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Devonian Mysteries


west99

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I live on Lake Erie, and am close to a few quarries that turn up some good fossils from the Devonian. Most I have I.D.'d, but there are a couple that have stumped me.post-2323-1257794028641_thumb.jpg

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I'm unsure, has the fossil been cleaned with water and a brush? or is it too fragile. Just seems like a lot of dried mud on it...

It is definitely something but I don't know what

.

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I'm unsure, has the fossil been cleaned with water and a brush? or is it too fragile. Just seems like a lot of dried mud on it...

It is definitely something but I don't know what

.

I have cleaned it with water/brush, what looks like mud is actually part of the fossil content. I put the "close up" picture to show some of the clear fossil parts, like long lines that run in a full circle, concentric circles of the same lines. It almost looks like cow dung, but fossilized and with very defined concentric rings.

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Welcome to the forum! That is a Coral, probably Favosites. Started to grow on a softer substrate (mud) and that is the reason for the wrinkled looking bottom.

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Welcome to the forum! That is a Coral, probably Favosites. Started to grow on a softer substrate (mud) and that is the reason for the wrinkled looking bottom.

I think you are correct! I did a search on Favosite for images, after this post, and came up with this photo:

http://www.soes.soton.ac.uk/resources/collection/fossils/Corals/images/Favosites.jpg

http://www.nashvillefossils.com/fieldtrips/parsonsfieldtrip/favosites.jpg

The second link is exactly like the one I have!

That seems to be the answer I needed. Thanks for your help!

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Are you sure it isn't a Devonian stromatopotoid type sponge?

I don't think so, not after looking at the picture of the picture in the second link I posted. That looks almost exactly what I have. I'm way too new at this, but after being pointed in the right direction, I'm thinking Favosite. Question: Are favosites also Devonian, because I do know at least the ecological timeframe of the rocks I'm digging around in.

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Yes, Favosites can be found in the Devonian, and welcome to the forum. If I may ask, where around Lake Erie are you?

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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Yes, Favosites can be found in the Devonian, and welcome to the forum. If I may ask, where around Lake Erie are you?

Thanks for the welcome! And I live near Port Colborne, on the Canadian side of the lake. Look up "Morgan's Point, Lake Erie" on maps.google.com and you'll see the area. A treasure-trove of fossils, as I've discovered. I still prefer to scour for dinos in the badlands of Alberta, given a choice, but I'm getting quite taken by the fossils in my own back year. What of you, says "Northern Sharks", Canadian North?

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I'm an hour or so north of Toronto. How sure are you that your area is Devonian. There`s a well known quarry not too far from you in Fort Erie and it is Silurian. I thought Devonian was only in southwest Ontario. On that note, do you know about our trip this Saturday into Hungry Hollow. See the hunting trips folder, you`re more than welcome to come

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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I'm an hour or so north of Toronto. How sure are you that your area is Devonian. There`s a well known quarry not too far from you in Fort Erie and it is Silurian. I thought Devonian was only in southwest Ontario. On that note, do you know about our trip this Saturday into Hungry Hollow. See the hunting trips folder, you`re more than welcome to come

You raise a good question, and I'm not entirely sure now. I know the lake-bed in front of my house is Devonian, but the quarries are a different story, the "upper" walls likely Devonian, and the "quarry beds" likely Silurian. I am pretty sure the quarries expose both periods.

Fort Erie is close to Niagara Falls, and according to this list, sites in Port Colborne are Devonian, and Niagara Falls is Silurian. But I'm way too new at this to know for certain. Thanks for the new project! *grin*

Here is the website that lists dig sites:

http://www.fossilsites.com/STATES/ON.HTM

And I'm going to do some research on the dig-trip you mentioned, I'll let you know by the end of the day if I can make it. Very cool!

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