Latest Scottish Carboniferous finds

[Archie]

 

 

13 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

This is a fantastic tooth! 

Amazing information about the transverse ridges. I find this incredibly interesting. 

 

Hope you don't mind, I cropped and rotated your image to better show this feature. 

Thanks Tim thats much better!  

I'm fascinated by this too! I recently came across this excellent paper on the subject. https://zoologicalletters.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40851-018-0097-8 

I have a few species of other plates showing this feature too I'll get some pics.

[Fossildude19]

1 hour ago, Archie said:

 

 

Thanks Tim thats much better!  

I'm fascinated by this too! I recently came across this excellent paper on the subject. https://zoologicalletters.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40851-018-0097-8 

I have a few species of other plates showing this feature too I'll get some pics.

Thanks for the paper link, Sam!

Looking forward to reading this, this weekend.

[Archie]

Heres a few more examples of tooth plates with the ridged feature;

 

A little Chochliodont I havent been able to ID from the Blackhall Limestone

 

A Pleuroplax rankinei from the Coal Measures

 

 

And another example of P. rankinei next to Helodus simplex, looking very much like two fused H. simplex.

[Archie]

Had a nice find last weekend too of another example of the weird Cynopodius crenulatus, only the third Ive ever come across. This one has interesting wear on the cusplets and some fine scratches on the surface (though these could have been made during taphonomy rather than life) I'm wondering if these might be clues to its unknown function. 

 

  

 

I also recently got a block cut and and polished of the Kingswood stromatolite bed from an Asbian aged horizon of the Stratchclyde Group, there's still a bit of the volcanic tuff substrate of the lake bed at the base. This is one three slabs I had cut going the same way and all are of equal size (roughly 25 x25cm) so going to mount them in order on a piece of oak I just picked up from a local sawmill, still routing it out to recess the slabs into but will post pics when done.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Love that stromatolite.

[Archie]

Thanks Adam!

Theres a few stromatolite beds in the local area but this ones by far the nicest to cut and polish, the others are pretty bland in comparison! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Reminds me of the 'Cotham Marble' Triassic stromatolitic rock from the Bristol area. 

[Archie]

That stuff's stunning! 

[deutscheben]

Those Pleuroplax and Cynopodius are so strange and delightful!

[Fossildude19]

The Carboniferous awesomeness is near overwhelming!  

Excellent teeth, Sam! 

You do find the coolest shark teeth, in my opinion.  

 

[fossilsonwheels]

15 hours ago, Archie said:

Had a nice find last weekend too of another example of the weird Cynopodius crenulatus, only the third Ive ever come across. This one has interesting wear on the cusplets and some fine scratches on the surface (though these could have been made during taphonomy rather than life) I'm wondering if these might be clues to its unknown function. 

 

Beautiful tooth !! You do find spectacular fossils

[Yoda]

@Archie

Very nice Stromatolite.

Is it biological or geological in origin?

 

 

 

[Monica]

The shark teeth you find are AMAZING!!! 

[Archie]

On 2/8/2020 at 5:28 PM, deutscheben said:

Those Pleuroplax and Cynopodius are so strange and delightful!

I think I say this about everything but they're two of my favourite shark fossils

 

On 2/8/2020 at 7:09 PM, Fossildude19 said:

The Carboniferous awesomeness is near overwhelming!  

Excellent teeth, Sam! 

You do find the coolest shark teeth, in my opinion.  

 

Thanks Tim!  

I'm extremely lucky with the geology of the local area theres such a diversity of Carboniferous goodness!

I love the shark stuff our US members find but the grass is always greener as they say  

 

On 2/8/2020 at 9:22 PM, fossilsonwheels said:

Beautiful tooth !! You do find spectacular fossils

Thank you!  

 

On 2/9/2020 at 6:19 AM, Yoda said:

@Archie

Very nice Stromatolite.

Is it biological or geological in origin?

 

 

 

Thank you! Its a bit of both, heres an explanation taken from Wikipedia: Stromatolites are layered bio-chemical accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms (microbial mats) of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria.

 

On 2/9/2020 at 6:34 AM, Monica said:

The shark teeth you find are AMAZING!!! 

Thanks Monica!  

