bones and rotate them on the computer to look at them from any angle. Great site. Great find. Congratulations. ( http://lsa.umich.edu/paleontology/collections.html )

Wow! THANK YOU!!! New knowledge for me! :-D

[dalmayshun]

Actually, I just went to that site myself, and saw this beautiful large image, which looks an awful lot like the one you found...a bit larger, but same sort of form and texture. Proctothylacocrinus longus Kier, Holotype

Edited July 9, 2016 by dalmayshun

[fifbrindacier]

Nice find Bev ! As i looked at your picture, i saw what might be shells around the crinoid, and, on the right, two crinoid columns.

[FossilDAWG]

Nice crinoid, Bev. You should check out Cupulocrinus or perhaps Dendrocrinus as possible generic IDs.

Proctothylacocrinus longus is a Devonian species from the Silica Shale; no crinoid genera (much less species) ranged from the Ordovician all the way to the mid-Devonian. It also differs from your specimen in many features of the calyx ornament, anal sac, etc.

Don

[JohnBrewer]

Great find Bev. I wonder if prepped what more it will show.

[fossilized6s]

awesome find, Bev!

if you don't have a prep tool or aren't comfortable prepping it you can easily remove more matrix with multiple baths in cleaning vinegar and a rough bristled brush.

[smt126]

Great crinoid Bev

[tmaier]

Yeah!

You have to bust a lot of rock, move a lot of stone, to find one that complete.

Great specimen.

[Plantguy]

Hi Bev, that does look like a great specimen. congrats! Regards, Chris

[FossilDAWG]

awesome find, Bev!

if you don't have a prep tool or aren't comfortable prepping it you can easily remove more matrix with multiple baths in cleaning vinegar and a rough bristled brush.

If you do this you will likely ruin the specimen. Crinoids are composed of calcite, which will dissolve as readily as the limestone matrix. Also the vinegar will likely soften the surface enough that the rough brush will leave obvious scratch marks. On rare occasion such fossils are replaced with silica, in which case the vinegar would help. Usually there is some evidence of beekite rings in such specimens, which I do not see in yours. At any rate, you should always test such a cleaning method on a less important specimen from the same site to be sure you won't damage the fossil.

Don

[Bev]

Thank you all so much! But as you will find out from the trip report coming up I did not find it, one of the group did and I'm trying to get an ID for them. Oh, was I envious! Even tried to buy it from them, but that was a no go... :-(

These group fossil hunts through Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center out of Lanesboro are sure turning up some nice fossils. The last two hunts have produced complete, laid out, trilobites and this gem of a crinoid plus some other very interesting fossils. And I'm getting paid to fossil hunt! :-D

[doushantuo]

you lucky so-and-so

[Bev]

you lucky so-and-so

Yup

[RJB]

Wow! That's a very cool lookin little critter. Makes me wish I had gotten into the fossil crinoids. Nice find

RB

[crinus]

Hi Bev,

Been busy and haven't visited the forum for quite some time. I got your PM, so I will post the response here.

It is Praecupulocrinus conjugans.

Cupulocrinid Crinoids from the Middle Ordovician (Galena Group, Dunleith Formation) of Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota

James C. Brower

Journal of Paleontology

Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 1992), pp. 99-128

[fossilized6s]

If you do this you will likely ruin the specimen. Crinoids are composed of calcite, which will dissolve as readily as the limestone matrix. Also the vinegar will likely soften the surface enough that the rough brush will leave obvious scratch marks. On rare occasion such fossils are replaced with silica, in which case the vinegar would help. Usually there is some evidence of beekite rings in such specimens, which I do not see in yours. At any rate, you should always test such a cleaning method on a less important specimen from the same site to be sure you won't damage the fossil.

Don

I've used this method with a lot of my limestone/dolomite finds, and it has never effected the fossil. I also don't let it soak for more than 10 minutes. It works quite nicely for me. I would try a test piece before doing this.

[sixgill pete]

Bev, that is a fantastic crinoid. Congrats!!!

[ynot]

Thank you all so much! But as you will find out from the trip report coming up I did not find it, one of the group did and I'm trying to get an ID for them. Oh, was I envious! Even tried to buy it from them, but that was a no go... :-(

These group fossil hunts through Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center out of Lanesboro are sure turning up some nice fossils. The last two hunts have produced complete, laid out, trilobites and this gem of a crinoid plus some other very interesting fossils. And I'm getting paid to fossil hunt! :-D

That is really nice Bev, fossil hunting, teaching newbies and getting paid for it!!!

The only down side is all the great finds that someone else gets to keep. At least You get to see them before they disappear into somebody's collection.

Tony

[erose]

awesome find, Bev!

if you don't have a prep tool or aren't comfortable prepping it you can easily remove more matrix with multiple baths in cleaning vinegar and a rough bristled brush.

NO! The fossils is preserved as calcite. the vinegar, even very dilute, will etch it. This one is worthy of professional help.

[Bev]

Hi Bev,

Been busy and haven't visited the forum for quite some time. I got your PM, so I will post the response here.

It is Praecupulocrinus conjugans.

Cupulocrinid Crinoids from the Middle Ordovician (Galena Group, Dunleith Formation) of Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota

James C. Brower

Journal of Paleontology

Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 1992), pp. 99-128

THANK YOU SO MUCH Crinus!!!

You are a wonder man when it comes to Crinoid and so many other fossils!

AGAIN Thank You!

[Bev]

That is really nice Bev, fossil hunting, teaching newbies and getting paid for it!!!

The only down side is all the great finds that someone else gets to keep. At least You get to see them before they disappear into somebody's collection.

Tony

Yes Tony, that is the DOWNSIDE! I even tried to buy this one off the guest, but no go! :-(

I would love to see more Ecotours develop around the country as to fossil hunting. If anyone is interested in what I am doing, I would be more than happy to share what is working and what is not working. Don't expect to make much money, but I find it to be loads of fun!