Fossils from Marcellus Fm (Hamilton Grp) Middle Devonian near Kingston, NY

[Bob Clouser]

I found some interesting fossils along Rte 209 in Kingston, NY. It's big high road cut in dark maroon shale mapped as middle Devonian Hamilton Group (others say Marcellus shale). Lots of bivalves that I've been calling Palaeoneilo. But similar ones I've come across on this site people are calling Nuculites or Nuculoidea. I included some pictures of these and others: three brachiopods, a trace fossil or plant fossil, and a possibly different bivalve. Any ideas on ID is greatly appreciated.

 

Bivalves I've been calling Palaeoneilo. They all have a distinctive notch coming from the umbo and an inflated triangular shape. Are these Nuculites?

 

I don't know if this is a trace fossil (animal track) or an actual plant fossil.

 

A different bivalve, lacking the notch.

 

A close-up of one of the specimens I've been calling Palaeoneilo.

 

Two brachiopods. Might be same genus?

 

View of the above left-hand brach showing hingeline and sockets.

 

Same as above showing fine concentric and broad radial ornamentation.

 

These two image are of a third brachiopod.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks,

Bob

Edited September 8 by Bob Clouser
add better pictures

[Fossildude19]

Bob,

 

More neat finds. Do you have David Linsley's Devonian Paleontology of New York 1994?

Or Karl Wilson's  book  - Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York?

 

Nice goniatite in the second pic near the plant fossil.

 

Not sure you can say more about the plant's identity.

 

I think some of your bivalves are Paleonielo, but the 3rd photo looks like Nuculoidea cubiformis to me.

 

@Jeffrey P may have more to say.

[Jeffrey P]

I do. Hi. Nice finds from an outcrop I used to hunt intensively about 9 years ago. Of the forty feet or so of cliff, only a few inches near the bottom are fossiliferous. Yes, it's Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale. More specifically, it is the Mount Marion Formation, which is part of the Hamilton Group, And the narrow fossiliferous section is the Dave Elliot Bed. It is believed to represent a deepwater marine fauna, thus the species diversity is less than some other shallow water sites. The whole Mount Marion Formation which is well exposed along the eastern flank of the Catskill Plateau is often characterized by very sparse fossils, except in narrow beds like this one, likely due to cloudy low oxygen sediment-filled waters from the nearby Catskill shore to the east. Tim might have gotten the order of photos wrong, but the third photo is definitely Paleoneilo filosa and the fourth one is Nuculoidea cubiformis which constitutes the vast majority of bivalves found there. The bivalves from that site unfortunately, have never received much attention or study. Your brachiopods are the rhynchonellid, Eumetabolatoechia multicostatum. Boy, that's a mouthful! Your plant fossil will likely remain an unidentified twig. I tried to get my plant specimens from that site identified by an expert years ago, but even those with fairly diagnostic features he would only very broadly categorize. Congrats on the goniatite. That site is most noteworthy for its cephalopods- a variety of nautiloids and the goniatite (Tornoceras mesopleuron). I encourage you to keep collecting the site and posting your finds. Thanks, and have a good one. 

[Bob Clouser]

On 9/7/2024 at 9:45 PM, Fossildude19 said:

Bob,

 

More neat finds. Do you have David Linsley's Devonian Paleontology of New York 1994?

Or Karl Wilson's  book  - Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York?

 

Nice goniatite in the second pic near the plant fossil.

 

Not sure you can say more about the plant's identity.

 

I think some of your bivalves are Paleonielo, but the 3rd photo looks like Nuculoidea cubiformis to me.

 

@Jeffrey P may have more to say.

Thanks! I just ordered Karl Wilson's book. I'll look on Amazon for the other book. I need to get some up-to-date reference material.

[Bob Clouser]

11 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

I do. Hi. Nice finds from an outcrop I used to hunt intensively about 9 years ago. Of the forty feet or so of cliff, only a few inches near the bottom are fossiliferous. Yes, it's Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale. More specifically, it is the Mount Marion Formation, which is part of the Hamilton Group, And the narrow fossiliferous section is the Dave Elliot Bed. It is believed to represent a deepwater marine fauna, thus the species diversity is less than some other shallow water sites. The whole Mount Marion Formation which is well exposed along the eastern flank of the Catskill Plateau is often characterized by very sparse fossils, except in narrow beds like this one, likely due to cloudy low oxygen sediment-filled waters from the nearby Catskill shore to the east. Tim might have gotten the order of photos wrong, but the third photo is definitely Paleoneilo filosa and the fourth one is Nuculoidea cubiformis which constitutes the vast majority of bivalves found there. The bivalves from that site unfortunately, have never received much attention or study. Your brachiopods are the rhynchonellid, Eumetabolatoechia multicostatum. Boy, that's a mouthful! Your plant fossil will likely remain an unidentified twig. I tried to get my plant specimens from that site identified by an expert years ago, but even those with fairly diagnostic features he would only very broadly categorize. Congrats on the goniatite. That site is most noteworthy for its cephalopods- a variety of nautiloids and the goniatite (Tornoceras mesopleuron). I encourage you to keep collecting the site and posting your finds. Thanks, and have a good one. 

Hi Jeffrey,

      thanks for all that info. I always thought this site would have more to offer, given how much is exposed. I never even thought much about the goniatite on that specimen -- mostly was focusing on the plant fossil.

 

As for the ID's as Nuculoidea, is that a genus? I've found descriptions of Nuculites that match with my specimens. Nuculites seems to have the notch that most of my specimens have.

 

What do you think of them being Nuculites?

 

Thanks,

Bob