Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Coral head. Others will give a species to it. Tony PS Welcome to TFF! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Hi Chris! You definitely have some colonial coral - you can clearly see the radiating septa - beautiful! Where was it collected? It might help others narrow down the identification of your specimen... Welcome to the forum, by the way! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 Thanks for the welcome and help! This may be my new hobby! So cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 nw Illinois by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 It looks to be an unglaciated Petoskey stone, a fossil colonial rugose coral of the species Hexagonaria percarinata. It is in really good condition. At least it is likely to be in the genus Hexagonaria, I'm pretty sure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonaria 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 Thanks. Is it rare or should I look for more in the area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 If the coral is indeed Hexagonaria, then the place you are looking is from the Devonian period (about 400 million years old) and at that time Illinois was an ocean. You should look for more than just this coral, because you are likely to find a lot of other interesting things. Looking on Google for "Devonian fossils Illinois" brings up a lot of good stuff... https://www.google.com/search?q=Devonian+fossil+illinois&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch Most the the Hexagonaria I've seen are the ones that have been picked up and moved over long distances by the glaciers and they are very rounded. This one you have is very fresh, so it is likely that you found it where it was grwoing 400 million years ago. that also means you aren't in an area of glacial debris, but are at a Devonian formation. That means good fossil hunting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 cool, thank you so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 nice fossil, I think. If you take your pictures from further away and then trim them down, you might have better focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 This is a common Mississippian coral from the Midwest states: Lithostrotionella (=Acrocyathus) Here is a good paper: Sando, W.J. (1983) Revision of Lithostrotionella (Coelenterata, Rugosa) from the Carboniferous and Permian. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1247:1-52 PDF LINK IMG LINK 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Welcome to the Forum. I agree with Lithostrotionella sp. Neat find - thanks for sharing it here. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I retract Hexagonaria and vote for the Lithostrotionella. That solves the mystery of the "perfect" Petoskey stone. They normally are not in that crisp condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 13 hours ago, tmaier said: If the coral is indeed Hexagonaria, then the place you are looking is from the Devonian period (about 400 million years old) and at that time Illinois was an ocean. You should look for more than just this coral, because you are likely to find a lot of other interesting things. Looking on Google for "Devonian fossils Illinois" brings up a lot of good stuff...https://www.google.com/search?q=Devonian+fossil+illinois&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch Most the the Hexagonaria I've seen are the ones that have been picked up and moved over long distances by the glaciers and they are very rounded. This one you have is very fresh, so it is likely that you found it where it was grwoing 400 million years ago. that also means you aren't in an area of glacial debris, but are at a Devonian formation. That means good fossil hunting. Yes, like trilobites. Or cephalopods. For example. And, i love your coral. And, it's really nice. And, welcome from France. And,... a coffee with cream please. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 69 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 Thank you all. This has been very helpful and interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Cool coral. I'd definitely be back out there hunting that area to see what else it gives up. Welcome to the forum. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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