[fifbrindacier]

On 22/09/2019 at 6:22 PM, Archie said:

Saivodus striatus (Agassiz 1843), Fife, 22mm x 22mm. This is the most intact Saivodus Ive ever found, luckily all the tiny cusplets had weathered out naturally and were totally undamaged. The matrix has desiccation cracks on the underside, calcite infilled septarian cracks on the broken faces and only has fossils on the surface so could it have been a ball of clay that was rolled by wave action picking up objects like crinoid ossicles and teeth?

That tooth is wonderful !

 

On 22/09/2019 at 6:36 PM, Archie said:

Deltoptychis armigerus (Traquair, 1888), Hessilhead Quarry, Ayrshire, 19mm. This is only the second specimen of this tooth I've ever found, crushing type teeth seem to be much rarer in this formation than the slicey or stabby (to keep the terminology as scientific as possible ) kinds.  

 

This one also !

 

On 22/09/2019 at 6:53 PM, Archie said:

Articulated crinoid arms, possibly Poteriocrinites sp., Fife, 36mm x 34mm.

 

The second, rarer, spotty form of undescribed Jellyfish from Trearne Quarry, Ayrshire, 26mm across.

 

Ctenoptychius lobatus (Etheridge, 1875), Fife, 7mm x 5mm.

 

Crinoid calyx, Poteriocrinites sp? Fife, 22mm across.

Wow those crinoids are marvelous, i love that tooth too !

I'm also fond of your Jellyfishes !

[Wrangellian]

Just got up to date on your latest finds as I haven't been watching for the last month or more.. Wow, they just keep coming! They're all great but my favourite must be the sponge and of course those jellyfish. I can't think of any place where you can find jellyfish and other things like shark teeth on the same piece (maybe at Mazon you might find a jelly together with something else in the same concretion but I'm not sure I've seen anything other than single jellyfish or clusters of small ones). How many jellies have you found to date, any idea?

[Archie]

Thanks @fifbrindacier!  

The Blackhall Limestone is amazing stuff the variety and preservation is by far the best of all the marine limestones Ive hunted in around here!

 

 

11 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Just got up to date on your latest finds as I haven't been watching for the last month or more.. Wow, they just keep coming! They're all great but my favourite must be the sponge and of course those jellyfish. I can't think of any place where you can find jellyfish and other things like shark teeth on the same piece (maybe at Mazon you might find a jelly together with something else in the same concretion but I'm not sure I've seen anything other than single jellyfish or clusters of small ones). How many jellies have you found to date, any idea?

Thanks @Wrangellian! I think your right and it might be unique! Its very interesting that the jellyfish keep popping up alongside teeth at this site here in the east of Scotland as no examples of them being found together have occurred at Trearne quarry in the west were they were originally discovered, as far as I'm aware after looking into it a little anyway. I've just counted and so far Ive found eighteen of the regular kind and one of the rarer spotty kind here in Fife and one spotty one at Trearne. Of these only four are complete, three are in association with the tooth Ctenoptychius lobatus and three with the tooth Ctenopetalus serratus. Litterally hundreds of examples have been found at Trearne over the past 40 years or so though sometimes with multiple jellies on one plate. 

[Pemphix]

Very cool finds, which you don't see very often !

Thank you for showing them !

[Archie]

On 2/11/2020 at 3:20 PM, Pemphix said:

Very cool finds, which you don't see very often !

Thank you for showing them !

Thanks glad you liked them!  

[Archie]

Not had a chance to get on and post much lately so hope this finds everone safe and well in these troubling times! Made a few interesting shark finds over the past few weeks while I was still able to get out, first was this Helodus (Pleuroplax) affinis tooth plate from the Coal Measures, definitely the biggest and best Ive found! Its just over 1cm long.

 

 

Then my favourite find in a long time, a lovely Ctenacanthid fin spine with a double row of alternating denticles from the Burdiehouse Limestone. 59mm long.

 

 

And finally another Coal Measures find from a box of promising looking matrix now I'm staying at home, a tiny little pair of Helodus simplex still joined together. Each tooth is just 3mm wide.

 

 

   

[Fossildude19]

Wow! Great finds, Sam. 

I love fossil hunting at home.  

[Archie]

Thanks Tim!

Me too  

[Misha]

Absolutely incredible fossils!

I get  every time I come on to this thread and see your finds.

[t-tree]

Love that fin spine  great finds.

 

John

[Monica]

All cool finds, especially the Helodus (Pleuroplax) affinis tooth plate - WOW!!!